The Vernal Equinox arrived. The Equinoxes, Vernal (Ostara, Eostre) and Autumnal (Mabon), are the moments of balance in the Solar year. However, they are not the same. As the years go by I have noticed that Ostara is much more fractious, more chaotic. Mabon has a sweet sadness to it, but Ostara can have all sorts of tension and friction. So I asked myself, why that big difference when they are both all about balance? I came to the realization that it is the difference between the scales beginning to achieve balance, and the scales hitting balance. Ostara is all about the beginning of balance as it enters our lives. Six months later, balance is achieved.
The Vernal Equinox is when Winter leaves us, and the World begins to truly come to life. It is the time to actually plant what you need in order to create the reality that you dreamt of during the Winter. Nothing is certain, but it can begin. Think about those scales when you first put something on them. They swing wildly, seeking balance. Ostara is the beginning of the process. Pisces gives way to Aries, a calm and dreamy Water sign becomes a Fiery sign of action. Dreams give way to movement. The wisdom of old age turns into the risk-taking mode of youth. It makes sense that the scales start swinging wildly because balance is just beginning.
Everyone is confused this time of year, or highly focused, or both at the same time. Spring has arrived and a new reality can begin, but not without some chaos in the creation. It is always tempting to hang on to the old reality, so any new reality has to work hard to come into being. This is a time of great movement and change, even in the atmosphere. Animals are running all over the place, sadly, sometimes even in front of moving vehicles. Spring Fever abounds and everyone is either sitting and daydreaming, or running around making lots of noise and achieving very little. It is time to make lots of decisions about what to plant, figuratively and literally. When is the best time to plant that certain thing? What will the weather do over the next few weeks? What do I need most in my life? Am I making the right decisions about my future harvest? Have I chosen the right path? Lots of questions going onto those scales. No wonder they are wildly swinging. Finally you think you have it all laid out and start the planting. Then a final freeze comes. My mother always talked about the Easter Freeze, and it has born out through the years. The early planting needs to be rethought and maybe even redone. Nothing is in balance, except maybe your desire to achieve some sort of resolution. Ostara, however, is not about the achievement of resolution, but the beginning of the journey toward a conclusion, a harvest.
And in six months at Mabon, the harvest comes in and the scales come to balance. Calm returns and what you planted back in the Spring comes to you, hopefully threefold. The new reality is complete.
