Bird Festival
Spring Equinox - Ostara - Alban Eiler
March 21
Alban Eiler is a time when the length of night and the length of day
are the same. Spring officially begins on this day. Birds nest and lay their eggs and symbolize for us the egg
which has been within the goddess growing since Midwinter. The eggs of birds are colored and eaten in celebration of
the emergence of the Son from the womb of the goddess on this day. With the birth of the Son, our mother goddess is
transformed back into the virgin goddess Boand or Sophia. She celebrates the birth of the Son with the father god, the
Dagda or The All That Is. The fairies and Nature Spirits join in the celebration so food and milk offerings are left
outside for them. This is a time of Balance, Sexual Awakening and Fertility -- the planting of Spring flowers is an
excellent sign of understanding.
Deities: Boand - the Dagda - Lugh
Colors: All Pastels
Customs: Painting/Collecting
Birds Eggs, Bird Watching, Egg Hunts
Symbols: Rabbit/Easter Bunny, Chicks, Swallows, Colored Eggs
Sacred Foods:
Light Foods, Fish, Maple Sugar Candies, Eggs, Sweet Cakes and Breads
Herbs: Acorn, Cinquefoil, Dandelion, Dogwood, Lavender, Broom, Honeysuckle, Iris, Jasmine,
Rose, Tansy
