To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day (22 page)

need a small, young Ficus or Schefflera. You will also need

a shallow bonsai bowl. These bowls are sometimes sold at

garden centers, or can be purchased online. The shallow

bowl will limit the depth of the roots. Trees growing in shal-

low soil naturally remain small. The shallow bowl does not

hurt your tree in any measurable way. The tree does not care

much whether it is tall or short.

Trim the roots as needed to fit them into the bowl. The

tree will look more attractive if you position it slightly to one side of the bowl rather than in the exact center. Pack good

quality potting soil around the roots and water the pot thor-

oughly. A layer of aquarium gravel over the top of the soil

will help keep the soil in place when you are watering your

tiny tree.

Do not hesitate to trim off any branches that look out of

place. Beyond that, there is no need to create a “bonsai” form

unless you have a personal desire to pursue that art. If so,

there are many books about bonsai available. Otherwise let

your tiny tree grow into its own natural look.

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bark and branch

If your tree is a Ficus it will very likely now drop all of

its leaves. Do not panic. The new leaves that come in will be

smaller and more suitable to the size of your tree. After this, your Ficus will periodically drop its leaves for any number of

reasons: if you move her pot, if the lighting changes or if she is just having a bad leaf day. Usually a few leaves will remain through this moulting process. Always keep an eye on your

Ficus to make sure it has enough water and is not bothered

by insect pests or fungi, but do not assume that falling leaves means your tree is getting ready to die.

Schefflera does not drop leaves in this way. Personally, I

like the fallen leaves; it seems more “tree like”.

The most important thing to do from here on is to make

sure that the pot never completely dries out. This is espe-

cially critical during the first week or so, when your tree is

adjusting to its new “home”. A shallow pot can dry out very

quickly, so be sure to check your tree at least every other day.

The tree should not be standing in mud, but neither should

the soil be completely dry.

Since your tree is in a confined pot, you will need to

replenish the soil every two or three years. Carefully remove

the tree from its pot. The roots will probably fill the entire

interior, leaving very little room for soil. Trim back no more

than a third of the root system and repot the tree with

fresh, new garden soil. Be sure to tend your tree as careful-

ly as when you first potted it, and be sure to keep the newly

trimmed root system moist.

The jade plant (
Crassula ovate
) is a succulent rather than a tree, but if this detail does not bother you it can be grown as a beautiful living representative of the World Tree. About

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bark and branch

twenty years ago I had a large potted jade “tree” that elicit-

ed compliments from everyone who saw it. You will need to

pot your jade plant as you would a Ficus or Schefflera, and

then trim off extraneous limbs until the plant resembles a

tree with a trunk. Keep the “tree” relatively dry at all times, and give it as much outside time as you can during the summer. Without some direct exposure to the sun a jade plant

can quickly become “leggy” in appearance.

Regardless of species, your tree will need a lot of sun-

light to keep it happy and healthy. Only keep it on your altar

when you want it there to enhance a ritual; then return it

soon afterwards to a sunny location in your home. My tiny

trees spend most of their time on a low table under a large

window so they will be at their best when their presence is

required on the altar.

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AND THE BEES

It is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon

after the vernal equinox. In Latin the holiday is called Pas-

cha, the French call it Pâques, the Spanish say Pascua and the

Swedes say Påsk. The only languages that have preserved the

name of the goddess who was once praised and honored in

mid-spring are German, which names this holiday Ostern,

and the English language, where it is known as Easter.

Very little solid information about the goddess Eastre (or

Eostre) has survived. Her name is cognate with our word

“east”, and so we can surmise that she is a goddess of the

dawn and, because of her feast date, of the spring; a goddess

of beginnings. Her moon marked the beginning of Eostre’s

month (Eostremonað), which later came to be known by its

Roman name, April. In the pre-Christian era, Eostre’s feast

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the birds and the bees

was one of the three great festivals of the Germanic world

(Jones & Pennick, p. 122).

Popular symbols of Easter such as flowers and newly

hatched chicks are essentially symbols of spring. The vernal

season must have been very significant for the Anglo-Saxons

because English speaking Christians still use the word Lent

(Old English
lencten
, springtime) in reference to the weeks leading up to Easter. Other languages use a word that translates as “the time of fasting”: Fastenzeit (German), Carême

(French), Cuaresma (Spanish), Fastetiden (Norwegian),

Gavênia (Lithuanian). But during the Middle Ages, when

English sermons began to be delivered in the language of the

people, the word chosen for the Christians’ time of fasting

was
lente
, from the Old English
lencten
.

Springtime.

