General Preparations Quotations Bibliography Links Prayers Poems Notes
Bibliography and
Links
Spring, Vernal Equinox, Minerva, Athena,
Ostara, Ishtar, Gaia
March Events
March 1 Kalens Martius Roman honorary day
March 15 Hounen Matsuri Festival, Japan. Celebration of the male aspect of fertility.
March 16-17 Bacchanalia Roman, God Bacchus
March 17 St. Patrick's Day, American holiday
March 19-23 Quinquatria Roman, Goddess Minerva
March 21 Spring. Vernal Equinox. The 4th Neo-Pagan Celebration: Ostare (Sacred Time, Sabbat)
March 21 Earth Day
March 31 Feast in Honor of Ôstarâ (Ēostre) Germanic fertility Goddess.
March Easter (Date varies from year to year)
Ancient Ways by Pauline Campanelli. Wonderful folk celebrations for the seasons.
Aphrodite Greek
Goddess of sexuality, love, and war. Compare with Inanna/Ishtar from
Sumeria.
April: Quotes, Poems, Sayings,
Lore, Gardening Chores
April Ritual Days and Sacred Days
The Art
of Ritual by Renee Beck
Artemis Greek
goddess associated with wild places, forests, hunting, wild animals, childbirth,
virgins and young girls. Her Roman equivalent is Diana.
Astaru Holidays
Germanic and Northern Heathen Celebrations
Aurora
(Roman Goddess of dawn)
The Babylonian Origins of Easter (Ishtar)
Bacchus (Roman
god) or Dionysus
(Greek god) associated with fertility god, wild nature, wine, trees, fig trees,
outsiders, licentiousness, intoxication, lovemaking, ecstasy. The feast
day in honor of Bacchus in Rome was March 16 and 17th, the
Bacchanalia. In America,
this kind of feasting is called "Spring Break" during the traditional week off
from college during the week before or after Easter. The Mardi Gras
celebrations in New Orleans and South America are quite similar in nature.
Bacchanalia a wild feast
day of drunken revelry in Rome and Greece in mid-March. It was banned by
the Roman Empire in 186 BCE.
Bacchanalia and
Dionysian Mysteries
Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore and Celebration
A Book of Pagan Prayer
Calling the Quarters,
Casting the Circle, Magickal Protective Sphere, Creating the Sacred Sphere
Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays by Laurie Cabot and Jean Mills.
Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon by Ashleen O'Gaea. A
good study of four spring and summer celebrations that is rich in details and
ideas.
The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year
Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura)
Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
Circles, Groves and Sanctuaries: Sacred Spaces of Today's Pagans.
Compiled by Dan and Pauline Campanelli. Ideas for creating indoor and
outdoor altars and sanctuaries.
Cloud Hands Blog Mike
Garofalo writes about Gardening, Taijiquan, Mysticism, Walking, Qigong, and the
Eight Ways.
Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for all Seasons and Reasons by
Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart. This is a valuable collection of information,
poetry, rituals, songs, and craft activities for seasonal celebrations.
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham
Cuttings - March. Haiku and short poems by Michael P.
Garofalo.
Dictionary of Green and Roman Mythology and Biography by William Smith in
1869
Dionysus (Greek) or Bacchus
(Roman)
Dionysus
Greek fertility god, wild nature, wine, trees, fig trees, outsider god, ecstasy.
His feast days are more in the autumn than spring.
Divination Methods: Tarot
Most Holy Day rituals include using some method for divination: Runes, Oghams,
Tarot, Gazing, or Signs. I use either the Crowley Thoth Tarot or the
Voyager Tarot.
A
Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Year by Ellen Evert Hopman. Thorough
research on the uses and lore of herbs.
Earth Calendar
- Seasonal Holidays
Earth Day (March 21st)
Links - Open Directory
Easter Page: Traditions
and History
Easter, Passover, and Other Spring Festivals
The Eight Seasonal Religious
Celebrations of Neopagans, Druids, Taoists, Wizards, Solitaries
The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water and Earth in the Wiccan Circel by
Deborah Lipp
Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Drasskova
Fairies, Elves, Nature
Spirits: Lands Spirits, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe,
Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk
February: Quotes, Poems, Links,
Lore
The Green Man
(Personification of the Powers of Spring and Summer): Lore, Quotes,
Bibliography, Customs
Hounen
Matsuri Festival, Japan. Celebration of the male aspect of fertility.
Inanna Sumerian Goddess:
Nin-anna
"Queen of Heaven" Goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare.
