Moon in the Crescent phase

"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."

5th Day of the 4th Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Artemis
Lunar Tree Cycle ~ Fearn/Alder
2nd day of the Celtic Tree Month ~ Fearn/Alder
Moon Phase: Crescent - 2:59PM EDST
Moon rises: 8:50AM EDST
Moon sets: 11:49PM EDST
Moon in the Fixed Earth Sign of Taurus
Blodeuwedd's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: Your kinship with
humanity.
Sun in Pisces
Sunrise: 7:25AM EDST
Sunset: 7:30PM EDST
Solar Question for the Day: "What new concepts are
coming into your understanding? How do they affect
your present understanding?"
Imbolc (Gwyl Mair) Quarter of the Year
March 19th, 2010

Crescent Phase

    Keywords for the Crescent phase are: expansion, growth, struggle, opportunity. It is the time in a lunar cycle that you gather wisdom learned in the New phase and communicate your intention to move forward. LIght a candle. Write or read an affirmation. LISTEN & ABSORB. Commit to your goal(s) for this cycle.

  Affirmations

    Affirmations are statements of faith and belief that you repeat to yourself with emotional intensity for the purpose of attaining goals. They are useful and easy-to-use tools for creating a more joyful and abundant life without having to work harder.  To successfully do affirmations and achieve the results you want, you need to eliminate the negativity around you and sincerely believe you can manifest your destiny. You can do this by reprogramming those thought patterns that are not serving you as well as they might be into positive, powerful affirmations. In this way, you can tap into the healing and creative power of the divine feminine.

   Affirmations use positive thinking and dreams to align spirit, mind, and body with your true self, a step that will benefit every aspect of your life. The magic of affirmation is in the positive intentions and faith you put into them.

   Positive affirmations can take many forms and can relate to everything from waking up joyful in the morning, wanting good health, to bringing love, prosperity and spiritual rapport into your life. There are no limitations as to how you can use affirmations to enrich your being.

"I choose to take responsibility

For my decisions in life.

Goddess, bless and help me in this task

So that I might make the best choices for me

Please help me be happy and satisfied with my decisions

Goddess, bless and guide me, today and every day.

Blessed be!"

[From: "Goddess Bless" by Sirona Knight]

Goddesses of the Spring Equinox

   Celebrations of the vernal equinox are linked to many goddesses of fertility, predominatly the Saxon goddess Eostre and her Germanic counterpart, Ostara, who give her name to the Wiccan sabbat. Eostre is associated with the dawn, rebirth, and the spring. She seems to possess a symbolic affinity with rabbits, as they factor into several of her myths. Some accounts claim that rabbits were considered sacred to Eostre, and that she herself was known to take on the form of a rabbit. Others call her Eostar and claim that rabbits were killed in sacrifice to her.

      One popular telling of the myth of Eostre is that she possessed as a companion and familiar spirit a great bird whose wings were frozen. The frozen wings morphed into the ears of a rabbit, and the goddess's sacred totem is said to retain the characteristics of both animals. The rabbit is a fitting symbol of the springtime as it is a creature well known for its quick reproductive capabilities. The average gestational period for rabbits is one month, making them a natural emblem for fertility. Since there are no known Saxon deities depicted with a rabbit's head, as Eostre is often described, it is possible that the rabbit-like appearance attributed to Eostre comes from the illusion produced by craters on the moon. Goddesses have long been associated with the moon, and many agree that the lunar-surface does indeed contain what appears to be that distinct form of a rabbit as seen from Earth.

Here is an interesting little story I cam across:

The Easter Bunny is not actually a ‘bunny’ or rabbit at all, but is actually a hare. The hare was the sacred animal of Eostre (or Oestra or Ostera), the ancient Teutonic Goddess of the Spring Moon. At the time of the vernal equinox (March or April) the hares are famed for going ‘mad’ and it was at this time of the year that out of character for its species, one of Eostre’s hares laid an egg. Not just any old egg, but the Egg of New Life - the Easter Egg. But surely Easter is a Christian festival marking Jesus Christ’s resurrection after dying on the cross, and not ceremonial to a Pagan hare-headed goddess? Well, actually it’s both. Following debate at the Synod of Whitby in the 5th Century, the ‘Christian Easter’ is destined to fall roughly around the same time as the ‘Pagan Easter’ due to its association to the Judaic Passover which is also fixed by the lunar cycle. Both festivals could also be said to reflect new life, either Christ’s return from the dead or the blossom and birth of Spring. So it was not much of a stretch for the ascending Christian Church to merge both festivals. This is known as ‘assimilation’ and was a habit frequently employed in those times and these isles to ease and encourage rather than force the conversion of heathens. Perhaps it is a little surprising, however, that the pagan name was retained.

    Ostara shares many similarities to Eostre, and not just in name. Ostara, too, is a goddess of spring. She is also called Ostara, goddess of the dawn. Her celebrations often occurred at sunrise on hilltops and centered on growth and the renewal of life. Prayers were made to assure the abundance of crops, and eggs were ritually eaten and exchanged as talismans in her honor. Eggs were also left on the graves of the beloved deceased, perhaps as a testament to the beliefs in reincarnation. Offering an egg to the dead was a way of calling for their rebirth and return.
[Excerpts from "The Wiccan Year" by Judy Ann Nock]