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Ostara 2005 : Sowing the Seeds of Growth
As the days noticeably grow longer following Imbolc, there comes a need to emerge from introspection and into preparation. It's still cold outside, and the days are still short, but the promise of warmth and new beginnings is strong. And as the strength of the sun grows each day, so does the feeling of anticipation.
Late winter, the time leading up to the spring equinox, is a time of preparation: the planning of the garden and the tilling of the soil, if you will, in anticipation of the spring when the seeds for the coming year (or years) will be sown.
Over the winter months the behind-the-scenes folk involved in WynterGreene have been hard at work planning and preparing the ground for this year's seeds. And indeed, many are being sown this year!
You probably noticed when you bought this issue that our newsstand price is now $2. The decision to raise the price was a difficult one to make, but one that we felt was necessary for WynterGreene to grow and flourish, and serve a larger Canadian Pagan audience.
Talking about a larger audience: starting this issue, you will be able to subscribe to WynterGreene. That's right. You can now have WynterGreene delivered directly to you doorstep, or mailbox, courtesy of Canada Post. The cost of a subscription is $16 for eight issues (one year) for mailing addresses within Canada. This works out to be the same price for you as buying each issue from one of our distributors. To subscribe, simply fill in and mail the subscription form found in this issue, along with a cheque or money order for $16. Soon, you will also be able to subscribe through our website with PayPal.
And that brings us to our next piece of big news& the launch of our new website! Over the dark winter months, our Webmistress, Freya, has been hard at work designing a new virtual space for WynterGreene and filling it with content. You can visit WynterGreene's new cyber-home at:
Here you will find general information about WynterGreene; guidelines for submissions; a list of upcoming themes and deadlines; advertising information, subscription information; links to local and national Pagan groups and events; as well as selected content from past issues including news, book and product reviews, community profiles, editorials and feature articles. We have also set up a special archive for some hot or popular topics.
Unfortunately, at this moment, only the English side of the website is available. The seeds have been planted though, and our translators, Coral and Evelyne, are hard at work nurturing them to create the content for our francophone readers and supporters.
Other changes at WynterGreene for this year involve farewells. It is with sadness that I say the astrology column "Walking With the Stars" by Iris O. will not be returning. The column has been read across Canada for almost a decade, first in the publication Wiccan Candles, and more recently in WynterGreene. Iris O. has decided the time has come for her to pursue other projects. We wish her the best of luck with her new endeavours!
We also would like to bit farewell to Isahée, our French Content Manager for the past year. Isahée is also sowing new seeds this spring with the birth of her own publication, Racines :: Le Webzine, a webzine for francophone pagans. You go girl!
Other exciting seeds being sown are those of local and national Pagan dialogue. The Montreal Pagan Community Conference will be taking place in April, and the National Pagan Conference in Edmonton in May. Both are important to strengthen local and national Pagan ties and to help us continue to grow as communities. WynterGreene will be participating in both these conferences, and we hope you will too. More details about both these conferences can be found within the pages of this issue.
Happy Spring Equinox everyone!
And hail to the promise of spring!
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