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| VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 | MARCH 1998 | |
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���Ostara (Oh-star-ah) is a Sabbat named after the Virgin Goddess of Spring from ancient Germany. �Ostara was a Sabbat of great importance in Greece, Rome, and in Nordic and Germanic Islands. �The majority of our current Ostara customs come from these traditions. �Many of the equinox tales are of trips by deities into the underworld, and the struggles to return from the Land of the Dead to the Earth. �When they finally return to the land of the living, they have a new life, both literally and figuratively. �Some of these resurrected deities include Odin, Attis, Osiris, Dagda, Mithras, Orpheus, Hera, and Persephone. ���In keeping with the early Church's practice of grafting saintly feast days onto any pagan festival that could not be eradicated, St. Patrick was given his feast day near the time of the equinox. �After being driven from Ireland on numerous occasions, Patrick's reformed procession was said to have arrived at Tara to present his faith to the High King on Easter Sunday. �Easter itself falls near Ostara, and celebrates yet another resurrected deity. ���At Ostara, the Teutons honored their Goddess of Spring, Eostre--for whom the Christian holiday of Easter is named--with feasting and ritual. �The Norse also honored their Virgin Goddess and celebrated her mating with the young God, an event most pagan circles have moved to Bealtaine. �Sexual relations were almost obligatory on Ostara Eve, as was the communal meal consisting of fertility-associated foods such as cake, honey, and eggs. ���Other celebrations of pagan deities on or around Ostara consist of the Feast of Isis (Egypt), the Feast of Cybele (Italy), Aphrodite Day (Greece), the Festival of Astarte (Greece/Rome/Persia), the Festival of Athena (Greece), and Hilaria (Rome). �All of these deities are still worshipped by pagans today, and are well-incorporated into the modern Ostara celebration. ���In Slavic pagan tradition, Ostara was belived to be the day when death had no power over the living. �In their tradition, a personification of Death is symbolically killed by throwing him into moving water to drown. �A symbol of life renewed, flowers are then tossed in after him and he is sung to as he floats downstream. �People who died on this day were thought to be favored by the deities, and would be accorded princely treatment until their reincarnation. �After Death's drowning, brightly-painted red eggs were passed around during a procession to the site of the ritual, where the new life of spring was celebrated with food, dance, and drink. (Continued on page 2)
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ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB �����The Alliance of Solitary Practitioners(ASP) is a non-profit organization that was developed to provide a means of networking and communication among solitary pagans around the world. We understand that it is not always easy to find others in your area to network with and we want to lend a hand in you meeting others with similar interests. We have recently taken up residence on the World Wide Web at GeoCities and have grown to over 50 members within the first month on the net. ASP is now an international organization with members in the following 8 countries:
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| Graewolfe, Founder MstRMynD, Author/Designer |
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