The time of the vernal equinox was auspicious in ancient cultures. In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, Eostremonath was named after Eostre (Ostara in Old High German), the maiden goddess of dawn and the spring. At the time of the equinox a feast is celebrated in her honor, replete with offerings of rabbit shaped cakes and colored eggs. This is because Eostre adopted both the hare and egg as her symbols.

According to legend, a magical white hare wanted to please Eostre by bringing her a gift. After careful contemplation of which gifts to bring, he settled on eggs, however, not the usual white or brown ones. Using his magical powers, he charmed the eggs, so the shells were a variety of pretty colors. In lieu of a basket, he presented his gift in the very same nest from which he stole the eggs. The goddess was very pleased with the gift and bestowed upon the hare the nickname ‘Egg Bringer.’ For this reason rabbits and hares, especially white ones, are sacred to her. Continue reading →

Of all my favorite holidays, Christmas isn’t.

All the other December holidays come and go peacefully. Unfortunately, there is something about Christmas that just brings out the worst in Christians. The simple action of wishing someone “Happy holidays” has them frothing at the mouth. They seem to have forgotten that “Seasons greetings,” “Happy holidays,” and “Merry Xmas” have been in circulation over 100 years.

Instead of demonstrating peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, Christians go around insisting everyone has declared war on Christmas. That simply isn’t true. No one has declared war on Christmas. (At least not since 1659, when the Puritans banned it.) Christmas has declared war everyone else.

December is a busy month. A short list of religions holidays, ardently ignored by Christians, includes: Bodhi Day, Jamhuri Day, Saturnalia, Yule, Midwinter, Dongzhi Festival, Hanukkah, Human Light, Festivus, Kawanzaa, and Incwala Day. Many of these holidays, like Bodhi Day (originating in 596 BCE) predate Christianity by hundreds of years. December is also home to a host of national, international, and secular holidays. Some examples are: Continue reading →

Halloween is the only time of year witches are in vogue.  Suddenly everyone is interested in black magic, spell craft, hexing their neighbor, and a host of other things that bear little resemblance to actual Paganism. Despite the annual autumnal uptick in interest in all things occult, Halloween isn’t a Pagan holiday. That doesn’t mean we Pagans won’t dress up in costumes and join our Christian brethren in unholy revelry, general debauchery, and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters, but we do have our own holiday to celebrate, Samhain.

Samhain translates as sam, “summer,” and fuin “end.”  With fluttering leaves in shades of copper, amber, and crimson, there can be no doubt that summer is truly at an end.  Continue reading →

The timing of the Harvest Festival is a tricky one for Pagans, as harvest occurs at different times in different regions. There is no specific date across Celtic culture that corresponds to a harvest festival, despite the fact that such festivals very much did exist. Herodotus first mentioned the Celts in 5 BCE and noted that they principally lived along the upper Danube River. At the time, their principal festivals, Imbolg, Beltane, Lughnasad, and Samhain, marked the changing of the seasons.

The connection between harvest and the autumnal equinox traces its origins back, not to Celtic, but to Germanic traditions. Roman historian, Tacitus, first described Germanic people in 98 CE, placing them in upper Germany and Denmark, in an area which bears the name Angeln. Like the Celts, the Anglo-Saxon Pagan year also contained four holy days to mark the changing of the seasons: Yule, Lencten Efniht (lengthening equal-night), Litha, and Haerfest Efniht (harvest equal-night).  Eostre was not recorded in the place of the Lengthening equal-night until the 8^th century. Continue reading →

This year, Imbolg falls on February 2^nd, as that is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox.  This is the time of the Rowan Moon, when we long for winter to be over and begin seeing the first signs of spring.  Nowhere is this more evident than the lambing barns, where in the depths of winter the ewes bring new life to the world.  The word Imbolg roughly translates as, ‘the time of lactating ewes.’

This year I complied some information on Imbolg for my Study Moot.  Some of that information is presented below.

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There is nothing like bawdy, irreverent, and satirical drinking songs to put you in the holiday spirit.  This year’s edition of Laughter and Libations includes more songs and new recipes for favorite winter drinks.  Those interested in trying their hand at culinary delights will also find two alcohol infused recipes for “Figgy Pudding” which are sure to be crowd pleasers.

In addition to the new recipes, revilers will find three categories of songs: Continue reading →