There are holidays in March that have their origins in pagan beliefs. The most popular of these is The Spring Equinox, also known as The Vernal Equinox, or Ostara, one of four solar festivals every year, one of two when day and night are equal. The other is The Autumnal Equinox, or Mabon.

The Vernal Equinox, March 20^th 2010, is the first day of Spring. The Spring Equinox is a day that symbolizes dawn, youth, birth, new beginnings, and rejuvenation. The Saxon goddess Eostre is a goddess of dawn and the festival of new growth is her festival. Legends state that Eostre, sometimes called Ostara, appears with a basket of eggs, accompanied by a rabbit. The color green represents the new vegetation growing on the land, turning it green.

Spring Has Arrived -- Spring is officially at hand once the equinox has ended, despite any false starts that may have manifested earlier in the year. According to Pagan legend, the goddess Demeter is reunited with her daughter, Persephone, who has been living in the underworld for the past six months. When Persephone, whose name means essence of spring, returns to her mother's world, new growth is apparent in the fields, babies are born, and flowers begin to bloom. Other goddesses celebrated in the Spring are Astarte, Isis, Aphrodite, and Cybele.

Resurrection -- A Spring celebration well known in the Christian world has its roots in ancient Rome. According to The School of the Seasons website, "A pine tree, which represented Attis, was chopped down, wrapped in a linen shroud, decorated with violets and placed in a sepulcher in the temple. On the Day of Blood or Black Friday, the priests of the cult gashed themselves with knives as they danced ecstatically, sympathizing with Cybele in her grief and helping to restore Attis to life. Two days later, a priest opened the sepulcher at dawn, revealing that it was empty and announcing that the god was saved. This day was known as Hilaria or the Day of Joy, a time of feasting and merriment." According to the site, Easter is the Christian version of this myth.

Festival Symbols -- Eggs represent new life and new potential, thus they are often used as symbols of Spring festivals. According to folklore, eggs easily balance on their ends during equinox. Eggs are colored and covered with symbols that represent wisdom, strength, and fertility. Eggs are often given as gifts or charms to children or other loved ones during the festivals. Another symbol of the Spring festivals is seeds, which also represent new life. Eggs are representative of new animal life, and the seeds depict new plant life. An ancient custom involves the planting of seeds in baskets, and then when the seeds sprout, the greens are tied with red ribbons and placed on the graves of the dead, symbolizing life conquering death (from The School of The Seasons website.)

What is an Equinox?  The literal meaning of equinox is 'equal night.' What this means is that a certain time each Spring and Fall the sun is exactly over the equator, and day and night are about equal in length. In the Northern Hemisphere the equinox in Spring is called the "Vernal Equinox." It is called the "Autumnal Equinox" in the Southern Hemisphere. The Fall equinox occurs in September and the names are the opposite in each hemisphere. This year the Spring Equinox will occur at approximately 12:31 am on March 20.

In the study of language -- "Nox" means Night (from the Roman Goddess of Night, Nox), and "Equi" means equal, while "Equine" means Horse, but nowhere can I find a reference to an Equinox as a Nightmare... except in this lame attempt at a pun.

In any case, this writer wishes you a very happy Spring to enjoy.

Bright Blessings!

By RdeHywll

On Faith and Faeries

RdeHwyll is a semi-retired gentleman (?) living a Pagan’s life in North-Eastern Pennsylvania, USA, near the Poconos Mountains region of the Appalachians.

He has been following his personal Pagan path in life for more than forty years, and has yet to truly find his way -- there are always new paths that intersect, join, and cross, so the way is always filled with new beginnings. He currently lives alone, except for frequent visits from unseen Fae.

Comments and Questions about what he writes are always welcome.

“I do believe in Faeries, I do, I do! Peter Pan, from the play of the same name by James M. Barrie --That pretty much sums up how I feel, too!"

(Photo by J. Corsentino: RdeHwyll at convention with Donny Ha and Ailynari of Enchanted Folk and Faezine - "Proof that he is, in reality, a Half-Giant!") 

RdeHwyll has been a member of Enchanted Folk since November 2007

members.enchantedfolk.com/www.geocities.comrdehwyllthe_fair_folk_welcome