Ask Black Witch Coven, Blog, Wheel of the Year
The Celebration and controversy of Ostara and Easter
Ask Savannah
As people move closer to non-traditional religions and practices, there seems to be much confusion around the holiday of Ostara and Easter. In this video, and in the blog post notes, I will share with you that there are many reasons for celebrating this time of year. And I guess the big takeaway is for you to decide WHY you will celebrate this time of year…or not!
In summary, the questions covered these areas:
- How do you celebrate Ostara as a Pagan?
- I am confused about the date of Ostara and the celebration of pagan easter rituals. What is the date we paint and decorate the easter eggs?
- Did you (Savannah) ever celebrate Easter?
- Did you (Savannah) feel you were disrespecting Lucifer?
- Which Goddess should we celebrate on the spring equinox?
- What spells should I cast at this time of the cycle?
In 2020, the spring equinox (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox) occurs on Thursday, March 19, which is earlier than it’s been in over a century! This event marks the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The Spring Vernal Equinox brings days and nights in equal proportions. It is simply the day when there is exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of nighttime. But, did you know that this is only true on the Equator? For the rest of us, the timing is a little sooner, or later, depending upon where we live on the planet.
In the Northern Hemisphere, spring begins with the March equinox, which may occur on March 19, 20, or 21. (In the Southern Hemisphere, the March equinox marks the start of autumn, while the September equinox marks the start of spring.)
The word equinox comes from the Latin words for “equal night”—aequus (equal) and nox (night). Equinoxes are the only two times a year that the Sun rises due east and sets due west for all of us on Earth! After the spring equinox, the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the Sun, which is why we start to get longer, sunnier days. (1)
Why do we celebrate this event as Pagans? The equinox was recognized world wide as a time for renewal, rebirth, and revivification. It was the celebration of the symbolic resurrection of earth itself.
The concept of resurrection – This is the hot topic. We are all well aware that Jesus has been inserted here, but traditionally this was not his day. The honor has been given to a couple of deity, including Hathor (of Egypt), and the dark Goddess from the Abyss, Ishta (Astaroth).
The concept of renewal & Rebirth -In Wicca, Oestre, the goddess of the dawn—a bringer of light. The name is also spelled Eastre. (The origin of the word east, the direction of the rising sun, comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word aurora, which means “to shine”) Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling Ostara (Oh-star-ah), which honors this goddess as the word for the Vernal Equinox. Ostara and the egg she carries are symbols of fertility, of new and continuing life.
So as you can see, there are many concepts and ideas surrounding this time of year, but hold on it gets more confusing still…….
HOW IS THE DATE OF EASTER DETERMINED?
Easter is a “movable feast” and does not have a fixed date; however, it is always held on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Would you believe that the date of Easter is related to the full Moon? Specifically, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full Moon that occurs on or just after the spring equinox.
Let’s break it down: In 2020, the spring equinox happens on Thursday, March 19. The first full Moon to occur after that date rises the night of Tuesday, April 7. Therefore, Easter will be observed on the subsequent Sunday, April 12. This date is nowhere near the date of the spring equinox, so if you are a pagan hoping to paint eggs on Easter day, you’ve missed the reason for celebrating the start of the spring equinox. As I mentioned in the video, sometimes you have to work in with your own family traditions, and why not do something related to your own pagan beliefs while everyone else on the day does their thing!
Ishtar, Astaroth or Oestre…..but not Jesus
The controversy is that this pagan holiday belongs to the Goddess Oestra, and then again, perhaps even to the Goddess Astaroth. When the Christians took over, they used the pagan concepts of renewal and resurrection to explain the story of Jesus’s death and rebirth. And instead of celebrating this event on the first day of the spring equinox, everything was shifted over to the time of said person’s death. I think this is where the confusion lies for people coming into paganism.
It is well known that under the Roman Empire, Christianity did indeed adopt the pagan rituals of conquered peoples in an effort to help convert them (2). It worked pretty well as a strategy as it allowed the conquered peoples to continue a semblance of their observances as they remembered, and with time the population would be replaced with those who only knew the new traditions. Yes that’s exactly how it sounds. If you didn’t believe what they were telling you to believe in, they would kill you.
On the left-hand path it has been said, Easter was originally the celebration of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. Ishtar, has also been known as Astaroth (3), the goddess of love and war and sex, as well as protection, fate, childbirth, marriage, and storms—there’s some fertility in there, Ishtar’s symbols were the the lion, the morning star, and eight or sixteen pointed stars—again, symbols of power.
Personally I like the version, of the name taken from Oestre, the goddess of the dawn—a bringer of light. The name is also spelled Eastre. (The origin of the word east, the direction of the rising sun, comes from various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word aurora, which means “to shine”) Modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling Ostara (Oh-star-ah), which honors this goddess as the word for the Vernal Equinox. Ostara and the egg she carries are symbols of fertility, of new and continuing life.
Easter and Ostara are two different celebrations for me
Ostara
Taking it up a level, this time of year is about the turning of the wheel from the darkness into the light, and restoring the balance once again. A time of new life and new possibilities. Ostara morning (the first day of Spring), is a time for a personal morning ritual to give thanks to the earth for bringing balance once again. I may perform a meditation to connect me and ground me to the earth energy. Then, a shedding of old energy is required to draw in the energy of a fresh new season. At the end of the ritual, I feel a sense of hope, and feel a little excited about the new possibilities.
Easter
Certainly there is dissonance around practising Easter celebrations for us on the LHP. If you completely step away from the story of the masses, and spend time reflecting on what this time of year means to you, there will be less likelihood of feeling trapped in other people’s celebrations. I believe you have to create your own meanings to these major holidays. For example, every year Easter was a time of family get together in our vacation property. On Easter morning, eggs would be hidden all through the garden, and each of my three children would be given an Easter basket where they would run around the yard for around half an hour searching for the eggs. My grandmother would go to great lengths to make a wonderful breakfast, and the family would just spend time together. There was nobody in the family thinking of the Christian meaning of this holiday.
If you’re wondering what I do on Easter day now, the answer is ….absolutely nothing. If I have a friend visiting who partakes in the day, I may have a few Easter eggs on hand to be a little festive. While it may be the most important day on a Christian calendar, it has absolutely no significance on mine. By Easter day, the thoughts and energy of Ostara have long past, and now all that remains is chocolate eggs and red wine.
If you feel too triggered by this time of year then spend some time balancing your emotions. Why are you so triggered? Find a way to balance yourself, so you can move past this emotional reaction. And by the way, I know many Luciferians and Satanist who enjoy a good chocolate Easter egg! Including me 🙂
- https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox
- https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/beyond-ishtar-the-tradition-of-eggs-at-easter/
- https://www.joyofsatan.org/www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/HOLIDAYS.html
