Upcoming Events & Holidays

March 8 Daylight Savings begins 2 am

March 9 Full Moon at  10:47 am PST/ 11:47 am MST/  1:47 pm EST

March 17 St. Patrick’s Day

March 18 Celtic Month of Alder begins

March 19 Spring Equinox / Ostara

March 24 New Moon at 2:28 am PST /3:28 am MST/ 5:28 am EST

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“March is a month of considerable frustration – it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country the weather is still so violent and changeable that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away.”
– Thalassa Cruso

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March is in present time held to be the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of the seven months which are 31 days long.

March in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of September in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological spring is 1 March. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the meteorological autumn is 1 March.

March starts on the same day of the week as November every year and February in common years only. March ends on the same day of the week as June every year. In leap years, March starts on the same day as September and December of the previous year. In common years, March starts on the same day as June of the previous year.

The name of March comes from ancient Rome, when March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars or Ares, the Greek god of war. In Rome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March was the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the start of the military campaign season. January became the first month of the calendar year either under King Numa Pompilius (c. 713 BC) or under the Decemvirs about 450 BC (Roman writers differ). The numbered year began on March 1 in Russia until the end of the 15th century. Great Britain and its colonies continued to use March 25 until 1752, which was when they ultimately adopted the Gregorian calendar. Many other cultures and religions still celebrate the beginning of the New Year in March.

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The name Ostara goes back to Jacob Grimm, who, in his Deutsche Mythologie, speculated about an ancient German goddess Ostara, after whom the Easter festival (German: Ostern) could have been named. Grimm’s main source is De temporum ratione by the Venerable Bede. Bede had put forward the thesis that the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April, Eostur-monath, was named after a goddess Eostre. Ostara is one of the four lesser Wiccan holidays or sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Ostara is celebrated on the spring equinox, in the Northern hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern hemisphere around September 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox.

Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane. In the book Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the festival Ostara is characterized by the rejoining of the Mothe Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young God regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the Goddess returning to her Maiden aspect. Ostara is the virgin Goddess of spring. This holiday concerns the deity’s trip to the underworld, and their struggle to return from the Land of the Dead to Earth. When they accomplish this return, they have a life renewed. It was considered bad luck to wear anything new before Ostara, so the people would work through the winter in secret to make elegant clothes for the Sabbat celebration.

The entire community would gather for games, feasting, and religious rituals while showing off their clothing. The modern belief that eggs are delivered by a rabbit known as the Easter Bunny comes from the legend of the Goddess Eostre. So much did a lowly rabbit want to please the Goddess that he laid the sacred eggs in her honor, gaily decorated them, and humbly presented them to her. So pleased was she that she wished all humankind to share in her joy. In honor of her wishes, the rabbit went through the entire world and distributed these little decorated gifts of life”
– Ostara in Wikipedia

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“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
– William Wordsworth, Daffodils

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March Birthstone : Aquamarine
Birthstone Color: Pale Blue
If you can picture the cerulean blue waters of the Mediterranean, you will understand why the birthstone for March is named Aquamarine. Derived from the Roman word “Aqua,” meaning water, and “mare,” meaning sea, this pale blue gem does indeed resemble the color of seawater.

http://www.about-birthstones.com/marchbirthstone.html

Daffodils

The birth flower for March is daffodil. In the language of flowers, daffodils symbolize chivalry, respect, modesty and faithfulness.

Daffodils form a group of large-flowered members of the genus Narcissus. Most daffodils look yellow, but yellow-and-white, yellow-and-orange, white-and-orange, pink, and lime-green cultivars also exist.

birthflower.com

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“Equal dark, equal light
Flow in Circle, deep insight
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!
So it flows, out it goes
Three-fold back it shall be
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!”
– Night An’Fey, Transformation of Energy

gardendigest.com/monmar.htm

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Astrology Sign Pisces
February 19-March 20
Pisces is an Astrological sign, which originated from the constellation Pisces, and is the twelfth sign of the zodiac. The astrological sign of Pisces is represented by a pair of fish that are swimming in opposite directions, but remain held together at the tail by a cord. Pisces is considered a “negative” or feminine sign, its element is water, and its Quality is Mutable. Pisces is the ruler of the astrological twelfth house

Astrology Sign Aries
March 21- April 19

Aries, the ram, is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Aries. In western astrology, this sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes.

wikipedia

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“The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.
When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.”
– Author Unknown

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March Correspondences

Nature Spirits: Air & Water Spirits; Mer-people
Herbs: Broom; High John Root; Irish Moss; Wood Vetony &Yellow Dock
Colours: Pale Green and Red-Violet
Flowers: Daffodil; Jonquil & Violet
Scents: Apple Blossom & Honeysuckle
Stones: Aquamarine & Bloodstone
Trees: Alder & Dogwood
Animals: Boar; Cougar & Hedgehog
Birds: Sea Crow & Sea Eagle
Deities: Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Isis, Hecate, Luna, Minerva and Morrigan (The)
Power Flow: Balance of Light and Dark; Breaking Illusions; Exploring; Growing; New Beginnings and Prospering

http://mystiksangelrealm.com/months.html

Bright blessings for an abundant month! Cat

I invite you to check out my websites!

The Desert Path: The dusty ramblings of a desert pagan. https://thedesertpath.com/

Cat’s Treasure Trove …. an eclectic collection of jewelry & gifts! https://thedesertpath.com
Sacred Spirals (the place where all paths meet)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SacredSpirals/

freeimages.com Spring Medley by Tamlyn Rhodes