Ostara's Gift

Yesterday marked the festival of the ancient Saxon Fertility Goddess, Ostara or Eostre, after whom it is thought the word Easter & oestrogen derive.
Ostara was walking through the woods one day when she saw a bird who was injured, so understanding that it was unable to fly away from predators She turned it into a hare. Her magic however, was not wholly successful & the hare retained the ability to lay eggs, but so grateful was the hare to Ostara for saving her life, that every year on Ostara's festival, the hare would lay eggs & decorate them in the Goddess' honour as a way of thanking Her for saving the hare's life.
The festival of Ostara became the Christian festival of Easter, the hare became the cute Easter Bunny & the decorated eggs became chocolate ones - hence we have Ostara to thank for some of well loved Easter traditions.
May this spring bring blessings & new beginnings.
Read more 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers' or visit www.arcanus.co.uk

The April Full Moon, Eostre & Christ

Tomorrow (Fri) marks 3 specific events. In the lunar calendar it is the day of the April full Moon. In the Pagan calendar it is the festival of Eostre or Ostara, Saxon Goddess of the dawn & new beginnings and in the Christian calendar it is Good Friday, the time when Christians remember the crucifixion of Christ. Despite however the unliklihood of the former two having anything to do with the latter, they are all inextricably linked.

The festival of Eostre was always a moveable lunar festival and was calculated as falling on the day of the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. When Christianity came to these islands & the powers that held sway were trying to convert the peasants to the new religion, they decided to replace the festival of Eostre with that of Easter and made a slight alteration to the date so that it was celebrated on the Christian holy day - that of Sunday.

Thus Easter is always calculated as being the Sunday following the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

Whether you choose to honour the full Moon, Eostre or Christ tomorrow may the day bring you peace & solace.

For more information read 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers' or 'Mrs Darley's Moon Mysteries'

Nicky Nan Night

This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian calandar,with Shrove Tuesday or 'Pancake Day' as it is now more popularly known being the last day upon which the faithful can eat sweet and fatty foods until Easter Sunday.

A 150 years ago howeverit was a rowdy festival at which cock fights, horse racing and dancing often took place, whilst in 1868 it is recorded as 'Blackamoor Night' where little boys blackened their faces and went from door to door begging for sweets.

A lesser known Cornish festival however used to be celebrated on theMonday before Shrove Tuesday and was known as 'Nicky Nan Night', where young men roamed the streets causing mischief and mayhem. A procession carried a burning straw figure which was said to be the Queen of the Cornish piskies, Joan the Wad, following which a meal of pea soup was served.

Whether you choose pancakes or pea soup this week, spare the burning of Joan & enjoy.