Ostara
Spring equinox Around March 21
The Spring Equinox is the point of equilibrium - the balance is suspended just before spring bursts forth from winter. The God and Goddess are young children at play and holiday festivals use brightly coloured eggs to represent the child within. The easter bunny also is of Pagan origin, as are baskets of flowers. Traditionally, Ostara is a time for collecting wildflowers, walking in nature's beauty and cultivating herb gardens. This is the time to free yourself from anything in the past that is holding you back. The altar should be decorated with flowers. Dishes made with seeds, nuts and leafy vegetables are traditionally eaten. A traditional Vernal Equinox pastime: go to a field and randomly collect wildflowers. (Remember to thank the flowers for their sacrifice before picking them.) Or, buy some from a florist, taking one or two of those that appeal to you. Then bring them home and divine their magickal meanings by the use of books, your own intuition, a pendulum or by other means. The flowers you've chosen reveal your inner thoughts and emotions. It is important at this time of renewed life to plan a walk (or a ride) through gardens, a park, woodlands, forest and other green places. This is not simply exercise, and you should be on no other mission. It isn't even just an appreciation of nature. Make your walk celebratory, a ritual for nature itself. Other traditional activities include planting seeds, working on magickal gardens and practicing all forms of herb work - magickal, medicinal, cosmetic, culinary and artistic.
Foods in tune with this day (linking your meals with the seasons is a fine method of attuning with nature) include those made of seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, as well as pine nuts.
Sprouts are equally appropriate, as are leafy, green vegetables. Flower dishes such as stuffed naturtiums or carnation cupcakes also find their place here.
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