This is the time that herding animals have started birthing and the milk of life is flowing in them.   It is a time of consecrating the seeds for planting later.  From this time until Ostara the Maiden is preparing for life to begin in Nature.  The snake comes out of Mother Earth to test the weather. Dolls are created from oat or wheat straw and placed in baskets with white flower bedding. Young girls then carry them door to door for people to make offerings to.  At the feast the older women make acorn wands for the dolls to hold.  That night the dolls are burned in the hearth which is checked in the morning for marks left by the wands (which was considered a good luck sign).  The home fires are put out and re-lit.  Besoms are set outside the front door to symbolize "out with the old, in with the new".   Some areas used a plough instead of dolls, decorating them and consecrating them with Whiskey (they considered it the "water of life").  To celebrate, lite bonfires (in safe areas, of course), light candles, decorate plows, search for signs of spring in Nature, and feast.

 

Ostara is a time for new beggings, rebirth, and a time for growth.  The name for this Sabbat comes from Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility, or from the Germanic Goddess of fertility, Oestara.  Some paths of Paganism also recognize the Green Goddess and the Lord of the Greenwood.  There are several other gods/goddess that some faiths recognize, but these are the most prominent.  The Goddess Eostre's symbols were the rabbit and the egg.
 Starting on this day and continuing through the summer until fall the Sun will be giving it's growing energies to all things living on earth.  Light and darkness will be in balance on this day, but in the coming months light will rule out.  Nature shifts from the sluggish, dull winter to the exuberant, brilliant spring.  The Goddess will bless the earth with fertility as she comes out of her great sleep and the Sun God will stretch and gain maturity as he in the growing fields and rejoices in the growing of Nature.  The Great Mother, who became a virgin again at Candlemas, will now welcome the Sun God to her and they will concieve a child with thier glorious union.  That child will be born nine months later, at Yule.  Old Pagan customs surrounding this Sabbat are still done today.  The first custom, but not so well followed, is the lighting of a new fire at dawn to signify curing, the renewal of life and protection of crops.  The next custom, definately better known and practiced is the gathering of eggs (or Easter egg hunt).  Although, in the past it was done differently.  Back then the eggs were gathered from the nests of wild birds who layed colored eggs (this is where the dying of eggs comes from).  The eggs would then be used to make talismans and would be ritually eaten. 

 

It is the time of spring, warmer weather and flowers starting to bloom.  In ancient Celtic times this was a time of promiscuity and unashamed sexuality.  The young people would spend the entire night in the woods celebrating.  This was the one time in the year when older, married couples were allowed to remove thier wedding rings and do as they wished paying no heed to thier marriage "responsibilities".  In the morning they would collect spring water to bathe in for beauty or drink for health... Then, they would decorate thier houses with branches and wild flowers that they collected.  Women would braid thier hair, and both men and women would decorate thier bodies. Beltane symbolizes the return of the life and passion of spring.  The young God comes into his maturity and physically desires the Goddess.  They then fall in love.  To celebrate take a walk and gather wild flowers, women, braid them in your hair and decorate your house with them.  In the evening prepare a Wedding feast for the God and Goddess and enjoy yourself. 

 

 

 This is when the God is at his greatest strength and has taken his throne as Lord of the Wood.  This is the longest day of the year, life is most abundant at this time.  This is a time to reaffirm your dedication to your path and your vows to the God and Goddess.

 

 

 This is the time of the first harvest, the spring plants are dropping thier seeds to ensure continuity of life.  The God starts to enter his old age and loses some of his strength as Autumn approaches.  This time was used to thank the God and Goddess for the beauty of summer and the bounty of the first harvest.  Save and plant the seeds from the foods of your feast.  Nurture them with love as these are signs from the God and Goddess.

 

 

This is the time for final harvest.  Night and day is equal and the days from here on out will be shorter.  The year is winding down.  Thanks was given to the God and Goddess for the bounty of the final harvest that would feed the family through winter.  Have a lavish feast and dress your best to celebrate summer's final end.  Pay respect to the dwindling light.  Finish up old business and prepare for a time of relaxation.

 

 

This is a time to speak with departed loved ones as the space between our world and the spirit world is at it's thinnest now. It is also a time to celebrate the spirit's journey into the Summerland.  The Crone  and her Aged Consort govern this time.  In old traditions people would leave food and offerings on doorstops for the spirits to pick up as they passed by to help them on thier journey.  Candles were lit in windows to help guide the spirits through the lands and extra chairs were set at the feast for the wandering spirits.  Apples were placed on the roadside for spirits that were lost or had no descendants.  This was also a time that the Nature spirits were active and very mischievious.  People would done costumes to confuse the pranksters.  Traveling at night was not done at this time.  A great bonfire would be lit and the bones of the dead cattle/sheep and other herd animals were burnt in these fires.  The villagers would also write thier names on stones and cast them into the fire to retrieve from the ashes in the morning.  They believed that the condition of the stone in the morning told the future of the person who's name was on the stone.  The home fires were lit with logs from this great bonfire to ensure unity in the village.

 

This is the longest night of the year.  After this night the days will start to get longer.  The Sun God is reborn from the seeds of fall.  Bonfires were lit in the fields and the crops were wassailed with cider toasts.  Children were brought door to door with gifts of baskets filled with apples, oranges, evergreen bows and flour dusted wheat stalks.  This was to represent the Sun God, immortality, harvest, triumph and life.   Mistletoe, Holly, and Ivy decorated the houses inside and out to invite the Nature spirits to the celebrations.  The year's Yule log was choosen (must come from house owner's land or given as a gift, can't be bought, and was traditionally Ash wood) and brought in...It was lit by a piece of the last year's Yule log.  It burned throughout the night and then would be allowed to smolder for twelve days afterwards when it was ceremoniously put out.