Ostara, the first day of spring, on March 20th is a pagan Sabbat celebrating the Spring Equinox, a day of equal light and dark that heralds the return of growth and fertility. The Goddess represented by the newly green earth and budding plants, has returned from a cold winter retreat; and the warmth of the Sun, the God, who fertilizes and provides the energy for everything to grow. Ostara is a solar festival, celebrating the start of the reign of lightness over dark, and at cross quarters with Samhain, the time of death. This representation of renewed life is commonly represented by the egg, a popular symbol that is associated with Spring throughout the world.

Eggs have long been associated with the Goddess, Eostre, whose name itself means “moving around the waxing sun” and for whom the Christian holiday of Easter is named for. Legend tells of a hungry hare that came upon a single egg on the first day of Spring and was torn between the decision to eat the egg or to offer it to the Goddess Eostre. The hare decided give this gift and pondered on how make the egg a fit offering to the Goddess. He went home and decorated it with the colors of Spring and symbols sacred to the Goddess, and when he presented it to Eostre she was so pleased she wanted to share the tradition with mankind. It is said the ancestors of that hare still carry on the tradition, they are called Eostre’s bunnies – or more commonly known as the Easter Bunny.

Decorating eggs for the Spring Equinox have origins and traditions that date back thousands of years. Eggs have been used as amulets for fertility, prosperity and protection and the creation of them can be as simple as dying them spring colors to elaborate designs of the renowned pysanky. The egg itself symbolizes rebirth, the yolk as the Sun God and the white shell the Goddess, their union together to create life.

Other Rites of Spring include blessing seeds for planting, decorating with daffodils and other spring flowers, starting projects to be completed by the fall, balancing and centering yourself, and celebrating with friends and family with egg decorating, dancing, and feasting.

This article was written by Silken Crescent West, a Gardenian coven and member of the Chamisa Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess. For more information, contact the NM Public Information Officer at 505-264-7638 or wmnracer@aol.com.