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SEASONAL OBSERVANCES
Spring Equinox - Mar 2oth

Now comes the [Spring] Vernal Equinox, and the season of Spring reaches it's apex, halfway through its journey from Candlemas to Beltane. Once again, night and day stand in perfect balance, with the powers of light on the ascendancy. The god of light now wins a victory over his twin, the god of darkness. In the Mabinogion myth reconstruction which I have proposed, this is the day on which the restored Llew takes his vengeance on Goronwy by piercing him with the sunlight
spear. For Llew was restored/reborn at the Winter Solstice and is now well/old enough to vanquish his rival/twin and mate with his lover/mother. And the great Mother Goddess, who has returned to her Virgin aspect at Candlemas, welcomes the young sun god's embraces and conceives a child. The child will be born nine months from now, at the next Winter Solstice. And so the cycle closes at last.

We think that the customs surrounding the celebration of the spring equinox were imported from Mediterranean lands, although there can be no doubt that the first inhabitants of the British Isles observed it, as evidence from megalithic sites shows. But it was certainly more popular to the south, where people celebrated the holiday as New Year's Day, and claimed it as the first day of the first sign of the Zodiac, Aries. However you look at it, it is certainly a time of new beginnings, as a simple glance at Nature will prove.

In the Roman Catholic Church, there are two holidays which get mixed up with the Vernal Equinox. The first, occurring on the fixed calendar day of March 25th in the old liturgical calendar, is called the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or B.V.M., as she was typically abbreviated in Catholic Missals). 'Annunciation' means an announcement. This is the day that the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was 'in the family way'. Naturally, this had to be announced since Mary, being still a virgin, would have no other means of knowing it. (Quit scoffing, O ye of little faith!) Why did the Church pick the Vernal Equinox for the commemoration of this event? Because it was necessary to have Mary conceive the child Jesus a full nine months before his birth at the Winter Solstice (i.e., Christmas, celebrated on the fixed calendar date of December 25). Mary's pregnancy would take the natural nine months to complete, even if the conception was a bit unorthodox.

As mentioned before, the older Pagan equivalent of this scene focuses on the joyous process of natural conception, when the young virgin Goddess (in this case, 'virgin' in the original sense of meaning 'unmarried') mates with the young solar God, who has just displaced his rival. This is probably not their first mating, however. In the mythical sense, the couple may have been lovers since Candlemas, when the young God reached puberty. But the young Goddess was recently a mother (at the Winter Solstice) and is probably still nursing her new child. Therefore, conception is naturally delayed for six weeks or so and, despite earlier matings with the God, She does not conceive until (surprise!) the Vernal Equinox. This may also be their Hand-fasting, a sacred marriage between God and Goddess called a Hierogamy, the ultimate Great Rite.

Probably the nicest study of this theme occurs in M. Esther Harding's book, 'Woman's Mysteries'. Probably the nicest description of it occurs in M. Z. Bradley's 'Mists of Avalon', in the scene where Morgan and Arthur assume the sacred roles. (Bradley follows the British custom of transferring the episode to Beltane, when the climate is more suited to its outdoor celebration.)

The other Christian holiday which gets mixed up in this is Easter. Easter, too, celebrates the victory of a god of light (Jesus) over darkness (death), so it makes sense to place it at this season. Ironically, the name 'Easter' was taken from the name of a Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre (from whence we also get the name of the female hormone, estrogen). Her chief symbols were the bunny (both for fertility and because her worshipers saw a hare in the full moon) and the egg (symbolic of the cosmic egg of creation), images which Christians have been hard pressed to explain. Her holiday, the Eostara, was held on the Vernal Equinox Full Moon. Of course, the Church doesn't celebrate full moons, even if they do calculate by them, so they planted their Easter on the following Sunday. Thus, Easter is always the first Sunday, after the first Full Moon, after the Vernal Equinox. If you've ever wondered why Easter moved all around the calendar, now you know. (By the way, the Catholic Church was so adamant about not incorporating lunar Goddess symbolism that they added a further calculation: if Easter Sunday were to fall on the Full Moon itself, then Easter was postponed to the following Sunday instead.)