There is no symbol more closely associated with the Eas-

ter season than the egg. The official explanation is that eggs

represent new life, but an equally important and perhaps

more immediate reason why our Pagan ancestors would

have associated eggs with springtime is their relative abun-

dance at that time of year (Simpson and Roud, p. 105). The

amount of light that chickens are exposed to directly affects

egg production. In today’s egg “factories” hens are subject-

ed to nearly constant artificial lighting to ensure maximum

egg production, but the availability of eggs varied seasonal-

ly in earlier societies. In a natural environment, hens begin

to lay fewer eggs in the autumn. By the winter solstice their

production has reached its lowest point. As the days begin to

grow longer, these same hens start laying more eggs until, by

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the birds and the bees

mid-spring each hen may be producing a new egg every sin-

gle day.

Imagine what this meant to early Pagan people, especial-

ly in northern climates. Fresh food was a luxury reserved for

the summer and autumn. By late winter the village was sub-

sisting on root crops—parsnips and turnips—and old cabbag-

es. Any excess livestock had been butchered in late autumn

while there was still grass and enough sunlight for grazing,

and meat preservation techniques at that time were less than

ideal.

Then came spring’s promise. First came the lambing sea-

son, which meant fresh milk as the ewes began to lactate.

And by this time the chickens were producing more than an

occasional egg. Some eggs had to be reserved for hatching,

to ensure another generation of chickens, and these would

be placed with brooding hens (which do not lay while they

are brooding a clutch of eggs). But there were more eggs left

over after enough had been placed under brooding hens, and

the additional eggs meant fresh food on the table. Symbols of

new life, indeed! For early Pagan people, the spring eggs
were
life; they were much needed sustenance and nourishment

after the hardship of winter.

Although Eostre’s feast is at the first full moon after the

spring equinox, many people today celebrate “Pagan Easter”

on the equinox itself. Whenever you celebrate spring, you

can connect with your ancestors and express an appreciation

for the miracle that sustained them through the years by dec-

orating your own eggs. This is an activity that your whole

tribe—your coven or kindred—can participate in together,

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the birds and the bees

perhaps on the same day that you give offerings or cast a cir-

cle or do whatever it is that your path leads you to do.

If there are children in your group, have a sleepover. The

adults can color the eggs at night and then hide them the

next morning for the children to find, just as Christian fami-

lies do. But do not limit yourself to popular custom. Here are

some other ideas for your eggs after you have colored them:

In many parts of England before World War II, children

would roll eggs down a sloped path or a hillside until they

broke. They would then eat the cracked eggs. This can be

revived as a fun little contest for children. You will need a

slope where eggs will easily roll. Each child can select an egg and then take turns rolling these down the slope. The winner

is the last child with an uncracked egg.

If you are a Saxon Pagan, color 29 eggs, using a crayon

to mark each egg with a Futhorc rune before dying it. The

wax will repel the dye, leaving the image of the rune on the

egg. Place all of the eggs in a basket or large bowl and cover

this with a cloth. Invite each person in your inhíred to reach

under the cloth and claim one egg. Then read the appropri-

ate passage of the rune poem describing that symbol. If the

person desires, he or she accepts this mystery by peeling and

consuming the egg. If you are not a Saxon Pagan you can do

something similar using the runes of the Elder Futhark or

whatever divinatory symbol set is appropriate for your path.

You could also color one egg for each of your ancestors

who you would like to honor. As you begin your spring ritu-

al, place each colored egg on the altar, one at a time, naming

the ancestor it represents. After your ritual, take the eggs to some private place outdoors and bury them as personal offer-f 166 2

the birds and the bees

ings to your honored ancestors. This obviously is only appro-

priate if you have your own land. Never bury offerings like

this in parks or other public property.

The easiest way to color your eggs is with commercial,

chemical dyes. But in the spirit of holistic living, why not try natural dyes? This is not very difficult, and it can be more

meaningful than dissolving brightly colored tablets taken

from a box with a cartoon bunny on the cover.

NATURAL EGG DYING

You will need the use of a stove, a pan for each color you want to create, some vinegar, eggs and whatever fruits or vegetables you will be using for colors. White eggs, of course, are better for coloring than brown eggs.

Here are some common botanicals to choose from:

Ingredient

Color

Violets

Blue-Violet

Red Cabbage, chopped

Blue

Spinach Leaves

Green

Orange Peels

Yellow

Ground Coffee Beans

Brown

Yellow Onion Skins

Orange

Beets

Pink

Raspberries

Pink or Red

There are two primary differences when you dye eggs

naturally using the method I give here. First, do not boil

the eggs first. You will be boiling the eggs at the same time

you are coloring them, so use uncooked eggs. Second, you

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the birds and the bees

will dye all eggs of the same color at the same time. That is,

instead of dipping one egg in a cup of green dye and one egg

in a cup of pink dye, you will color all of your green eggs at

the same time and all of your pink eggs at the same time.

Place the eggs you want to dye a particular color in a pan,

in a single layer. Cover them with water and add a teaspoon

of vinegar. Add your coloring ingredient. There is not set

quantity. More coloring ingredient will create a deeper color.

Put the pan on the stove and bring the water to a boil.

Then turn this down to a simmer and let the eggs cook for

fifteen minutes. If you cook them much longer than this,