SACRED HAVEN COVEN

When I started my research to find a paired Goddess and God for the Ostara Sabbat, I really thought that this would be as simple as finding out who the Goddess Ostara’s consort was.  It would appear that a rabbit would be the silly, yet logical answer.  As the Easter Bunny is yet to be elevated to God status, I kept searching.

Ostara is the Saxon Goddess of Dawn and Spring, the young maiden who shares a name with the spring Sabbat.

Trying to come up with a paired God and Goddess, who embody the innocence of Spring is not as easy as I had first thought.   Although there are various choices, they are not all appropriate.  Let me show you.

There is Persephone, the Greek Goddess of Spring,  who comes back from the Underworld at Ostara to join her Mother, Demeter, on Earth.  Her consort is Hades, the King of the Underworld.  His association didn’t seem right for this light and airy Sabbat.

Then, we have the God of Spring, Bacchus or Dionysus. His consort is Hera, jealous because of his adulterous liaison with his sister.  Hmmm, not quite the right choice, but he is a god of Spring, nevertheless.

On to Chloris and Zephyrus.   Chloris was wife the of Zephyrus, and also the Greek Goddess of flowers and Spring. Zepherus was the Greek God of the west wind, and is the protector of flowers and plants.  They are definitely in the running.

Freya is the Nordic Goddess of Spring and flowers, and the patron goddess of Spring crops. She is the symbol of sensuality and patroness of all matters of love, fertility, and birth. Her consort is Odin, the God of the Dead and of War, and therefore not the right choice for our Ostara God.

Vesna is a Slavonic Goddess of the Spring and Youth.  In Eastern Europe ceremonies to honour her were still going on in the 19th century.  Her name is a poetic word for Spring in the Slovene language.

With Vesna and Ostara, there don’t seem to be any specific God associations.  Quite likely this is because they are Maiden Goddesses who are just entering fertility.  As Ostara is the first day of Spring, and spring is a time of fertility and freshness, I am going to choose one of the Maiden Goddesses, rather than the pairing of Chloris and Zephyrus.  The Sabbat is celebrated here as Ostara, and not Vesna, so I am going to choose Ostara as my Goddess for this Sabbat.  Right back to where I started.....

Since Ostara is only a young maiden, who will blossom and grow to explore her fertility as the Wheel of the Year reaches Beltane, I am going to give her the rabbit as her consort.  Young girls seem to love bunnies and somehow the innocence of this Sabbat lends itself to the Goddess having an innocent, non-sexual consort.

Rose

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