Inanna: Journey to the
Dark Center
Inanna,
Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane
Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer
In Celebration of Spring: A Book of Seasonal Indulgences
In
Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth by Patricia Montley
June: Quotes, Poems, Celebrations, Lore, Garden Chores
Labyrinths:
Lore, Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotes
Lammas, Lughnasadh, Summer Festival, First Harvest, August
1st
Land Spirits, Nature Spirits:
Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little
Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts
Librarian of Gushen Grove,
Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.L.S., Red Bluff, California, aka
The Green Wizard
The
Magickal Year: A Pagan Perspective on the Natural World
by Diana Ferguson
March: Quotes, Poems, Sayings,
Lore, Gardening Chores
March - Mystical World
Wide Web
March Ritual Days and Sacred Days
Martius Calendar, Societas Via Roma By M. Moravius Horatius Piscinus.
Months of the Year
Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores
Nature Spirits: Fairies,
Elves, Alfs, Wights, Didhe, Devas, Little Folk
One Old Druid's Final
Journey: The Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring
Ostara, Spring
Equinox Celebration
A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book by By Ceisiwr Serith. A wonderful
collection of thoughtful prayers and reflections.
Pan A Greek satyr or
god. Associated with wild places, rustic music, sexuality, hunting,
shepards and flocks, panic/terror, woods, pastures, mountains, and fertility.
The Roman gods of Faunus, and Faun (Bona Dea) are similar. As the Horned
God in modern Wicca, his importance and shifted in a more positive direction.
In the 19th century, Christians gave the Devil (Satan) the appearance of Pan.
Pulling Onions
by Mike Garofalo
Quinquatria, Roman Festival in honor of
Minerva,
March 19 - March 23.
Minerva is the Roman Goddess, and the Greek Goddess with similar attributes
is Athena, Patron of Athens.
This ancient Goddess is associated with civilization, wisdom, strength,
strategy, poetry, weaving, magic, music, crafts, justice, and skills. Her
totem is the owl. She is a virgin goddess,
Pallas Athena,
where she is one of three virgin goddesses along with
Artemis and
Hestia, known
by the Romans as
Diana
and Vesta.
Minerva/Athna is featured on the
great seal of the
State of California.
Minerva By Susan S. Boulet
Athena by Gustav Klimt
Athena
Quotes for Gardeners.
Over 3,800 quotes arranged by over 250 topics.
Red Bluff, California. Natural
History Studies at our Home and Gardens. By Karen and Mike Garofalo.
Roman Pagan Holy Days, Seasonal Celebrations,
Religious Customs, Roman Pagan Hearth
The
Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways by Edain McCoy.
Practical suggestions for seasonal holiday celebrations.
Sacred
Fire, Holy Well by Ian Corrigan. Thoughtful poems and rituals for
seasonal holidays by a true Bard.
Saint Patrick's Day - Yahoo Links
Sexual Magic:
Bibliography, Links, Quotes
The
Solitary Druid by Robert Ellison. Includes information on eight
seasonal celebrations.
The
Solitary Witch by Silver Ravenwolf
The
Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess by
Starhawk
The Spirit of Gardening
3,800 quotes, poems, sayings, and ideas about gardening, gardens, and the Green
Way. Materials organized by 250 topics; and a fully indexed collection
with a search engine. Online since 1999. Over 6MB of text.
Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.
The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth
Spring Equinox Wiccan Overview
Spring: Quotes, Poems, Sayings,
and Lore
Spring: Links and
Ideas for Teachers
Spring: Recipes Inspired by Nature's Bounty (Williams-Sonoma Seasonal
Celebration)
Vernal (Spring) Equinox
Science, facts, lore.
Vesta Roman
goddess of hearth, kitchen, fire, stove, and home. Fire lit on March 1st.
Walkers Between the Worlds by Caitlin and John Matthews. A practical
guide to the mystical path.
Wheel of the Year, High
Days, Seasonal Celebrations, NeoPagan Holidays
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
Winter - Quotes, Poems,
Sayings, and Lore
Wisdom
of the Elements: The Sacred Wheel of Earth, Air, Fire and Water by Margie
McArthur
Months and Seasons
Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays
Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations
Information, Weather, Gardening Chores
Compiled by Mike Garofalo
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Vernal Equinox,
Spring, Ostara |
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Time of Day |
Morning, Mid-Morning |
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Time of Life |
10-20 Years of Age |
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Decorations |
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Fruits |
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Herbs |
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Tools |
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Goddesses |
Athena, Brigid, Minerva, Oestre, Ostara |
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Gods |
Bacchus, Dionysus, |
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Themes |
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Farming Activities |
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Animals |
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Colors |
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East, Yellow |
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Celebrations |
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General
Preparations
Ostara, Vernal Equinox, Spring, Rebirth,
Easter, March 21st
1. I begin to read and research the subject of Spring Celebrations starting in early February. I am fond of Goddess lore and rituals, Neopagan topics, and Daoism, so you might see something about those topics in my seasonal celebrations webpages.
2. Spring cleaning indoors is a common preparatory activity during this time of the year. Completing some of the chores listed on your garden chores list for February and March is also a good idea. Make reasonable adjustments for inclement weather.
3. Starting seeds indoors in February is a good task. All potted plants should be put into the ground and watered as planned. Removing any dead trees, branches or shrubs should be continued as weather permits.
