Eostre and the Eggs

Well this entry should have been submitted last March, but since I haven't got any account in Blogspot yet I wrote it just now. This is actually about a Wiccan Sabbat called Ostara, in honor of the Goddesses of Fertility and well...jumping Rabbits.

Ostara is a Festival held close or on the Spring Equinox, therefore celebrated around March 20-23rd. It is a celebration of the abundance of Life and Fertility and is symbolized by eggs and rabbits. Generally it is the "source" of the Catholic celebration of the Easter Sunday, where children would look for the colored eggs that the Easter Bunny hid.

Eostre is an Anglo-Saxon Goddess whose name probably sprang from the German Goddess Ostara. She is also identified with Astarte of Phoenicia, Ishtar of Babylon, Hathor of Egypt, Demeter of Mycenae and Aphrodite of Cyprus. She along with other Goddesses of Fertility from different Pantheons in the world are honored in a celebration of the joys of life.

There are also gods who are revered in the celebration of the Spring Equinox, Cernunnos, who is the god of the Forests and the Lord of the Hunt along with other Vegetation gods are also honored.

This is the proper time to thank the Goddess for the coming of spring and for the coming harvests. In the Philippine setting, Ostara is often celebrated also with rural planting rituals to ensure the fertility of the land and the abundance of the crops.



Last Ostara, our group did a celebration to honor the gods and asking them to bless our land with fertility. Eggs are colored and offered as well as grains and nuts. Libation of milk and wine was also offered for the gods, during this time, the Hare Moon also shines bright...

Blessed Be!





The Eggs and the Altar