An Ostara Meditation
The wind blows through the still leafless trees as you walk along the forest path. The sky is blue and the day is bright. The ground below is wet from melting snow and patches of ice still cling to the hollows of the fallen trees along the rocky trail. A closer inspection of the bushes and trees lining the trail reveals small buds, newly formed and still closed on stark branches, awaiting the day they will open and spread themselves to the warm rays of the spring sun.
The air is chill, but not unbearably cold as you continue along the path. Turning downward the trail meets and then runs along the side of a small stream, the babbling of the water soothing to you as it flows towards some unknown destination. A thin layer of ice coats some of the rocks in the stream, but you can tell that the ice is thinning, since a month ago there was no stream visible here at all.
Water, emerging from the spongy ground where you step, gives quiet testimony to the fact that the ground has thawed. On the side of the path, small green heads of snowdrop flowers peek out of the ground, having just broken through to embrace the light. In a few weeks they will be in full bloom and their beauty will herald in many more flowers as spring turns towards summer.
Several small trees bear the telltale markings of beavers, recently emerged from hibernation to begin their spring building and courting. They are tireless creatures, peaceful yet easily angered if their work is disturbed!
As you stand admiring the depth of the forest around you, a cardinal lands on a nearby branch quizzically looking at you, waiting for you to leave so that he can continue building his nest. You smile as you realize that his presence signals the beginning of the return of many types of birds. Soon the woodland will be alive with the sounds of birds, especially woodpeckers seeking an early meal from trees softened by the wet thaw of the season.
Continuing your journey, you emerge from the forest into a clearing by a lake: The mystery of the stream’s destination solved. Above, a hawk flies by soaring on currents of wind; and you imagine what it might be like to fly through the air while looking down on the forest below and realizing that shortly it will be green, growing, and alive with the grace of the Goddess.
As you stand there, lost in thought, the sun begins to set and the air turns colder. While spring is definitely here, you realize that the shadow of winter past still covers the land. You smile as you turn towards home. Everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be…
