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Ode to Ostara
by Moragan Ravenwood
I really feel sorry for those who complain that their lives seem to
pass in a blur. One minute it's winter, the next it's summer,
and so many people never seem to mark the changing of the seasons
until the day they look in the mirror, see the lines on their own
faces and the gray hair on their heads, and wonder when they acquired
them. I feel fortunate that because I am a Pagan I'm not only
observing the seasonal changes but am also actually participating in
them (or, as I like to put it, "living a conscious life"),
unlike those who simply view them as a spectator or, worse yet, fail
to notice them at all. For surely if life is but a classroom
and we are here to learn certain lessons, we can hardly do otherwise
and expect to achieve spiritual growth.
While we Pagans are most famous for our celebration of Samhain, which
symbolizes the death of the old year and the beginning of the new
one, I believe that it is the Spring Equinox that carries a much more
important connotation: that of birth and renewal. There is no
better place to watch this cycle play itself out than in a garden.
I live in the southwestern desert where we don't usually get much of
a winter, albeit the nighttime temperatures do dip below freezing at
times. Despite the mild weather, my small but productive garden
knows what the seasons are, and shows its pleasure in the warmer
weather with a riotous green display.
I'm like an excited little kid after I first plant the seeds I've
chosen to grow; every day I anxiously peer into the various pots,
barrels and seedbeds, beside myself with curiosity to see if the
first seedling has made its appearance yet. Of all the
stress-relieving exercises known to man, this has got to be one of
the easiest and best. It's also highly effective for a Pagan in
that it offers an opportunity to temporarily abandon the cares of the
world and perform a life-affirming activity, which is also one in
which they can actually commune with the divine if they will but
listen as well as speak. That this can be achieved by
performing such a simple activity as tending a garden is part of the
deep appeal of Paganism. This is why I feel that every Pagan
should attempt to grow something, even if it's just a houseplant or a
few herb seeds in a small pot on a windowsill. It's also a
particularly great way to introduce children to one of the
fundamental beliefs of Paganism: that divinity is inherent in all of nature.
In a garden we not only can see the metaphorical drama of the Goddess
and God, but of our own lives as well: the seed is planted, it grows
to adulthood, produces seed of its own, dies, and is resurrected
through its seed, which has been planted in its place. The
message is, of course, that nothing is ever truly wasted or
dies. Anybody who would argue with that has surely never been a gardener!
Of course, this birth-death-resurrection cycle plays in all aspects
of organic and biological life. I had an opportunity to
meditate on this yesterday, when my pregnant daughter showed me an
ultrasound picture of her baby, who will be my first grandchild.
A myriad of images and emotions swept through me as I gazed upon the
image of this tiny little creature lying curled up like a new
rosebud. It seemed that I could hear my mother's voice and see
my father's face and feel their love and pride, and yet above that I
also heard and felt the presence of something even greater and more awesome.
Other images flashed before my eyes and mind; I saw myself as a baby
and my husband as a child. I thought of the day I learned that
I was pregnant with my daughter and saw my husband's joyful
countenance when he held her for the first time. And then I
thought how appropriate the term "family tree"
is. Whoever coined it must have had some Pagan leanings,
to be sure!
But most of all, as I looked at that picture, I felt like I'd
actually made a difference in this world. And I think that
anyone who takes the opportunity-and responsibility--in nurturing a
life, whether it's planting a garden, raising a kitten or having a
child, has been given the wonderful opportunity to share a little bit
of the divinity---and immortality---that is unique to the gods.
For sure, allowing us to share this with them is their greatest gift
to us. |
