March 31
March 31, 2006
On this date in ancient Rome, the annual Feast of Luna was celebrated at moonrise in honor of the beautiful and powerful goddess of the Moon and lunar magick.
On this date in the year 1848, the famous Fox Sisters supposedly made communication with the spirit world at Hydesville Cottage in upstate New York. Their famous seances gave birth to the popular spiritualist movement, which was all the rage in the United States and England from the mid-1880’s to the early twentieth century.
March 30
March 30, 2006
The annual Iranian New Year celebration begins on this date and continues for thirteen days. Bonfires are lit and sacred rituals involving eggs and mirrors are performed.
A Pagan religious festival was held each year on this day in ancient Mesopotamia to celebrate the sacred union of the God and Goddess, and to give thanks for the creation of the human race.
March 29
March 29, 2006
The annual Festival of Ishtar is celebrated by many Wiccans on this day in honor of the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of love, fertility, and battle.
As a Triple Goddess, Ishtar represents birth, death, and rebirth.
On this day, an annual masquerade ritual is held by the Bobo people of Africa to restore the balance of Nature and to ward off evil spirits. Special prayers and offerings are made to the gods of rain and the gods of the harvest.
March 28
March 29, 2006
The Eka Dasa Rudra (an eleven-week-long Balinese festival consisting of thirty ceremonies) is held on this date approximately once every one hundred years to restore the balance between the forces of good and evil. The festival, which is ancient in origin, reaches a climax when thousands of pilgrims gather at the volcano temple to observe animal sacrifices made to happease the god Rudra.
In Taiwan, the birthday of the goddess Kwan Yin is celebrated annually on this date.
March 27
March 27, 2006
In ancient Rome, the fertility and wine-god Liber Pater was honored annually on this date (and sometimes on the seventeenth of March). His festival, the Liberalia, was a time of feasting and drinking, and a day when young males entered into their manhood.
Gauri, the goddess of marriage and abundance, is honored on this date in India with an annual women’s festival and swinging ritual.
March 26
March 26, 2006
Solitude Day. This is a time for Wiccans and Neo-Pagans to spend the day (or at least part of it) by themselves, meditate in solitude, and reconnect with their “inner-selves.” Take a quiet walk in the woods or stroll down a deserted beach and listen to the music of the sea. Explore an old barn or write a Goddess-inspired poem.
March 25
March 25, 2006
The Hilaria (Festival of Joy) was celebrated annually on this date in ancient Rome. It was a joyous event which commemorated the triumph of day over night after the Vernal Equinox. The festivities were brought to a close with a “ceremony of washing” which was believed to promote fertility.
The Goddess Game
March 24, 2006
Alder Moon
March 24, 2006
March 18 – April 14
The Celtic month of Alder runs from mid-March to mid-April. Significantly,
this is a period that includes the Spring Equinox, the day on which the
return of spring is celebrated and nigh and day are equal length. Falling at
the start of spring, this period symbolizes the reawakening of the Earth
Mother’s fertility.
The Alder month heralds a time of accelerated growth, and the spells you
cast during this period can aid any business or creative ventures you
undertake, bringing your ambitions closer to fruition. Your emphasis during
the month of the Alder Moon should be on harnessing your hidden potential.
Focusing on the Moon’s influence during this month will also help you to
bring a sense of balance to your work. The power of the Alder Moon will be
able to unite your intuitive side with a pragmatic approach to planning.
March 24
March 24, 2006
Day of Blood. In ancient Rome this was a time of deep mourning. It was an annual religious custom on this day for people to lacerate themselves with knives and for new priests to castrate themselves and spill their blood on the altar in the temple of the Mother-Goddess Cybele.