4. Clean your indoor altar. Dust all ritual and art objects. Put out offerings. Use your "Prayer Books."
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Quotations, Information, Facts, Lore
Ostara, Spring, Vernal Equinox, Rebirth, Earth
Day, Resurrection, Easter, March 21st
"Oh, what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the
rhythm of the year, from his unison with the sun and the earth. Oh, what a
catastrophic ... This is what is the matter with us. We are bleeding
at the roots, because we are cut off from the earth and sun and starts ...
We plucked it from its stem on the Tree of Life, and expected it to keep on
blooming in our civilized vase on the table."
- D. H. Lawrence
"Easter is named for a
Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by
the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her
name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east.
Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name. Ostara was,
of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days
brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for
new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of
babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for
rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal. Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny
both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held
during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of
fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth.
Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to
express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance."
-
Easter History
"Fertility rights are ceremonies of a magic-religious
nature performed to ensure the perpetuation of mankind and to control the
environment. Expressed as invocations, incantations, prayers, hymns,
processions, dances, and sacred dramas, these liturgical endeavors were, and
still are, believed to be closely connected with the mechanisms of nature.
The basis for such rites is usually a belief in sympathetic magic - that is
magic worked on one level to have an effect on a different level, and based on
the assumption that life and fertility, whether animal or vegetable, are one and
indivisible. If such fertility rites could induce fertility in the animal
and human worlds, then the vegetable world would also be stimulated to
reproduction, resulting in an abundant harvest."
- Robert Ellison, The Solitary Druid, p. 130
"The Green Fire
Aengus is a deathless comrade of the Spring, and we
may well pray to him to let his green fire move in our veins."
- Fiona MacLeod, "The Birds of Aengus Of"
Aengus Ma Og is the Irish deity whose spirit inhabits the megalithic monument of Newgrange in the Boyne Valley of Ireland. His hostel on the banks of the Boyne is a traditional entrance to the otherworld, a place where souls congregate and rest. In their soul's circuit, several Irish heroes and heroines have become lost or disorientated. It is within Aengus's care that they are given time to recover.
Birds and other animals begin to choose their mates as the growing year burgeons strongly in the strengthening sunlight. The green fire that runs all over the earth is sparked by this very sunlight and the deep germinating power of the earth. When plants reach toward the sunlight, the red, violet, and blue bands of the light spectrum activate the chlorophyll pigment within each leaf so that it reflects green. This pigment alters as the year progresses, causing the leaves to change color, but from this time forward the medley of greens is apparent.
This green fire is also within us - not in our physical bodies, as it is in plants, but in our emotional and creative lives. Spring fever has many manifestations, some almost hormonal. The creative urge of spring brings into being much verse, for example, as our emotional upheavals reach out for fresh life and vigor. To experience the green fire and answer to its call is to commune with the green vigor of Aengus.
Where is the green fire in your own life at this time? Take your emotional and creative temperature; then give yourself over to something pleasurable and enlivening this week."
- Caitlin Matthews,
The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year
Spring: Poetry, Quotes, Sayings
March: Poetry, Quotes, Sayings
The Green Man: Myths, Legends, Lore
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Poems,
Prayers, Rites, Liturgy, Invocations
Ostara, Spring, Vernal Equinox, Rebirth,
Earth Day, Resurrection, Easter, March 21st
"Shining
Lady of Asgard,
All-seeing, all-knowing,
at Your command worlds are born,
at Your nod and tender smile, life burst into being.
Valiant Goddess, ruthless foe, cunning Queen,
Illuminate your wyrd.
Strengthen our hamyngja.
Make us fruitful in all things, like the barley and flax
that is your gift.
Nourish our souls, God-Mother,
Pour forth from Your cornucopia of abundance
and in return we will give You our devotion,
our praise, our industry.
Holy Mother of all life, foremost amongst the Asynjur,
bestow upon us Your wisdom.
Make our hearts fertile fields for Your bounty, and
on Your spindle of shimmering starlight,
Weave for us a joyous fate."
- Galina Krasskova.
Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and
Celebrations from the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions
Spring: Poetry, Quotes, Sayings
March: Poetry, Quotes, Sayings
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Mike Garofalo's Notes
My notes, observations, listing of local activities, and studies on the Ostara, Spring Equinox, March 21st, Easter Celebrations:
I've not done much research on the topic since April 22, 2012, Saturday. I still need to improve this webpage.
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Months and Seasons
Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays
Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations
Information, Weather, Gardening Chores
Compiled by Mike Garofalo
© 2012-1015,
Green Way Research, Red Bluff,
California
Karen and Michael Garofalo, All Rights Reserved
This webpage was first published on the Internet in January of 2012.
This webpage was last updated or changed on March 16, 2015.
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Months: Quotations, Poetry, Lore, Garden Chores
One Old Druid's Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
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