Spring Celebrations

Vernal Equinox, Rebirth, Ostara, Quinquatria for Minerva
Athena, Ishtar, Inanna, Gaia
March 21st, Resurrection, Easter, Earth Day, Green Man 
 
 

General Preparations     Quotations     Bibliography     Links     Prayers     Poems     Notes  

January     February     March     April     May     June     Spring     Months     Beltane    

Green Man     Nature Spirits     Trees     Gardening     Druids     Taoists 

Imbolic or Candlemas (February 1st)     Ostara or May Day (May 1st)           

Cloud Hands Blog     Eightfold Way    



Research by    
Michael P. Garofalo
From the Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
One Old Druid's Final Journey
Valley Spirit Center, Green Way Research, Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California

 

 

 

 

 

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.   


Aphrodite  


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 by Raven Grimassi


A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith.  An extensive collection of pagan prayers. 


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 by Caitlin Matthews


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.  


Demeter - Wikipedia 


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. 


Druidry


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 History  


Easter Lily 


Easter Lore   


Easter Page:  Traditions and History 


Easter, Passover, and Other Spring Festivals by Ann Morrill 


Easter Traditions 


Easter - Wikipedia  


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 


Facts About March 


Fairies, Elves, Nature Spirits:  Lands Spirits, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk


February: Quotes, Poems, Links, Lore 


Folklore Calendar 


Greek Mythology Encyclopedia


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 and the Huluppu Tree  


Inanna/Ishtar


Inanna/Ishtar - Google Images 


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 


Inanna's Descent 


Inanna with Ereshkigal 


In Celebration of Spring: A Book of Seasonal Indulgences by Helen Thompson 


In Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth by Patricia Montley


Ishtar the Lady of Heaven 

 

 

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 


List of Germanic Deities


The Magickal Year: A Pagan Perspective on the Natural World by Diana Ferguson 


March Equinox Explained 


March - Links from Yahoo 


March: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores 


March - Mystical World Wide Web 


March Ritual Days and Sacred Days


March - Roman Holidays


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 by Herne 


Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring By Edain McCoy


Ostara in Wikipedia  


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. 


Pan - Wikipedia


Pan - Green Mythology


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 Circles  


Sacred Fire, Holy Well by Ian Corrigan.  Thoughtful poems and rituals for seasonal holidays by a true Bard.  


Saint Patrick's Day - Yahoo Links  


Seasonal Celebrations 


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


Spring and Easter Poetry 


Spring Celebrations 


Spring Equinox Celebrations 


The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth by Ellen Jackson


Spring Equinox Wiccan Overview 


Spring Goddesses 


Spring: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, and Lore


Spring: Links and Ideas for Teachers   


Spring Poetry 


Spring: Recipes Inspired by Nature's Bounty (Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration) by Joanne Weir


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. 


Ways of Walking 


Wheel of the Year, High Days, Seasonal Celebrations, NeoPagan Holidays


Wicca and Paganism 


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
 

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

January

April

July

October

February

May

August

November

March

June

September

December 

 

 

 

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Vernal Equinox, Spring, Ostara
Table of Associations and Correspondences
 

   

Time of Day

Morning, Mid-Morning

Time of Life

10-20 Years of Age

Decorations

 

Fruits

 

Herbs

 

Tools

 

Goddesses

Athena, Brigid, Minerva, Oestre, Ostara

Gods

Bacchus, Dionysus,

Themes

 

Farming Activities

 

Animals

 

Colors

 

Sacred Circle (Valley Spirit)

East, Yellow

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, 1999, p. 159; Meditation for March 29th.   

 

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  New Page Books, 2005.  Quote from page 44.  

 

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
 

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January

April

July

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February

May

August

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March

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September

December 

 

 

 

 


 

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© 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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Red Bluff, California

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The Spirit of Gardening

Cloud Hands Blog 

Months: Quotations, Poetry, Lore, Garden Chores

One Old Druid's Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove 

 

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