The Beginning of Spring

"Feeding the Rabbits" by Frederick Morgan

Blessed Ostara, or Eostre if you prefer!

Ostara is a holiday based on ancient Germanic traditions and takes place on the Vernal Equinox. This time of year is synonymous with rebirth and rejuvenation in many spiritual traditions. Night and day are balanced, and the Earth is starting to awake from her winter slumber. In Wicca, the Horned God and Great Goddess are a young couple, and this is the time in which the next years Horned God is conceived.

The patron deity for this holiday is obviously Ostara/Eostre. Eostre was the Teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn who frequently took the form of a white hare (see the connection?). Her name is where the words "east" and "Easter" come from. Unfortunately, we don't know a lot about her in terms of how she was honored in ancient times. She is a "lost" deity, we know she existed but we don't know her mythology. All of the stories about her were made recently.

This time of year is a bit of a soft spot for me. I was born on Easter Sunday so a lot of my birthday parties growing up were Easter themed. I just loved the symbolism of the rabbits and the colorful eggs, and it's lucky that that's carried on into my adopted religion. It's cute to be born on a holiday as a child. As I've grown older I've come to like it less and less (you can't exactly do much on your birthday if all your friends are with their families and everything is closed).

In any case, many Ostara traditions are going to look familiar to outsiders:

• Traditional foods for an Ostara feast are eggs, ham, asparagus, leafy green vegetables, honey, mead, candy, dairy, hare/rabbit, chocolate, and breads. However, a lot of modern Pagans prefer to fast on this day instead, as a way to clear out toxins that were stored in the body during winter.
• Painting and searching for colored eggs is a beloved tradition. The practice of dying eggs reaches back to the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks. In Europe, eggs were often used in folk magic made to bless women with children, since eggs are such an obvious symbol of fertility. Many modern Pagans try to make their own dye from natural materials. While some believe that the tradition of the Easter Egg hunt might have roots in some nasty history (in particular the trading of money for the eggs), we tend to let it slide.
• A slight variation to the above tradition is hollowing the eggs out to insert a fortune or confetti (or both!) inside of it. The downside of this is that the lovely painted eggs will have to be broken in order to read the fortunes.
• Eggs can be used for a whole assortment of crafts. There's eggshell candles, eggshell garden cups, egg wreaths, and egg hats.
• Since springtime has officially begun, this is a good time to plant seeds or start a magical garden. It's also a nice time to fill your home with baskets of local flowers.
• I think most children would rebel if there weren't any chocolate bunnies. Why not try making your own? Modern Pagans must remember to leave one on the alter for the Goddess.

Enough of that, on with the names:

Mythical beings associated with the season:

Ostara (Germanic)

Eostre (Teutonic)

Eos (Greek)

Freya (Norse)

Osiris (Egyptian)

Artemis (Greek)

Diana (Roman)

Cybele (Anatolian/Roman)

Aurora (Roman)

Mithras (Zoroastrian)

Coyote (Native American)

Raven (Native American)

Ishtar (Babylonian)

Venus (Roman)

Aphrodite (Greek)

Faunus (Roman)

Pan (Greek)

Kore (Greek)

Isis (Egyptian)

Astarte (Mesopotamian)

Other associations:

Spring

Primavera

March

Jonquil

Xanthe ("yellow")

Xanthus

Coral

Coraline

Coralie

Violet

Iris

Hyacinth

Flavia ("yellow, golden")

Flavian

Ochre

Lourdes ("pale yellow")

Lemon

Crocus

Rabbit

Ester

Harlan ("hare land")

Leveret ("young hare")

Bunny

Catkin

Taliesin

Easton

Dawn

Primrose

Donna ("lady")

Matrona ("lady")

Junius ("youth")

Mabyn ("youth")

Ash

Birch

Shashi ("having a hare")

Sahar ("dawn")

Zora ("dawn")

Alder

Flora

Anemone

Lily

Robin

Narcissus

Narcissa

Forsythia

Pascal

Lark

Serpentine

Bluebell

Woodruff

Olive

Peony

Chloe ("green shoot")

Haru ("spring")

Midori ("green")

Fawn

Undine

Jasper

Moonstone

Fun combo time:

Jasper Harlan

Zora Lark

Pascal Woodruff

Artemis March

Junius Leveret

Midori Fawn

Flora Lourdes

"So much universe, and so little time."

