Ostara Springtime Easter

Written by Nick Derbidge in association with the Orthodox Paradox Church

Ostara. The spring equinox has passed this year. Bringing longer days of sunlight. It is the season of rebirth. If you look around you will see new growth of plants outside. Colors start to  appear, The animals around us are waking up and starting to forage. The air is clear, and refreshing. It’s a great time to come out of our natural habitats hiding from the cold and embrace the rebirth of the earth. It is also a time to embrace the rebirth of ourselves.

The term spring cleaning comes to mind every year. Feeling the warmth of the sun brings us great power. It brings us confidence, joy and energy. It assures us of safety and comfort. We can finally come out of hiding! During the winter, dust gathers and things come to a bit of a halt. There are no more leaves growing on the trees, the grass is no longer growing tall and staying abundantly green. The nutrients in the soil have sunken to preserve themselves until the next season where they can thrive. With the power the warmth of the sun brings, we are able to gain the motivation of clarity and the ability for a fresh start to the warmer months. The ability to thrive. The nutrients in the soil begin to rise, and trees are budding. The colors of the world are coming back to life. Much as we come back to life. 

Everything on the earth that is happening is much like what is happening to ourselves. Ostara signifies rebirth. Spring cleaning comes into play as a fresh start for ourselves. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. At the beginning of the year, we make resolutions. Goals to achieve in a time frame to really test what we can do. The start to these doesn’t fully take place until the sun is able to come out. The nutrients in our personal earths are able to rise from the depths to bring out the colors within ourselves. It gives us more motivation, clear thinking, and level heads. It gives us the want and will to get things moving. 

With the hours of day equaling the hours of the night, the moon is also equally important here. With all the powers of the sun, the moon gives us creation, mental and emotional power, as well as it lights a path into the dark world. Both the sun and moon together give us balance and harmony. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

In christian doctrine Easter, which happens at the same time of year, represents the crucifixion and resurrection of christ. Chist was reborn from the earth. This man was crucified for his beliefs and his willingness to spread the truth amongst others that needed to be “saved”. They laid his body in a tomb made out of stone with a boulder placed at the opening. He was laid into the earth. Miraculously Christ was able to be reborn and his resurrection was so powerful it opened the tomb. It moved the boulders placed to trap him inside if he was able to wake up.

In any form, this time of year is about rebirth and waking up. It’s about new beginnings. Letting go of old thoughts and habits, letting the energy for new magic to arrive and fulfill your dreams, desires, and motivations. 

In this day and age, there are so many new things going on in this world compared to let's say 10 years ago. There have been strong opinions and beliefs that have come out in our local and national news. Anything from equality, life rights, skin rights. Children are being abused and children are hurting others. It’s happening everywhere. . People are getting hurt and killed. They are even being taken to Jail in an attempt to make our world listen and hopefully change a few things. All of these things are unfair and unethical. As soon as the people in our country spoke up, it turned into chaos. Violent riots became of this. They provoked fear and extreme anger.  People literally were injured, killed, and afraid to come out of their homes. These gatherings were so violent that they defaced the element of earth. They defaced the very thing we were created from and the one element here designed to keep us safe. 

We are at the point where opinion matters. Where we need to be heard to stop this kind of violence in the streets. To stop violence, to promote healthy living, equality, and a safe environment for everyone. It is important for every person to be able to feel safe and to feel comfort. It is important for us to wake up every single day and be able to go about our daily tasks, be ourselves, and thrive regardless of our beliefs and ethical “Courage”. With this time of year upon us. Why not take this time for a new way of thinking? Having a rebirth of ourselves to create healing, acceptance, and a change of heart for those we have hurt. With a new way of thinking we are able to destroy the illusions we create within ourselves and use that energy to create. We create a better version of ourselves and by doing this, we are also helping those around us. It is time to let go of old thinking. The world is changing faster than we can keep up with. Ideas change, life changes. We never truly know what is going to happen in our futures or anyone else’s. 

Take this time, the powerful energy in the air to meditate. Take the time to search your inner selves and find those shadows that control your life. Take the time to let go of judgments, grudges, and other negative illusions inside of your mind. Let them free. Just surrender to the world around you. With all the fear and anger we hide inside of ourselves, we create different illusions that seem to make things seem okay or normal. We make illusions to protect ourselves from getting hurt. In return we don’t only hurt ourselves, we hurt those around us. 

This world is such a beautiful place. There is so much diversity and art it’s unfathomable. We finally live in a time where we can freely express who we are. We can create and believe anything we want to. We can take in as much of this or as little of this as we want. But keep in mind, if we keep that judgment, those grudges, that fear, we will never be able to truly use the energy inside of us to focus on the positive. We will never be able to truly be the best version of ourselves that we can be. 

This is also a good time to explore new interests, make new friends, and help others who are in need. There are so many things out there that can benefit us in a positive way. The diversity has created new things that we never thought could be possible to achieve. With this being here, it’s important that all of these things are explored, pondered and used to benefit the world. The only way that happens is for us to open up to new ideas. 

Here are a few things we can do this Ostara and this Easter to benefit us and everyone around us. I challenge each and every one of you to try a few of these things. After you do, take time to process the feelings you get following.

First let’s talk about spring cleaning: Take the time to clean and freshen everything up. Clean all the way down to the baseboards. By ridding your space of dust, dirt, grime, and whatever else you may find, it will dramatically increase your health. It will help you sleep better, feel better, and you will be able to strengthen the energies in your space and inside of yourselves.  While cleaning, take the time to organize and make spaces look open and organized. This actually will create a feeling of peace. Having clutter makes the space look and feel like chaos. Throw away things that create your space to have clutter. Find a new way to think of a better use for something simpler without having a whole bunch of other things to create the same task.

Second,explore a new hobby or find a new interest. There are so many things out there right now that are quite amazing. Find that diversity inside of you to explore yourself and explore what this world and other people have to offer. 

Next, start journaling. Every day, take a short amount of time to write. Gather your thoughts and put them together. Write about your experiences, your struggles, your thoughts. This in turn will help you realize things within yourself or help come up with resolutions. It will help with shadow work and will keep your mind moving in a positive manner. It will help improve your memory and will help you stay organized and level headed.

Meditation and Shadow work. Find moments of clarity and peace. Meditation is a great way to make your mind and body slow down and reset. It can help you reach your subconscious and can also give you signs and answers from the universe. Within meditation, it will allow you to start personal shadow work. Dive deep into your subconscious to find mental and spirital blocks that create the illusions of fear and anger. You can work through these blocks and release tensions to give you a better look on many different ideas and thoughts. It can also help you to start helping others around you. Creating a different world, mindset, and a true space to use your energy for things that are positive and important

Finally, Self Care. Remember, you are only as good as you see yourself. The more positivity you can see about yourself, the more rewarding life will feel. You will be able to accomplish more, feel better, and have more clarity in your mind both mentally and physically. It will help keep your mental health in a good standing. It will help motivation, and keep you from old habits that are unhealthy or negative. 

In closing, every one of us has a great energy. What we do with that energy overall is up to us, however, that energy is so powerful it can change the world. It can help ourselves and others around us. How we use that energy and how we direct it can provide an outcome so great we can’t even imagine. It’s important to let go of old habits and ways of thinking. It’s important to let go of judgment and embrace diversity. We are the only ones that can make a change for the better for ourselves, our community, and the universe. If we can direct our energy in such a way we will gain answers for those hard questions we seek answers to. So much can come to light. Surrender to the universe, surrender those blocks, and use that space for the good and better.