Incidentally, this raises another point: recently, some Pagan traditions began referring to the Vernal Equinox as Eostara. Historically, this is incorrect. Eostara is a lunar holiday, honoring a lunar Goddess, at the Vernal Full Moon. Hence, the name 'Eostara' is best reserved to the nearest Esbat, rather than the Sabbat itself. How this happened is difficult to say. However, it is notable that some of the same groups is appropriated the term 'Lady Day' for Beltane, which left no good folk name for the Equinox. Thus, Eostara was misappropriated for it, completing a chain-reaction of displacement. Needless to say, the old and accepted folk name for the Vernal Equinox is 'Lady Day'. Christians sometimes insist that the title is in honor of Mary and her Annunciation, but Pagans will smile knowingly.

Another mythological motif which must surely arrest our attention at this time of year is that of the descent of the God or Goddess into the Underworld. Perhaps we see this most clearly in the Christian tradition. Beginning with his death on the cross on Good Friday, it is said that Jesus 'descended into hell' for the three days that his body lay entombed. But on the third day (that is, Easter Sunday), his body and soul rejoined, he arose from the dead and ascended into heaven. By a strange coincidence', most ancient Pagan religions speak of the Goddess descending into the Underworld, also for a period of three days.

Why three days? If we remember that we are here dealing with the lunar aspect of the Goddess, the reason should be obvious. As the text of one Book of Shadows gives it, '...as the moon waxes and wanes, and walks three nights in darkness, so the Goddess once spent three nights in the Kingdom of Death.' In our modern world, alienated as it is from nature, we tend to mark the time of the New Moon (when no moon is visible) as a single date on a calendar. We tend to forget that the moon is also hidden from our view on the day before and the day after our calendar date. But this did not go unnoticed by our ancestors, who always speak of the Goddess's sojourn into the land of Death as lasting for three days. Is it any wonder then, that we celebrate the next Full Moon (the Eostara) as the return of the Goddess from chthonic regions?

Naturally, this is the season to celebrate the victory of life over death, as any nature-lover will affirm. And the Christian religion was not misguided by celebrating Christ's victory over death at this same season. Nor is Christ the only solar hero to journey into the underworld. King Arthur, for example, does the same thing when he sets sail in his magical ship, Prydwen, to bring back precious gifts (i.e. the gifts of life) from the Land of the Dead, as we are told in the 'Mabinogi'. Welsh triads allude to Gwydion and Amaethon doing much the same thing. In fact, this theme is so universal that mythologists refer to it by a common phrase, 'the harrowing of hell'.

However, one might conjecture that the descent into hell, or the land of the dead, was originally accomplished, not by a solar male deity, but by a lunar female deity. It is Nature Herself who, in Spring, returns from the Underworld with her gift of abundant life.

Solar heroes may have laid claim to this theme much later. The very fact that we are dealing with a three-day period of absence should tell us we are dealing with a lunar, not solar, theme. (Although one must make exception for those occasional male lunar deities, such as the Assyrian god, Sin.) At any rate, one of the nicest modern renditions of the harrowing of hell appears in many Books of Shadows as 'The Descent of the Goddess'. Lady Day may be especially appropriate for the celebration of this theme, whether by storytelling, reading, or dramatic re-enactment.

For modern Witches, Lady Day is one of the Lesser Sabbats or Low Holidays of the year, one of the four quarter-days. And what date will Witches choose to celebrate? They may choose the traditional folk 'fixed' date of March 25th, starting on its Eve. Or they may choose the actual equinox point, when the Sun crosses the Equator and enters the astrological sign of Aries.

Article by Mike Nichols

R E F L E C T I O N S   N E W S L E T T E R
SEASONAL OBSERVANCES
Beltane / May Day - May 1st

Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend. Form a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty. Dress in bright colors. Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within. On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it. Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck. Welcome in the May at dawn with singing and dancing. This celebration marks the second half of the Celtic Year; one of the four Celtic Fire Festivals. Complement to Samhain, it is a time of divination and communion with Fairy Folk/Nature Spirits. In Pagan Scandinavia, mock battles between Winter and Summer were enacted at this time. May Day has been a workers' holiday in many places.

