Ostara and Mothers' Day Are Approaching... And Fast!!!

That sounds like my darts dinners. I don't play... just organise the rest of them and follow them around in support. They pay subs every week which is accumulated and put toward a dinner at the end of the season. Naturally, the Treasurer won't take subs from me, but I'm always invited to dinner. They swallow it up with the rest, which is nice. This year, we're planning on having a barbecue at the pub, as they've built a nice area outside and the season ends in the middle of May, so the weather should be good! Sorry... I got a bit off the subject there! You can celebrate your Mothers' Day that evening, my friend, with the kids. Have a great time, and enjoy your weekend. Brightest Blessings, my dear friend and thank you for your contribution. xxx

Happy Mothers day to you sissie. I hope your family is good to you xxxx

LOL Isn't it great to know that people want to include you Darkwing! AS it happens my sister called me and went for lunch with her and Gran as well as out for dinner. Also been out today delivering all 3 Mothers Dy Gifts so ready for nodding off! lol Have a lovely weekend Sweety! I know it isn't MOthers day there my lovely twinny but I hope you have a fantastic day too! I know that the kids will do their best to make sure I have a good day! Hugs xxx

What about your daughter weemam? xxx

Good point, Mummymo! Yes, Weeman... what is your daughter doing? xx

Darkwing I have adopted Morag and her family :) , I didn't want to assume :) Wee xx

am sure they have a Blessing Way for it will have to look lol. I will have to wait a little on herbs maybe a week for I had to buy extra vits. this money and I wan to make sure I dont go over what I have in the bank. $50 extra on pills this month! grrrrrrr. But I do have one of them that will last 240 days lol Just thought about it might go to 99cent store to find teh seeds

Wow... a lot of extra expense there, my friend. Maybe you'll find some seeds someplace, that are either very cheap or free with something. Keep your eyes open when you do your shop, or even take the pips out of apples, if you eat them, and try planting them in a pot or three. You never know your luck! A sunflower seed is a good seed for this time too! I'm keeping you at the Native American ways, huh? It's nice to read what your ancestors used to do, what their beliefs were and how they celebrated at certain times of the year. I often read up on NAs and feel that they may even have been the foundation of world pagans' beliefs.

It keeps me happy to stay busy my friend. I love to get out and about as you know, and incidentally, this is a brilliant time for you to plant your herbs, because you will symbollically grow in spirit with them and the herbs will be useful later in the year for the various things you are learning! Even if you just put seeds into pots, which you propogate indoors, and plant them with intention, then they should work well for you later in the year. Thank you for your wishes for Mothers' Day, and I hope you get a bright day for your shop so that it's more enjoyable. Don't forget your eggs and Hot Cross Buns! I'm sure the Native Americans had some sort of ritual at this time too! Brightest Blessings for Ostara and the rest of the coming year, my dear friend and thank you for your contribution.

Ostara is the Spring Equinox Sabbat; a sabbat being a celebratory time in the pagan world, my friend. It's the coming of Spring and new beginnings, when we honour the Goddess Ostara, with whom we relate new beginnings and hares, and our Sun God's growth. New beginnings are associated with eggs, and the hare has transformed into a Bunny, which is why Easter emerged in the Christian world as being celebrated with eggs and the Easter bunny. Sorry to hear you have no family left but your sons to celebrate Mothers' Day with. I realised your day was in May, in America but for some reason, thought it was the third Sunday. You see... I learn as well from my friends... thank you! :) I hope you have a lovely weekend, Snow... do something you love to do and relax, my friend. Thank you for your wishes and your contribution, and Brightest Blessings. x

You're welcome my friend and thank you too for putting me right on Mothers' Day. Our Fathers' Day is the second Sunday in June I believe. It was the 12th last year. They all seem to be around pagan sabbats, and relevant to our beliefs, which makes me wonder why ever there are disagreements about religion. As far as I can see, the only difference is the name we choose to call our God/Goddess. I'll explain... the Spring Equinox/Ostara is in honour of the Goddess of the Dawn, or Earth Mother in her maiden form, because the Sun is beginning to rise higher in the sky and the days are becoming longer; hence new growth and new beginnings. June 21st, which is close to Father's Day, is when the Sun God is at his peak, and daylight time is at its longest. The Sun reaches its peak prior to its weakening and the days becoming shorter towards harvest time. Interesting that... that the Christians should choose those dates to honour the Mothers and Fathers of this world!

