On March 20th the sun went into the sign of Aries, full of fire, eager for action and for initiating projects. This is the time of the Vernal Equinox, when the hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal all over the planet. The world is waking up after its winter rest as the days grow longer. As it happens, Mercury is also at the beginning of Aries, so lots of activity around communications and going here there and everywhere. Easter is coming up, so it would figure that it is a time for getting together with friends and family or generally socialising. Mars making a nice aspect to the Sun and Mercury, could bring even more energy and feeling good with it. It won’t be enough to take away underlying issues, but you may have some better days coming up. If you do get inspired to start something, think it through from a practical point of view too, because the Aries energy burst can be very exciting and also a bit rash, so check the small print.
The Moon is full on Wednesday the 23rd, so the Moon will be in Libra opposite the Sun at the beginning of Aries. This could reflect something important in a relationship, because the sun is in the sign of the ‘Self’ and the moon is in the sign of the ‘Other’, or of ‘Relationship’, - the eternal balancing act.
Getting back to the Equinox and Easter: Ancient Celtic and European traditions celebrated specific seasons which reflected changes in nature. The importance of the old festivals tend now to reflect commercial opportunities, but even though our food supply is generally consistent all year round, we can still be aware of the changes in nature. These times are a great opportunity for getting in touch with the earth and her living creatures and connect with the continual cycle of changes which goes on around us whether we notice it or not.
‘Originally, festivals were celebrations that focused on survival. They marked transition points in the hunting or agricultural food cycle on which people’s lives depended………… Spring is the time of new beginnings. The planet wakes up. Days grow longer, the soil warmer. Birds recognise this as a time to mate and begin courtship dances, mating and nesting………
The fertility symbolism of spring is found in the custom of people giving one another Easter eggs. Originally they were not made of chocolate but were eggs painted red or green – colours associated with the life force and fertility. The eggs were originally the symbols of the German Goddess Ostara, who, in German-based languages, gave her name to Easter.’ From A Woman’s Guide to the Earth Traditions by Vivianne Crowley.
Ostara also features in the name of the female hormone Oestrogen which is responsible for female characteristics and specifically female fertility. It’s all about eggs; it’s all about fertility. Spring is about increase, of sowing the seeds and tending crops as they grow through the warmer longer days. Some animals, notably sheep, have produced offspring already, and the lambs can be seen as the focus of the feasting, with or without the chocolate eggs and bunnies. It’s a time of celebration as the seasons turn again towards cultivating an abundance of food.
‘The ‘Easter Bunny’ that has become the main focus of the Anglo-American commercial packaging of the feast goes back to a Germanic mythology of Spring: he is the Österhase or Easter Hare, the fertility animal who accompanies the Goddess of spring or dawn – and the Old English name of the goddess (Eostre) has remained the name of the feast even in its purely Christian form.’ From Celtic Rituals by Alexei Kondratiev.
Wishing you all a wonderful time over Easter,
Blessings
Ella