Maypole
Forms include pole, tree, bush, cross; communal or household; permanent or annual. In Germany, Fir tree was cut on May Eve by young unmarried men, branches removed, decorated, put up in village square, & guarded all night until dance occurred on May Day. * In England, permanent Maypoles were erected on village greens In some villages, there also were smaller Maypoles in the yards of households. Flowers: Gathering and exchange of Flowers and Greens on May Eve, pre-dawn May Day, Beltane. Decorate your home with green budding branches, including Hawthorn. Make garland wreaths of Flowers and/or Greens. May Baskets were given or placed secretly on doorsteps to friends, shut-ins, lovers, others. * May Bowl was punch (wine or non-alcoholic) made of Sweet Woodruff blossoms.

Beltane Fires: Traditionally, sacred woods kindled by spark from flint or by friction -- in Irish Gaelic, the Beltane Fire has been called teine eigin (fire from rubbing sticks). Jump over the Beltane Fire, move through it, or dance clockwise around it. Livestock was driven through it or between two fires for purification and fertility blessings. In ancient times Druid priests kindled it at sacred places; later times, Christian priests kindled it in fields near the church after performing a Christian church service. * Rowan twigs were carried around the fire three times, then hung over hearths to bless homes. In the past, Beltane community fire purification customs included symbolic sacrifice of effigy knobs on the Beltane Cake (of barley) to the fire, or, in medieval times, mock sacrifice of Beltane Carline (Hag) who received blackened piece of Beltane Cake.

Sacred Union & Fertility Union with the Land focus, often with actual mating outside on the Land to bless fields, herds, home. May Queen (May Bride) as personification of the Earth Goddess and Goddesses of Fertility. May King

Correspondences:  Herbs-All flowers, angelica, apple, ash, bluebell, calendula, cinquefoil, red clover, daisy, frankincense, hawthorn, honeysuckle, lilac, primrose, rose, rowan, St. John’s wort, strawberry, woodruff ;  Incense ~ frankincense, lilac, rose, passion flower, vanilla; Colors ~ green, soft pink, blue, yellow, white;  Decorations ~ Maypole, strings of beads or flowers, ribbons, spring flowers, strawberries, faeries;  Foods ~ dairy, oatmeal cakes, May Day bread, cherries, strawberries, green salads, ice cream, red fruit; Gemstones ~ emerald, orange carnelian, sapphire, rose quartz.
 

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GAIA'S GARDEN
Herb Garden
by Robert Wilson

As we all know, Wicca is a religion rooted in attuning one's self to nature. One of the most enjoyable ways to do this is to grow your own herb garden. The Witch's herb garden is a sacred place where many of the Goddess' gifts grow side by side. It is a place where we can watch and participate in the cycles of nature year after year.

You do not need to have a backyard to have an herb garden. An herb garden may be earthen pots by a sunny window. It should not be too difficult to adapt the rituals and traditions of outdoor gardens to an indoor garden. The outdoor garden may be as simple as a few herbs in a small circle in a corner. Or it may be a huge area with different sections set aside for different purposes, filled with trees, flowers and so on.

The traditional shape for an herb garden is a circle. This is, of course, not always possible. The planting of a new herb garden should take place in the spring or summer in northern climates, but they can usually be planted year-round in mild climates. Before planting you will want to prepare the land, physically and ritually. Once the area is chosen and weeds and such cleared, go out to the area at night and draw a circle around the boundary of your herb garden. If it is not circular, draw three or four circles. Set a candle at the four compass points. Scott Cunningham in his book Magickal Herbalism suggests taking some mistletoe and grinding in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkling the power over the garden and working it into the soil. This done, draw a five-pointed star in the circle(s). Go to each point and ask the powers of the North, South, East and West to protect the garden. Sit in meditation for awhile, then blow out the candles starting with the North. Use your wand to erase the circle and five pointed stars. The next morning, pour a glass of apple cider into the ground. Apple cider represents the blood of the Goddess and of the Earth. Then say a prayer of thanks to the Goddess and the God.

