The goddesses of springtime, Persephone, Ishtar, and Ostara, bring us the message of awakening and personal growth. Their gift is the motivation and the energy we need to pursue our dreams. As the tender green buds begin to leaf out around us, our own lives are refilled with vital energy.

Spring is the time to make room in our hearts for a passion for all things new. And it helps to use a little bit of magic and . . .

Since our own bodies and spirits echo the earth's changes, spring is an ideal time to head out in new directions.

Has any stagnation or lethargy crept into your life? Let it go! Now is the ideal time to open yourself to all things that facilitate your growth and evolution.

Ready for a new hairstyle? Now's the time! Have you been wanting to attend a workshop? Go ahead and register . . . the "signs" are right.

But whatever you do, don't let your perception of any "lack of capability" stand in the way of your hopes and dreams. It's all just a matter of perspective.

Some time ago I "gave in" to my longstanding desire to be a quilter. I've always loved quilts -- the colors and patterns, the texture, and that wonderful sense of home and comfort that they imply.

Only one problem . . . I can't sew!

It's not that I don't "know how" (after all, I painfully endured two years of Home Ec in high school!). I'm just not very patient and not the least bit precise. These enviable qualities are just not in my nature (which I would have realized if I'd been able to read my Goddess Report at the time -- but it hadn't been invented yet!)

Needless to say, my first project, a lap-sized crazy quilt, was an absolute disaster! If you really squinted you could almost imagine that the parallelogram it had become vaguely resembles the rectangle that it was intended to be.

While I was bemoaning the pitiful outcome, not to mention all the time and money I had invested in producing this thing that clearly "Had Not Worked Out", my best friend took me in hand to teach me a valuable lesson.

"Sharon", she said, "you're looking at this all wrong. So what if you're not a quilter, this is absolutely gorgeous, and as a quilt designer you are absolutely awesome!"

Since that time a few more quilts have been produced. Sure, none of them are candidates for a juried exhibition, but I had great fun creating them.

Often just loosening our impossibly high standards is all that it takes to set us on the right path.

Surveying the piles of material stacked all around my room,  I think perhaps I might need to pay more attention to that other bothersome trait mentioned in my Goddess Report, the part about "abandoning projects before they are finished as you rush off to embrace your latest enthusiasm!"

And yet, perhaps I'll just add "fabric collector" to my list of skills. See . . . it's all in your point of view!

Note: Our Lady of Recycling (She Who Saves All in the Knowledge That It Will One Day Prove To Be Useful for Something) inspired the nifty border on this web page. It's created from a scrap I used to make an Easter quilt.

Speaking of which . . .

Ostara, the Goddess of Dawn (Saxon), was responsible for bringing spring each year, was feeling guilty about arriving so late. To make matters worse, she arrives to find a pitiful little bird who lay dying, his wings frozen by the snow. Lovingly, Ostara cradled the shivering creature and saved his life.

Legend has it that she then made him her pet or, in the X-rated versions, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly because of his frost-damaged wings, the goddess Ostara turned him into a snow hare and named him Lepus.

Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with the resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all remind us of the cycle of rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives.