New Years!

I know, I finally just posted my holiday blog and now I’m onto my New Years one. Sorry, but I only write when I feel inspired, and today I felt inspired. So, I guess sometimes I just send out a stream of blogs.

It’s New Years. Can you believe it? I don’t have a new calendar, so apparently the world might be ending. (Just kidding…)

I can hardly believe a whole year has gone by! Well, I sort of can, but not really.

New Years is exciting. Thinking about a whole new year ahead of you. It’s like a creative paradise. New projects, new beginnings, new ideas and new resolutions. Like a giant sheet of paper you can place anything you want on.

My new years will probably be spent getting excited about my eldest sister and her boyfriends’ visit.  (I’m very close with my family.)

But the actual new years will probably be spent with a bottle of Champagne, (Well, for the adults,) and a package of Donuts. (I don’t usually eat donuts, so this is really exciting.)

It’s actually a lot more delicious than you probably think it sounds. Krispy Kreme…

Anyway, back on subject. New Years is a time to let go of the past and move forward. Letting go is actually a lot harder than people realize. People cling to guilt, sorrow, bitterness and all the other junk Human’s seem to collect.

We all do! But we need to forgive ourselves, apologize to those we may have wronged and move on. We need to love ourselves, just like I was saying at Solstice we need to love others. We should be proud of who we are and what we represent.

What have I learned in 2014?…

I discovered Manga drawing and am so grateful I did.

I started a new blog. (The one you’re reading right now!)

I got my first cat, my little savior and familiar Sabrina. She’s the sweetest and I love her very much. (Thank you darling, you make my life easier.)

And though some people may not feel they’ve grown, we all grow, even if we don’t realize it. I know I have.

And that’s something to be proud of! (I ended the sentence with a preposition.)

Oh, yes. Because I put a song on my Solstice blog, I decided to put one on this one too. (No, I won’t do this on every blog.)

To start, a beautiful song by Florence and the Machine about letting go, titled Shake it out.

Happy New Years Eve, Readers! Have fun!

And here’s to 2015!

~August Ostara

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Solstice

Yes, you read right, Solstice. Not Christmas, not all the others. (Solstice falls on the 21 or 22 depending on the year.)

Solstice wasn’t just the beginning of winter, a small printed date on your calendar and you know it will get colder. It’s the beginning of winter and an important holiday to Pagans. Druids, Celts and Many of the days and places before Christianity wiped them all out for a long time celebrated the Goddess who would be pregnant with the sun god at this time. The Goddess was worshiped because she gave birth, it wasn’t some burden she had to carry.

And Solstice is all about Light. Even in the darkness of a cold winter, some light can always be seen, far away in the future.

Every religion has at least one thing in common with another. And no matter what religion you celebrate, around this time the messages are quite similar. Hope. Believing. Caring. Being kind to others and thinking about your actions. People should care about each other.

And that’s what Solstice is all about. Even in darkness there is light. Even if you trusted and someone betrayed you, don’t give up. Try again. Everyone has had something hurtful happen in their pasts.

And that’s why we should come together on this holiday. Not even necessarily  in the physical, because it’s silly to think that if you’re all alone on Christmas you should get depressed. You are never alone in your heart. Somewhere out there someone remembers a smile you gave them in passing, or maybe a stranger is dreaming of someone just like you.

Too many people think that Christmas is an excuse to judge and to bury themselves in buying things. ‘My neighbor isn’t Lutheran. There is no way I’m gonna pray for him.’ Or how about this one. ‘My relative is Pagan. How could I ever be in the same house with her?’

When your walking down the street, don’t be disgusted by those that are different from you, be inspired, be excited! This world has enough hate in it without people contributing more of their junk. Be a little more open. The deepest of friendships will embrace another religion. Gender, skin color, religion and sexual preference shouldn’t change the way you feel about someone. Because a soul connection is what really counts.

Be kind to those around you, because Goddess, God, Allah, Spirit or whatever you call the person you pray or don’t pray to is watching. Somebody, even if you don’t believe in God or Goddess is proud of you.

So keep striving. Keep being kind to people. And give some change to that homeless person on the corner, no matter who they are.

To sum up what I’m trying to say, here is one of my favorite holiday tunes. I strongly believe in the message. It’s by Dar Williams and is entitled The Christians and the Pagans. (And please, please, please don’t go running off afraid of the Pentacle. I am going to tell you the truth right now. The pentacle is not a sign of the devil, most pagans do not even believe in the devil. It is a sign of Unity, peace, love and connection. If anyone told you otherwise they have not been educated.)

Maybe if more people could follow the example of this beautiful song there wouldn’t be so much fighting in the world.

Love people no matter who they are, and remember if you’re the one hurting, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You are not alone.

Happy Holidays, no matter what kind you celebrate.

~August Ostara

Ostara

Now, some of you may know what my name means, and others may not. I’m going to explain it because Ostara is on my list anyway of people to talk about.

Ostara was a person or goddess, depending on how you look at it. And she brought spring. Every year, at the Spring Equinox  people would gather to celebrate the sun and warmth coming back to the earth. Its also known as Ostara or Lady Day.

Ostara influenced more than people might guess. She’s sometimes called Eostre, and as a matter of fact, the Christian holiday Easter was actually named after this lovely lady along with the word East, as in the four directions.

Egg coloring came from Ostara also. Because she was the bringer of life, many pagans used eggs as a symbol of her goodness.

She’s the goddess of fertility, child birth, new beginnings and life. The reason east was named after her was because of how she represented the sun rising. Ostara shows us the true balance in the world, showing the turning of day into night, spring into summer, and life from death.

 

Many Wiccans still celebrate her to this day. And must say, I am very proud of my namesake.

~August Ostara

 

 

 

 

Wow.

That’s something I have to say. I just started this blog, and all of you wonderful readers have already liked and followed me.

Thank you so much for the encouragement!

~August

Oh my goodness, it’s the first blog!

Hello Everyone! Bonjour! And any other way of greeting. I’m August Ostara and welcome to my blog!

You may be wondering, what is this blog even about? The main plot is life, maybe a little cooking, acting and writing thrown in here and there.  I am a writer, so there will be blogs about such things. But I also want to make it a goal to write about different women and yes, men, from history that not many people ever get a chance to hear about.

I wish to write about such things at least once a month or more.

The excitement!

Happy Reading!

~August