Willowtree Grove - March 21st

The happenings of Ostara - a happy spring equinox to all!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

It's the end of the week here in Willow Tree Grove, and it's time for our weekly catch-up. And what a time it has been, my dear listeners. Some might still be recovering from the revelry, and that is very understandable. So settle back, grab a cup of whatever helps with your revival. I have an extra dark black coffee and a bucket's worth of water. And I will be honest, a pile of fries, because somehow trashy food is all I need after a night of drinking and travel. First, let me give everyone, and I truly mean everyone, props for the amazing amount of decorations that absolutely blanketed every inch of the town, and still does. Shops, residential homes, bizarre caves that appeared from the depths of the earth, nothing was left out in the festive spirit of Ostara. It was a pastel explosion of bunting banners and floral displays. Draperies of yellows and greens, lilacs and pinks were spread from shopfront to shopfront to create a sheer canopy in the light of the spring sun. We've been very blessed by the goddess with warm spring days for our festive week. Now, let me give you all a little history lesson about the origins of a star. Or Östra, if you prefer. There is actually very little written, by man at least, but in the old bound tomes of ancient covens, you can still find the stories of a star's descent to Earth. Boundless love and fertility spread in her wake. The oldest of all speaks of her arrival as the first true well, there are children listening, so I can't use the O word, but it was the first public sharing of love for a very large group of people. This fertility led to all the symbolism so frequently assigned to her eggs, rabbits, seeds, and the general fruitfulness of the season. That first recorded descent was apparently a worldwide event. Every town, every city received a visit, a blessing, and a good time. But this gradually reduced to areas with higher magic levels, such as Willow Tree and our own very special minds. It's been a subject of study for many academically inclined witches, and it has recently been agreed that this isn't because of any reduction in magic naturally, and it has recently been agreed that this isn't because of any natural reduction in magic in any location, but is actually just a direct correlation to the witches that live in those magical areas. It would seem, if no offerings are given, Astara doesn't visit. A rare occurrence for the gods, even though it is often included in all of those god and goddess events. Usually belief and honoring of said deity is enough. But you know what? Astara is all about give and take. You know, let us remember that in all things for the year ahead of us. Give back as much as you take. But let me not bore you too much, or preach to you either. We had a very successful morning filled with stalls of all sorts, stone painting, ribbon braiding for the altar, and good old-fashioned duck fishing. The old man's whittling club carved a bunch of bunnies with wings that were hexed to magically fly around a little field of flowers, and the carved figurine was the prize if you caught it. The coveted gold bunny was extremely wily, and eluded Catcher until the head of the Brackenpack, High Jewels, used a bit of that wear boost to tame the beast. She is now proudly displaying the gold bunny on the dashboard of her pickup truck. Now, speaking of crafty little critters that are very difficult to catch, the seed stalls were the talk of the town. Adelaide was the one that provided the liveliness spell for the seedlings, and gosh darn did she liven those things up. The sounds of screams of laughter and dismay filled the town, as everyone was sent scurrying around the streets after their chosen seeds. Peony ended up with a gaggle of teens in the roast and toast trying to sniff out their little ones, trying to sniff out their little seedlings, who had somehow made their way inside and hidden inside the espresso cups. We have asked that Adelaide put a radius limit on the spell to not include the shops next time, because over at Crawford's, Oscar almost had a stroke when one of the old ladies from Pembley Brook stumbled after her seedling and pushed over one of the most prized grandfather clocks in the shop. Luckily, Silas the Stag was there, having taken refuge from the ruckus amongst the antiques that he loves so much, and he managed to rescue the clock with a well-timed swing of his antlers. Oscar was shocked and very appreciative of the stag's support. I'm hoping that perhaps we're seeing an end to the feud. The winner of our altar statue vote was in the end, won by only one vote, the Society of Self-Loving Sorceresses and Boiled Bobbins' giant patchwork poppet statue. Now, since the second place was so very close, it was decided that the students weaved goddess would be placed at the center of Main Street and given offerings as well. The goddess descended at exactly the time of the equinox, as most who have witnessed a spirit's descent know, no one can truly remember what they look like once they can no longer see them. But you remember the feeling. This year, I experienced a scent from childhood that I couldn't place, but was so fully comforting that for those few seconds I felt utterly and completely safe and warm. It was quite the experience. I think the feeling must have been shared across town, because we all came to a soft and serene rest. The giant poppet became a sort of cushion for us all. So really, in thinking about it, maybe it had a hand in making the goddess instill such a feeling in us. Looking into that, the elders found that the homebound witches, who stayed indoors and were quite close to the weave statue, found themselves sated and comfortably full, like they'd just eaten their favorite meal. Interesting stuff we should keep that in mind for next year and what we should have as the statue then. After the afternoon nap, it was time to bid the children farewell, and since it was such a nostalgic feeling that we were all left with, we all just sort of ended up walking the children home like a procession. Our own offering of love of sorts were given as we all shared words of affection, and an early dinner in the middle of the streets, in a sort of cobbled street cafe made of all the picnic blankets and foldable tables that everyone had laying about in their homes. I think we might be seeing the birth of a new tradition, my dear listeners. Now, let me not venture too deep into the tales of debauchery and wildness that happen on such a night. It is between all of those who attended, of course, but let me speak of one event that may very well be linked to Adelaide's premonition from last week. To remind you, it was someone is going to pluck a flower that shouldn't be plucked. Now, during the revelry, one person, fully bewitched to become a sun god in body and full appearance, went up to our dear Ashling and offered her a flower. Unbeknownst to the poor faux god, those particular flowers had been sprinkled with a particular powder developed to increase their pollen output exponentially, and poor Ashling's very small allergy was made not so small at all. The reaction was intense, and our poor Ashling fled the scene, shortly followed by the sun god. They were not seen for the rest of the night. Be that good or bad is still unknown. I wish both of them luck in either case. Moving to the prediction for next week, a ware is going to have a lovely stroll. Now that's a win for whichever ware is going to enjoy their walk. Perhaps all the wares can plan a hike so that they can all partake in the good stroll. Though the prediction only names one ware, so maybe it's safe not to. Well, in any case, thank you all again for the successful celebrations and the entrancing experience that we were all able to share together. The sunny days have called forth the magnolia blossoms, and the beginnings of the spring blossoms are starting to cover the trees around town. Picnic season is upon us. Grab a blanket and a book, and sit in proximity to those blooms. I assure you it will bring a moment of peace that we all need. Sometimes I don't even bring the book. It's nice to just sit, to watch, to listen to the birds being boisterous. The children down the road from me have started playing basketball in the morning, and I greet the day to the sound of that bouncing ball. Another warm feeling, the taste of a memory long past. Enjoy the peace, my friends. That's all for now, dear listeners. As always, have a soft and safe week. See you next time, here in Willow Tree Grove.