Disambiguation of the Ostara Festival

Before some of you start brow-beating me with your revelations about the Wiccan wheel of the year, bear in mind that you are actually borrowing from ancient AGRARIAN traditions native to where I live, regardless what Catholicism had tried to make of them...and despite all popular belief, the Ostara festival does not fall on the Vernal Equinox, rather the full moon following. This has perfectly practical reasons- as any rural inhabitant worth their salt here, knows that nature operates not only by solar cycles, but particularly lunar cycles within that seasonal frame. Generations of knowledge and experience handed down to us in allegorical fables and song. Its mythical spirits served to illustrate those integral elements and driving forces upon which our survival and the continuity of existence so depends. Nature is our temple and the feasts a celebration of its cycles, in which death is still seen as returning fertility to the fallow earth for the cycle to renew itself. Thus the term “Spring” is quite self explanatory. The sleeper awakens and begins to bud. It all appears slow at first, until the buds burst open. What follows, seems almost explosive, the power of youth running amok. It’s all about the life force of the earth under the effect of the growing solar presence counter-balanced by the subtler attractions of the moon associated with water. In the village I live, the old tradition of well decorating persists. It bears a sign reading “Water is life”, surrounded with garlands of boxbush dotted with colourfully hand-painted eggs, symbolizing every aspect of rebirth. Atop the well-marker, the garlands form a crown. It is the crowning of new life. Ostara is the maiden aspect of the earth, the time when the first young bunnies appear, hopping around in the fields playfully. In the feast, roast young rabbit is a reminder of our ancestors’ hunger for fresh meat after the long winter.

In old high German April was called "Ostermonat". However, as far as etymology is concerned, the root "Ost" means "East". Thus some names describe the dawn, whereas others refer to a mother goddess of this association, so subsequently, this can lead to much confusion in interpretation. The Norse had scarcely any such associations compared to the much earlier Celto-Germanic diaspora along the old southerly migration routes of the Rhine and the Danube where agriculture prospered. The Germanic Frigg, is quite a different story. From the union of Frigg and Odin come four sons; Balder, Hödur, Hermor, Bragi- each in effect playing a part in the seasonal changes- as do the Valkyries, who are shapeshifters. However, in the Alps, Berchta and Wotan as shapeshifting wilderness spirits, appear to be their surviving shamanic forerunners. By the time the Anglo-Saxons (who were actually largely Belgae) appeared in Britain, the Ostara traditions would have already been an integral part of their agrarian lifestyle. One thing is certain; the concept is an astrological one that traces back to the Bronze Age, and not necessarily a separate entity- rather, a seasonal attribute of the earth goddess at least before the Romans came. The Romans with their multitude of household deities, in many cases brought about the fashionable diffusion of pantheons to meet the trend.

Now having said that, let it be understood, that to pay tribute to a goddess by virtue of religious identification rather than realize the true spirit of her manifestation, serves little more than selfish idolatry. Respect that these things have quite a personality of their own, and that for some very essential/potential reasons.