Thank you for explaining that to me. I do love spring :). I think fathers day which is in june may be the third sunday in june. But i looked up mothers day to be certin and it is the second sunday. Have a wonderful day/ night my friend :)

Ha ha ha... I like the message in the card you bought for your friend. It's such a true statement as well. I never want to stop playing, do you? he he. It seems a time when there are a lot of birthdays and celebrations going on... must be all the midsummer frolicking that goes on, my friend! ha ha ha. I hope you have a good time at the weekend. Brightest Blessings to you and thank you for your contribution.

LOL, @ the birth control failure. Now, I'm beginning to wonder... as I was born at the beginning of October, I wonder... ha ha ha!

My parents only wanted a boy and a girl - they got them and then practiced barriar method BC, but mom thinks either she forgot it or it had a hole that lead to my sister... now, mom is B- and dad was A+, my bro is also +, but I don't know for sure if he's A or O, I'm A-, but since it had been 6 years since my bro was born, they were ready for a complete transfusion if my sister had been born with + blood... wasn't needed, she's O-, and a universal donor...

Lol... that's close to the American time which I belive is the third Sunday, in May, for Mothers' Day? Ours changes by the year, in relation to Easter. Darned government... you never know when it's coming from one year to the next!!! ha ha ha. It's nice to spend Sundays with your grandmother... it sounds really cool. I no longer have either grandmother around me, but I kinda wish I had. I miss all those family get-togethers, especially at Christmas, but time moves on, I guess. All we can do is to try and relive those times amongst those who remain. It sure sounds as though she's going to have a wonderful birthday celebration... so nice for her to have all the family around her. Thank you for your wishes my friend. Brightest Blessings to you and yours. x

Awwwww, bless... and I'll bet that smile is worth its weight in gold to you all. How lovely!!! xx

Hi dear friend! haha..I think you're always in for a big surprise then huh?! haha.. Yes, we want this birthday to really be wonderful for my grandmother. She is very old and very sickly nowadays and seeing us each weekend always put a smile in her face. She is very loving, sweet and gentle. Thanks friend! lovelots..faith

wow this is great info, thanks so much. I really appreciate it. I love writing about things like this and I will add it to my writing list.

Ostara is a pagan sabbat, my friend, similar to the Christian Easter. It's Spring/Vernal Equinox... the first day of Spring, or whatever you prefer to call it. The date does vary a little for those who like to have their celebrations on the exact day but I always stick to 21st, as the Anglo-Saxons used to celebrate for several days, on Ostara, and I tend to do the same. Basically, it's a time when day and night are of equal length and the Sun is growing in strength, which it does until Midsummer, when its strength starts to wane again. Ostara, a Norse Goddess, was revered at this time as Goddess of the Dawn and the Sun God for his growth in strength. We see Ostara as a time when Mother Earth and the Green Man, or the Young Maiden and Sun God, join in sacred marriage. We celebrate fertility, nature and new growth. Therefore, the hare or rabbit, eggs and spring flowers are a part of our rituals, the former two in honour of Ostara, the Goddess of Dawn and New Beginnings, and the yellow flowers particularly, in honour of the Sun God. We symbolically plant seeds relating to the things we wish to grow towards during the year; some will plant their herb gardens at this time but in the main, we will plant seeds in ritual, into a pot, for replanting later. Painting or dying eggs different colours is another activity, and each colour has a meaning so I, for one, choose specific colours and symbols to use on the eggs. Some of us bake bread moulded in the shape of the Earth Goddess, some Sun-shaped biscuits, Hot Cross Buns, and relevant foods for our celebratory feasts. All things green and yellow are prominent now, so we use those colours a lot for the festivities. Spring foods are eaten basically, and dairy products, such as egg salad, or brocolli quiche which contains the eggs. We have egg hunts and all the normal activities of Easter basically; but honouring our own deities. When you think about it, all religions celebrate a new beginning... with Christians, it's the resurrection of Christ, and with pagans, it's the resurrection of the Sun God back into the sky, making the days longer. It's just that the stories vary slightly according to the individual's deity. So, all in all, it's our Easter as it was in the days of the ancient beliefs. :) I hope that explains it all to you, my friend. Brightest Blessings to you, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend, full of the joys of Spring. Thank you for your contribution.