Two days ago Sir Terry Pratchett died, and there has been an outpouring of love and grief from both nerds and Pagans. For those who aren't familiar with his work, Terry Pratchett was a fantasy author best known for his Discworld novels. His work was heavily inspired by mythology and magic and his fans feel in love with his hilarious wit and great insight. Pratchett himself was an Atheist, so it's a little ironic that so many Pagans point to his work as an major influence in their spirituality. Pratchett had been suffering from Alzheimer's for some time now, so this was expected. But it's still sad.

I'm going to be honest. The only Terry Pratchett book I've read is The Hogfather, which is amazing. I am told that The Wyrd Sisters is required reading for all Pagans, so I'll be sure to get to that. But for now, I've collected some of the names of the characters that sprang from his marvelous imagination:

Rufus
 
Sybil
 
Havelock
 
Gaspode
 
Ponder
 
Agnes

Esmeralda
 
Tomjon
 
Eskarina
 
Lily
 
Verence
 
Io

Mort
 
Ysabell
 
Lucy
 
Tiffany
 
Roland
 
Letice
 
Otto

Adora
 
Bluejohn
 
Rosemary
 
Errol
 
Setha
 
Inigo
 
Verity
 
Roberta

Gunder
 
Findthee
 
Mica
 
Reynold
 
Lupine
 
Stoker
 
Drum
 
Cohen
 
Bethan
 
Juliet
 
Glenda
 
Marmaric
 
Desiderata
 
Olwyn
 
Lias
 
Myria
 
Tolliver
 
Gladys
 
Xeno
 
Sally
 
Igor
 
Rhys
 
Wolfgang
 
Serafine
 
Achmed
 
Lorenzo
 
Carelinus
 
Quimby
 
Methodia
 
Silver
 
Leiv
 
Nisodemus
 
Crowley
 
Sacco
 
Milo
 
Solomon

Blast from the Past: Kiyomi

People ask me when I started obsessively collecting names and I honestly don't remember. Definitely from a very young age. I'll be 30 years old in a month, the blanks in my memory tends to multiply. I draw an even bigger blank when asked to recall exact names that I loved. As much as I would love to post my long, eclectic childhood name lists so we could laugh together, those sort of things don't survive multiple cross-country moves and spring cleanings. I remember loving Isabel and Sophia as a child (apparently, I'm a product of my generation), but those aren't particularly interesting to talk about.

But today I was at my parent's house going through old books, seeing what I can sell or get rid of, and I found this:

The first thing I thought was, "How do I still have this?" Secondly I thought, "Oh yeah! I was obsessed with this little deer character! Kiyomi was on my favorite name lists and I was constantly drawing her!" Almost all of my favorite names come from books, so this isn't really surprising.

Kiyomi is a Japanese name. Kiyo means either "holy" or "pure," depending on the kanji used and mi means "beautiful." It's also the name of a genetically made hybrid fruit. I can't say that Kiyomi would be on my list of names today, but it is definitely beautiful and elegant.

Surprising the memories you can unearth sometimes!

Pisces the Dreamer

"Carps" by Ohara Koson

 

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

--Albert Einstein, physicist, philosopher and Pisces

Many modern Pagans prefer to pick names based on astrological signs. Yes, I know I just finished doing a series of posts very similar to this on the old blog, but this time I'm not limiting myself to thirteen names. Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names by K. M. Sheard is an excellent resource for finding names to go with specific astrological signs, so if you want even more options than the ones I list here go find that book.

The sun sign of Pisces occurs roughly between February 18 and March 20, depending on the year. Because this is the "last" zodiac sign, Pisces is believed to have the characteristics of an elder sibling. They are able to empathize with the experiences and world views of all of the different zodiac signs. Pisces is ruled by the element of water, so people with this sign are emotional, spiritual, adaptable, and compassionate. Pisceans have great imagination and intuition which helps them succeed in artistic endeavors and other forms of self expression. The symbol for Pisces is two fish swimming in opposite directions, which hints that Pisceans can be wishy-washy or directionless. They may shut down during confrontation and can be overly sensitive. They also tend to be in love with their own suffering. However, when their period of angst is over, Pisceans have the tremendous ability to bounce back stronger than before.

