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Significance of the Wicca Sabbat – Ostara
The Wicca Sabbat festival of Ostara celebrates the spring equinox and encompasses all aspects of that season.
Ostara: The Festival of the Trees, Lady Day
Date: Vernal (Spring) Equinox
Important Elements: Rebirth, Eggs, Hares, Fertility, Carnal pleasures
Related Holiday(s): Eostre, Easter, Lady Day, Alban Eiler
Colors: Spring Colors, Green, Yellows, Blues, Vibrant Reds
Symbols: Eggs, Hares, lambs, chicks (All symbols of fertility and youth)
Related Deities: Eostre, Ishtar, Kore, Persephone
What Is the Wicca Sabbat Ostara?
The spring has fully come on now, and young animals are bounding in the fields. The ewes have birthed their young, and their milk now feeds them as they continue to grow.
In Wicca, there is a recognition of a general ‘Goddess’ figure, who is often seen as a triple goddess, going through the maiden, mother, and crone cycle each year. For this Pagan holiday, she is seen as being in her maiden form, young and free, and reveling in the joys of youth. As pertains to the specific goddess, Eostre is the goddess of dawn and new beginnings, both very appropriate to a spring holiday and all it entails.
Persephone, in Greek mythology, returns from the depths of the underworld to be with her mother Demeter during this time of year, and in so doing brings spring to the earth.
One of the joys of youth that is revealed during this time is the birth of sexuality and maturity. She isn’t quite sure what it’s for yet, but she knows it’s full of mystery and joyfulness, and knows that she can tease interesting reactions with her playful flirtations from others.
The God, for his part, is in his youth. Just starting to try to win the Goddess’s attention, but just as often off being wild and playing pranks on those he finds amusing. He is the spirit of change, growth, and transition. He had been born at the Winter Solstice, was on his mother’s teat throughout Imbolc, and had grown into a wild and mischievous youth.
Altar and Home Decorations For Ostara:
The Altar at this time of year is decorated with eggs and flowers, nests, and images of the hare. The colors are bright, vibrant, and reminiscent of the newly birthed flowers in the field. There is no darkness here, nothing somber, Ostara is truly a season of joy.
The Wicca festival of Ostara is a good time to get in touch with the fundamental nature of nature, to flirt and play, and to revel in the new season. Observe the changes around your world in this time, and watch for the symbols of the world coming alive.
The call of young birds in the trees, fawns walking through forest glades, even chicks following around their mothers in local ponds, or farmyards.
See Also:
- Wiccan Traditions – Blue-Star Wicca
- Popular Wiccan Traditions & Practices
- The Halloween And Witchcraft Connection
- Dreaming of Halloween
- Moon Magic
Wicca Wheel Of The Year
Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lammas
Mabon
Samhain