The spring equinox is called
Ostara in most Neopagan traditions, after a Germanic goddess of dawn, Ostara.
Her counterpart in Anglo-Saxon according to Bede was Eostre, from whom we
derive the word Easter. Ostara traditions in Neopaganism share more than the
name, they also share a lot of symbolism with secular Easter traditions.
Rabbits, lambs and eggs are the seasonal motifs, as well as the first wild flowers and
all the signs of spring. The equinox is the day of equal light and dark, after
which the summer will be starting and the days will get progressively longer
until Midsummer.
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| Photo by Kevin Law via Wikimedia Commons CC-Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 |
Signs of the season are
everywhere, around the equinox is when the snow is finally retreating for the
last time, the leaves begin to bud on the trees, and the maple sap rises. Here
in Northern New England a network of tubing and buckets springs up wherever you
look as everyone taps their maples. Some of my best spring memories are of
standing around the boiler rendering sap, it’s still cold outside, the ground
is frozen solid, but the heat of the flames and the sweetness of the syrup keep
you from feeling the cold. A favorite treat is hot maple syrup poured on
homemade ice cream (in less polluted days we used to pour it right on the
snow).
There’s little evidence that the
continental Celts celebrated the equinox (although their astrology was advanced
enough to be sure they recognized it). Because I haven’t found any particularly
Gaulish traditions, I take my cue from Bede and honor a Gaulish dawn goddess:
Sulis, the sun goddess to whom the temple at Bath was dedicated.
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