Fish names:

Fisher
Fishel
Pike
Salmon
Angler
Trout
Koi
Carp
Mako
Mina
Minali ("fish catcher")

Water names:

River
Ocean
Oceanus
Oceana
Mortimer
Anemone
Undine
Rumi
India
Indio
Caspian
Vellamo
Havelock
Calypso
Haven
Rain
Cascade
Fleet
Tallulah
Delphine
Lotus
Coral
Coraline
Coralie
Akoya
Galatea

Time names:

Winter
Spring
Primavera
February
Februa
March
Ultima
Ultimo

Blue, green, and purple names:

Blue
Azure
Indigo
Sapphire
Sappho
Midori
Peridot
Jade
Olive
Forrest
Evergreen
Viridian
Emerald
Lavender
Lilac
Plum
Violet
Viola

Attribute names:

Dreamer
Reverie ("daydream")
Admetus ("untamed")
Cara ("dear, beloved")
Caro
Meander ("to wander aimlessly")
Peregrine ("pilgrim, traveler")
Rover
Beatrix ("traveler")
Amy ("beloved")
Peace
Pax
Paz
Joy
Noa ("love, affection")
Ophelia ("to help")
Ophelie
Esperanza ("hope")
Esperance
Boniface ("good fate")
Caradoc ("love")
Sage ("wise")
Wilder
Wilde
Asher ("happy, blessing")
Erato ("lovely")
Felix ("lucky")
Felicity
Carwyn ("white love")
Aisling ("dream, vision")
Remedy
Remedios
Pandora ("all gifts")

Other ideas:

Wolf
Wolfgang
Paloma
Jasmine
Nimbus
Cloud
Nephele
Daisy
Griffin
Poppy
Ariadne
Rosalind
Jove
Jupiter
Zeno
Hazel
Beryl
Lorelei
Margot
Rohan
Eponine
Tobias
Anais
Jewel
Cypress
Cyprian
Thyme
Hyacinth
Albion
Echo
Ganesh
Lazarus
Edgar
Edmund
Mia
Padma
Raphael
Raphaella

Romatic Bohemian Names from Claire Pettibone

Photo belongs to the Claire Pettibone design team

I've been thinking a lot about weddings and marriage recently, probably because a lot of my peers are getting married. If you've spent any time looking up Pagan weddings (or looking under the search term "wiccan wedding dress") you'll quickly find out that there are two dominant aesthetics: renaissance fair and goth princess. Neither one of these styles is really my thing. Which is why I'm so in love with Claire Pettibone's work. They totally mesh with the bohemian, art nouveau style I adore. Some even have color! The one above, called "Raven," is the one that I've been most obsessed with.

You know what else I love about Pettibone's gowns? Their names. Looking through pinterest and her official blog, there's names ranging from the traditional to the adventurous. It's a jackpot of awesome! You could definitely make the case that most of these names could fit into the "ethereal bohemian" category I love so much. Pettibone is apparently as good at naming kids as she is in naming gowns: her daughter is Lorelei.

So I went through every collection, every discontinued gown, and even the lingerie, to find all of the wonderful monikers used for Pettibone's creations. And I'm sure I'm still missing some. Before I created this list I didn't realize how long Pettibone had been designing. Even leaving out names like "Notre Dame" and "Sky Between the Branches" still leaves a ton of inspiration here. Check it out:

