G is for Goddess Festival

I recently had the pleasure off attending the Goddess Festival in nearby Fayetteville, Arkansas. This was the fifth annual celebration, but the first year I'd heard about it in time to go. The mission of the Goddess festival is "to restore balance in the world, by encouraging exploration of the feminine divine through art, music, words, dance and shared knowledge." It was a 10-day long assortment of events linked together by a focus on the divine feminine. There were rituals, music, workshops, and discussions. I did not attend every day, but I did get to participate in a few of the events. They started the whole thing with an opening ritual, followed by a wine and cheese reception. The ritual included drumming, chanting, and interaction with for different altars set up throughout the venue. It was a very welcoming atmosphere where all were included. A few days later, I joined others for group Yoga. On the Equinox, the Festival held an Equinox ritual, which was created collectively a few days prior. The next event I attended was "Divine Sculpture: Creations in Salt Dough" where we learned how to make and use salt dough, and received some inspiration as to its spiritual applications. The last day of the Festival included a service at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville, and the closing ceremony included the live music of a local band, Selkie. "Selkie is an original ensemble whose music speaks to the mythical, magical past and future that we all share. Featuring such instruments as didgeridoo, Irish whistles, African and Latin percussion, guitars and bass, lush female vocals and rich harmonies, Selkie is hard to categorize. But to be sure, this unique blend of rich influences speaks to some-thing primal and deep in all of us and is sure to enchant and get your soul and body moving." I enjoyed all of the events I attended, and there were many I missed that sounded good as well including 
"Bringing the Feminine into Spirit: An Interfaith Dialogue," a "Vendor Village," wand-making, archery, "Singing in Sacred Circle," an open-mic night, bellydancing, and many others. I hope that this event continues to be held every year, and I recommend attendance to anyone interested in Goddess worship and/or the divine feminine. 

The Goddess Festival website: http://www.goddessfestival.com/

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville: http://fayettevilleunitarian.org/

Selkie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Selkie/155035357913057

Ostara (a poem)

Ostara, Equinox, First Day of Spring!
Earth now awakens and new life she'll bring
The sun is returning and weather is warming
The flowers are blooming and big storms are brewing
Fresh plants now abounding, the soil is thawed
Animals back: scaled, furry, and clawed
It's now time to plant, some seeds we will sow
Then in Fall harvest, the profits we'll know
So as the season renews everything
Together rejoice in the coming of Spring!

E is for Easter and Ostara

Easter and Ostara are so different, yet have so much in common. One is Christian, the other Pagan. One focuses on the Passion of Jesus Christ, the other on the Equinox and the return of Spring. One focuses on resurrection, the other... does too.

   

I come from a Catholic family, and nearly all of my extended relatives are Christian, so we get together on Easter Sunday every year. I am Pagan, celebrate Ostara, (at least once a year) and want to teach my children (ages 4 and 1) about my faith. There are plenty of ways to teach them about Ostara which I'm planning to do, but there's the matter of the bunny. In previous years, we didn't do the Easter/Ostara/Spring Bunny and the kids weren't old enough to miss it, but I'd like to do it this year. The trouble is deciding when said bunny should arrive. Ostara is more religiously significant to me, but most of my family would say that about Easter. My husband isn't religious and really doesn't seem to care. It would be so much simpler if Ostara and Easter just fell on the same day, but I can't even count on them being near each other. Ostara is on the Equinox, but Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. That means they could be as little as 2 days apart, or as much as 35 days apart. I think I like the idea of celebrating Easter like a secular holiday, and the bunny can come then. Ostara will be about Earth, and Easter can be about candy. Maybe we can color eggs on Ostara, and use them to decorate on Easter. If it weren't for all the Easter commotion, it might be easier to have the bunny come on Ostara, but oh well.