Omens and Observations

First, we just had the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, which is of hoary tradition considered the day of final planting of non-hardy crops. The following Sunday is, by ancient German traditions, the festival of Ostara (or, "Ēostre").

Ostara, or Lady Easter, may be represented as "...just under 30, just a smidgen plump, clearly a fertile fertility goddess, and dressed to the nines in green, with a truly amazing hat dripping with flowers and herbs". And of course, wherever she walks, new growth erupts around her, and after winter's long sleep, life again awakens to her touch.

In what must be seen as a very favorable Omen, a swarm of bees took up residence at the White House. Why would this be thought to be a good omen? Honeybee Decline is an immense problem here in the US and in other parts of the world. As most of our food crops need to be fertilized by honeybees in order to bear fruits, seeing a honeybee anywhere is practically a blessed event. As bad as our economy has become, it would be far worse if we had no bees. That bees are on the comeback trail, enough so to be swarming wild, is a very good thing indeed. Surely it's a coincidence that they took up residence at the abode of the man who we expect to lead our economy onto its own comeback trail.