Raven

Viola

Moonshadow

Peace

Clementine

Eden

Brigitte

Venus

Kristine

Amaryllis

Eloquence

Sonnet

Versailles

Chantilly

Larissa

Elizabeth

Faith

Uriel

Trinity

Mystere

Lily

Papillion

Olivia

Luna

Beauty

Athena

Genevieve

Michaela

Angelique

Dragonfly

Evangeline

Casablanca

Phaedra

Flora

Gabrielle

Adeline

Elwin

Yolanda

Alchemy

Helena

Midnight

Aria

Madeline

Norah

Belladonna

Hazel

Louisa

Stardust

Aphrodite

Cloisonné

Iris

Emmanuel

Ambrosia

Deauville

Lumiere

Clio

Florentine

Adagio

Gothique

Mariposa

Ariel

Celestine

Basilica

Grace

Constance

Moonflower

Jophiel

Estelle

Seville

Alma

Raphaella

Florence

Eternity

Chapelle

Angelica

Thalia

Gossamer

Rachel

Patchouli

Julia

Nocturne

Beatrix

Minuet

Abbey

Robyn

Cassandra

Gardenia

Poppy

Sonata

Antoinette

Lydia

Toulouse

Clara

Marlene

Sophie

Forever

Lalique

Geisha

Juliet

Bianca

Wren

Canterbury

Primrose

Gladys

Abigail

Laurel

Charlotte

Thyme

Provence

Twilight

Amelie

Crescent

Frances

Willow

Rosemary

Devotion

Mademoiselle

Ceylon

Topanga

Amour

Promise

Haviland

Lilith

Seraphina

Jasmine

Camelot

Kasbah

Alexandra

Faye

Rhapsody

Poetry

Oleander

Laurence

Dewdrop

Renee

Clover

Iridessa

Nightingale

Sparrow

Akoya

Lucien

Fontenelle

Theodora

Princess

Chantal

Demetra

Haiku

Rosa

Diana

Plume

Sakura

Victoriana

Ginseng

Martinique

Adelaide

Breeze

Dawn

Lucia

Magnolia

Sycamore

Colette

Leighton

Bellaire

Aberdeen

Delaney

Rosegold

This post is already long, but I know that none of you would be proud of me if I wasn't making name combo after combo from this selection:

Olivia Moonshadow

Iridessa Crescent

Lilith Basilica

Adagio Florence

Viola Raven

Charlotte Wren

Luna Jophiel

Phaedra Willow

Akoya Nightingale

Poetry Faye

Abigail Haviland

Juliet Oleander

Rhapsody Plume

Elwin Florentine

Clio Genevieve

Laurel Gothique

Sophie Casablanca

Beginnings and Hope

Tile design is copyright Midnight Moon, you can buy it here.

Blessed Imbolc, everybody!

Imbolc (also known as Oimelc or Ouimelko) is based on an Irish Celtic holiday. Some see this day as the beginning of spring. Others see it as the height of winter. Some see it as a festival of lights, others as a festival of water. Imbolc either means "ewe's milk" or "of the belly," and either way it's clear that this holiday has something to do with the beginning of life. In Ireland, this would be the time in which sheep gave birth to lambs. In Wicca, the Horned God that was born on Yuletide is now a child who's nursing.

Considering that another name for this holiday is Brigid's Day (Saint Brigid's Day to you Catholics out there), it should be no surprise that the main deity for this holiday is definitely Brigid. Brigid (also called Bridget or Bride) is the Irish goddess of poetry, arts, crafts, medicine, livestock, serpents, sacred wells, and sacred flames. She has two sisters who are also named Brigid, which makes her a triple goddess. In some myths, Brigid seizes control of the seasons from Callieach, the goddess of winter, which is how she is associated with the early stirrings of spring. As for the gods, they're not really mentioned on this holiday. Males can't make milk, after all. Still, it wouldn't hurt to pay tribute to Brigid's father, the Daghdha.

Imbolc is probably the most subdued of the Wiccan holidays. It tends to be celebrated in a very small and private way. Because this day is so personal to many modern Pagans there's a lot of variance in the traditions:

• Imbolc isn't as big of a feasting holiday as other Wiccan festivals, but certain foods are considered more appropriate for a traditional celebratory meal. Milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, potatoes, blackberries, seeds, bread, muffins, biscuits, and leafy greens are all suitable. Irish recipes are particularly popular.
• A popular arts and crafts project that modern Pagans enjoy is making Brigid's cross. It's a small cross woven with reeds or grasses. The image I used for this post depicts it. Straw dolls of Brigid are also common.
• Rituals preformed on this day traditionally have a lot to do with letting go of the old and embarking on the new. This is a particularly good time to start creative projects.
• A lot of modern Pagans spend the days leading up to this holiday cleaning up and purifying their houses or culling some of their possessions. That might not sound very fun, but modern Pagans believe that holding on to clutter and unnecessary stuff stagnates energy. Imbolc is all about letting go of the old and preparing for the new, literally as well as spiritually.
• Because of the strong Irish element, some Pagans celebrate Imbolc as a substitution for Saint Patrick's Day.
• Hey Christians! For once, we stole something from you! Candlemas is often thought of as a Christianization of Imbolc. But Candlemas was first celebrated in 4th century Greece while Imbolc was celebrated exclusively in Ireland, so that's not possible (I'm not saying that Candlemas isn't based in some Pagan traditions, I'm just saying that it's not based on Imbolc). Anyway, the particular tradition we took from Candlemas was the making and blessing of candles. Decorating with lots of lit candles is common for Imbolc. It fits in nicely with Brigid being a fire goddess and also with the growing energy of the sun.
• Brigid is also the goddess of sacred wells, so if possible it's good to visit a well, river, or stream. If the water's clean, that can be a good place to practice purifying rituals.
• Of course I can't mention this holiday without also talking about Groundhog Day. It's possible that the tradition has Pagan origins, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it's more of a general agricultural thing than a spiritual thing. "Are the animals out of hibernation yet? Yes? Great! We can start planting now."

Enough of that, on with the names:

Mythical beings associated with the season:

Brigid (Irish Celtic)

Daghdha (Irish Celtic)

Hestia (Greek)

Vestia (Roman)

Bastet (Egyptian)

Inanna (Sumerian)

Artemis (Greek)

Diana (Roman)

Athena (Greek)

Minerva (Roman)

Other associations:

Winter

Rowan

Candle

Snowdrop

Snow

Angelica

Basil

Poet

Willow

Blackberry

Galatea ("white as milk")

Madrigal ("simple song," but it came from a word meaning "womb")

Cross

Tansy

Violet

Virgil

Ailbhe ("white")

Una ("lamb")

Swan

Lavender

Birch

Phoenix

Heather

Robin

Trinity

Clover

Serpentine

Metrodora ("gift of the mother")

Emese ("mother")

Harper

Draco

Bramble

Willow

Gwen ("white, fair, blessed")

Columban ("white dove")

Finn ("white")

Fabrice ("craftsman")

Fabrizio

Howard ("ewe herder")

Rachel ("ewe")

Ovid ("sheep")

Sprout

Phoebe ("bright, pure")

Phoebus

Aidan ("fire")

Kiyoshi ("pure")

Glenda ("good and pure")

Vimala ("clean, pure, spotless")

Zacchaeus ("pure")

Amethyst

Garnet

Ruby

Onyx

Turquoise

Fun combo time:

Rowan Madrigal

Howard Fabrice

Vestia Swan

Aidan Cross

Ovid Bramble

Name Magpie: Name Love in Wintertime

I can hardly believe that it's almost February. I'm still trying to plan for things to come in this new year, which I'm sure I will tell you about later. In the meantime, these are the new names that caught my eye:

Lumina. How did I miss this one? It's Latin for "brilliant light." Luminosa is the Spanish form, which is also quite lovely.

Koyal. I had seen this word before as the title of a Bollywood-ish song, but I wasn't aware that it was a given name. According to this website it's Hindi for "cuckoo."

Narayan. Like Rime, this is a name that I previously only knew through the Myst franchise. Then I found that it's what this couple named their son. It's a Sanskrit name meaning "the essence of all" or "the path of man" or "resting place for all living entities." Whatever it means, it's very sacred.

Vasilique. I forget where I saw this, but it was a comment on a different blog written by someone with this name. I believe it's a respelling of the Greek name Vasiliki, meaning "royal." According to the commenter, it has heavy Christian overtones.

Cleodie. Yet another variant of Cleo from British Baby Names.

Cynewulf. Thank Appellation Mountain for this one. It's an Anglo Saxon name meaning "royal wolf."

Bellamor. If you like Bellamy, then you'll probably like Bellamor. I'm assuming that it means "beautiful love" (belle + amor) the same way that Bellamy means "beautiful friend" (belle + ami). And yes, I know that amor is Latin and ami is French, but I can't find any other explanation and it seems like a solid hypothesis.