You're welcome my friend. I'm always pleased to help! xx

Oh, that's great about the tarot reading... hopefully some energies are getting through there. We're all behind you both my friend, and I feel things are looking up at last. Thank you for your wishes, and Brightest Blessings for a very Happy Ostara and positive growth through the coming summer. xx

Ostara is a pagan sabbat, my friend, similar to the Christian Easter. It's Spring/Vernal Equinox... the first day of Spring, or whatever you prefer to call it. The date does vary a little for those who like to have their celebrations on the exact day but I always stick to 21st, as the Anglo-Saxons used to celebrate for several days, on Ostara, and I tend to do the same. Basically, it's a time when day and night are of equal length and the Sun is growing in strength, which it does until Midsummer, when its strength starts to wane again. Ostara, a Norse Goddess, was revered at this time as Goddess of the Dawn and the Sun God for his growth in strength. We see Ostara as a time when Mother Earth and the Green Man, or the Young Maiden and Sun God, join in sacred marriage. We celebrate fertility, nature and new growth. Therefore, the hare or rabbit, eggs and spring flowers are a part of our rituals, the former two in honour of Ostara, the Goddess of Dawn and New Beginnings, and the yellow flowers particularly, in honour of the Sun God. We symbolically plant seeds relating to the things we wish to grow towards during the year; some will plant their herb gardens at this time but in the main, we will plant seeds in ritual, into a pot, for replanting later. Painting or dying eggs different colours is another activity, and each colour has a meaning so I, for one, choose specific colours and symbols to use on the eggs. Some of us bake bread moulded in the shape of the Earth Goddess, some Sun-shaped biscuits, Hot Cross Buns, and relevant foods for our celebratory feasts. All things green and yellow are prominent now, so we use those colours a lot for the festivities. Spring foods are eaten basically, and dairy products, such as egg salad, or brocolli quiche which contains the eggs. We have egg hunts and all the normal activities of Easter basically; but honouring our own deities. When you think about it, all religions celebrate a new beginning... with Christians, it's the resurrection of Christ, and with pagans, it's the resurrection of the Sun God back into the sky, making the days longer. It's just that the stories vary slightly according to the individual's deity. So, all in all, it's our Easter as it was in the days of the ancient beliefs.:) Here endeth the history lesson! I hope that explains it all to you, my friend. Brightest Blessings to you, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for your contribution.

Wow, yes... I remember how excited I was at my first Ostara celebrations, and that's continued through the years because it's a lovely time in Nature and a very special time for us. As for the hare... it can be a rabbit; a chocolate rabbit or a picture. Why not cut out a picture and back it with card or something... any symbol. It's also nice to put some freshly picked spring flowers on your altar if you have access to any, or even catkins or some spring buds of some sort. When you plant your spring seeds, it's good to know beforehand what you feel you'd like to grow within your Self, and plant them symbolically with that particular desire in mind. I don't know whether you've done that. Definitely shed the negatives... I do that by writing them on pieces of paper at my altar, then symbolically burning them in my caldron, or some fireproof container, with the help of a black or white candle. Then, next morning, I bury the ashes in the furthest part of the garden. :) You're right... you definitely don't want to be carrying those negatives into Spring. At the very least, get rid of your bad feelings about things. I hope you enjoy your rituals and indeed the feast afterwards! I'm thinking of making some brocolli quiche in a minute. The eggs and dairy stuff in there, together with a bit of green, will be quite meaningful. Brightest Blessings my dear friend, for Ostara and your ensuing growth throughout the year. May your seeds, like your new beginnings, flourish and grow! Thank you for your contribution, my dear friend.

As an afterthought... could you paint a rabbit... stencil it or something onto a vase into which you'll put your flowers, or onto one of your eggs? If not... just make a cardboard one and stand it amongst your eggs... that will be good.

And you also Anora...........Brightest Blessings!

Our night skies are finally clear tonight. I'm so hoping they stay that way so I can enjoy and honor the sunrise tomorrow too!

Sparks- I hope it stays clear for you as well. May the Goddess bless you this Ostara with rejuvination, new beginnings, and renewal. Namaste-Anora