Let the ground sit for 3 days. You are then ready for planting. You may plant seeds or small seedlings. As you plant, have in mind the magical/ritual purposes for the herb. You will want to plant according to the phases of the moon. If the useful part of the plant is the leaf, stem, or flower, then plant it during the waxing moon. Trees and root herbs should be planted during the waning moon. Never forget to talk to your herbs. Scientists are finally doing some serious research on this and are finding that talking and thinking positive thoughts around your plants will help them grow better. As you talk to your plants, think about the sun shining on them and the rain watering them. Think also of the spirit of the Earth making them grow lush and green.

Once you have planted your garden, it is always nice to watch your herbs grow. Look for all the subtle changes. Observe their growth cycles. It is not hard to see a parallel between the cycles of these plants and the cycles of our lives.

More than plants may be kept in a Witch's herb garden. Offerings to the Goddess and God are often made here. Flowers, wine, etc. may be left on a flat rock, a terra-cotta plate, or simply on the ground. Another object often kept in the herb garden is a small stone with a natural hole in it. These are often found at the seashore. Such Holy Stones have been held sacred to Witches/Pagans from ancient times. And there are plenty of other amulets you may keep in your garden. There are any number of treasures you can find in the woods, the mountains, the seashore, etc. Examples include an eggshell, a feather, a seashell, a pine cone, and so on. You may also select a spot to place an amulet and change it at each change of season. For example you may place a flat rock in the garden and set a pinecone there in Summer, an acorn in Fall, a white stone in Winter, and an eggshell in Spring.

Gathering, like planting, is done by the phases of the moon. The same rules apply to gathering as planting. The sun also plays an important role. The best day of the year to gather herbs is the Summer Solstice. This is the day that the sun is at its peak in the sky. You should gather herbs in the morning. Sunlight causes the photosynthesis that creates the essential oils of the plant, but it also evaporates those oils. By the morning, the plants have been forming oils all night, and none have been evaporated. You may gather herbs by hand, but in Wicca this is often done with a white-handled knife. Either way is fine, but as you gather be sure to talk to your plant explaining your need for the herb. Leave something behind as a thank you, such as a piece of bread, a crystal, plant food, etc. When you hang your herbs up to dry, remember the sun will leach out the oils, so make certain that the place you chose for drying will not receive sunlight at any time during the day.
There are traditions to follow all year long in the garden. On the Autumn Equinox, go out to the garden and find some herbs with seeds ready for gathering. Pick some of them, visualizing the new, unborn life within them. Paula Campanelli in her book Wheel of the Year suggests saying something like from this life, life to come as you gather the seeds. Keep them in a cool, dry place for the winter.

At Yule, many of us burn Yule logs, or we place candles on a Yule log. The ashes or candle drippings may be kept for future use. One use will come the next morning. Go outside when the sun comes up, if possible, and look out at the herb garden. Holding some ashes or drippings from the Yule log, think of the ground as being barren (which it may already be.) Then think of tiny seedlings poking up. As you do, begin sprinkling the ashes over the ground or snow. Visualize the plants growing until they are fully-grown. If you have candle drippings, simply bury them somewhere in the garden. On the Spring Equinox you will want to bless the seeds that you gathered of the Autumn Equinox. During your spring ritual, tap the seeds with your wand and visualize the seeds sprouting and growing healthy. Then plant them on the same day or the next day if you do this at night. If it is still too cold in the garden, then plant at least a few seeds in small pots and place them in a sunny window.

The herb garden is more then a place to grow a few herbs, it is a sacred place for us to observe the cycles of nature and to see ourselves reflected in them. Herbs grow better with positive energy, and so do we. And so an herb garden should be used not only for growing herbs, but to attune ourselves with nature, with the Earth, and with the Goddess and the God.

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