The Vernal Equinox falls on March 20th this year. It is a time of balance and harmony, when the time of light and dark are equal. This Sabbat is known by many names, Eostar, Oestre or Oester, Ostera, and to the Druids, Alban Eiler.
It is the time when the Horned God returns to the Green Maiden and their love is in full bloom. They balance each other and the great courtship begins again. In Feminist and Dianic traditions it is the time when Persephone, in budding adolescence, returns from the underworld to the arms of her mother, Demeter.
This is the season of renewal, of winter giving way to spring, a time of new hope and promise. The Earth has awakened once more.
Eggs and rabbits have always been Pagan symbols of this Sabbat, later adopted by Christians to symbolize Easter. It is from the Great Cosmic Egg of the Goddess that all life springs-- we are now "hatched" again.
Many traditions practice rituals at this time which help to reclaim the child within, and often play is incorporated into the Circle. There may be joyous child-like singing and dancing, and games afterward.
This is also a time used by many to heal emotional wounds that one may have suffered during childhood. Like this Sabbat itself, there is a balance of the light (the joy of being child-like) with the dark (the examination and healing of old wounds)
© 2000 Raven Gilmartin