Today marks the Vernal Equinox or Ostara, one of two times in the calendar year (the other being the Autumn Equinox or Mabon) when the Earth and her unruly children hover in perfect balance for a brief shining interval. Humanity had nothing to do with this day - it's a pivotal astronomic point ordained by the heavens, by the natural order of things in this magnificent cosmos where we live out our allotted days, spinning like tops in the Great Round of space and time.
If I lived further south, this might be a day of greening and enchantment, when Eostre, the old Teutonic goddess of greening and fertility, wanders wild places with her arms full of spring blooms, bestowing blessings on everything she sees. She would be attended by hares, her special animal, and flowers would spring up in her footsteps as she passed. The air would be filled with birdsong, the heady fragrance of rich dark earth and wild springtime herbs.
Alas, the only snowdrops blooming here at the moment are those in a glass amphora on a shelf in my study. It will be several weeks until Lady Spring makes a real appearance in the northern landscape, but rumors of her imminent presence and the arrival of the greening season persist. Every bird who visits our sleeping snow-bound garden seems to be declaring its lofty status as a messenger from the sacred, a harbinger of abundance and new life.
Last night Beau and I went outside into the garden for a few minutes, and a cold going it was. As we shivered in the star spangled darkness and looked up, it seemed to us that this month's moon bears more than a passing resemblance to a great cosmic egg, a perfect expression of this turning of the wheel with its verdant motifs of warmth, light and new life coming into being.
There is blooming in our thoughts this day, but it is too cold for outdoor celebrations. I will spend a few minutes outside this evening, perhaps light a celebratory candle on the deck, but the festivities are indoors for the most part. There will be grilled salmon, risotto, a salad of tangy spring greens and a bottle of Chablis on the old oak table this evening. All are welcome.
Happy Ostara, Happy Spring, Happy Equinox! Bright blessings to one and all!
2 comments:
It seems that the sun lingers much longer here and the birds have definitely picked up much stronger colors and seem to want to argue with others of their species a bit more. Our osprey are back and we know that really means early edge of spring.
Honoring our mother, making small rituals...remembering our source. Yes.
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