Ostara 2023
Today, March 20,2023 at 5:25 PM, The Sun will cross the celestial equator and we will celebrate The Vernal Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere. It is cold as I write this (22 degrees F.). Last night was significantly colder than the night of the winter Solstice. The weather promises a return to more Spring like conditions by later this week.
Both the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes are, among other things, about balance. In Autumn the emphasis is on balancing acceptance of the coming time of darkness with the assurance that the light will return. Realism must be balanced by hope so as to keep it from becoming fatalism. In spring the aspects are reversed and we must balance the hope engendered by lengthening days and the greening Earth with realism about the limits to growth. Hope must be balanced by realism so as to keep us from delusion and grandiosity.
In some ways the balance of The Vernal Equinox is more difficult than that of the Autumnal. Hope is a more welcome message in a time of decline that caution in a time of expansion. Yet if we are able to embrace this cautionary note in the time of hope we may have less cause for regret when we find ourselves once again heading into the dark six months from now.
When I set my alter for the various sabots I try to select Tarot Cards to represent my intentions for the coming season. At the Autumnal equinox these cards usually include Justice, in Spring Temperance. Autumn is a time of separation. Things withdraw into themselves. Justice, with Her scale and sword, isolates our efforts from the fruits they have born and weighs them against one another. Temperance, by contrast, pours two cups back and forth, blending and increasing their contents. She seeks a balance among rather than between things. As we head into the growing season, we seek effective and beautiful combinations – the joint labor of people to realize collective goals, the work seeks a balance between the labor required to raise our “crops” and the simple enjoyment of watching them grow. Even the combination of Fire (Sun) and Water (Rain) that plumps and greens the plants and those who feed upon them depends on a careful balance. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy but all play and no work leaves him a hungry boy in time. Too much Sun or Rain is bad for the growing.
Temperance: from the incredibly beautiful AstroMatrix Tarot. A stunning example of how different elements can be combined to create something life giving and joyful to behold.
Everything about the lighter half of the year depends on the proper blending and balancing of essential ingredients. The caution of the Vernal Equinox reminds us that we must mind everything and how much of it we bring into play as we brew the wine of another season of light. These coming days are long, enjoy the time they afford us to rejoice in the beauty of life but don’t allow yourself to be lulled into complacency. In three short months the Summer Solstice will be upon us and the days will gradually shrink. In autumn hope and realism will be once more weighed against one another. If we blend these essential ingredients carefully in the coming days and weeks we will be more likely to find ourselves in good stead when we stand once more before the sword and scale of justice in Autumn.
I wish you each the realization of all you cultivate in this coming season of light. Happy Ostara. Blessed Be.