Seeds of Resilience
The Story of Paula de Eguiluz and the Power of Healing
Paula’s life mirrors the themes of Ostara and the Spring Equinox—renewal, balance, and growth—showing how, even in the darkest times, the seeds of strength, survival, and transformation can bloom.
As we reflect on Ostara, we also honor those who have helped plant seeds for future generations, ones whose strength and resilience allow us to thrive. One such person is Paula de Eguiluz, whose survival and actions have inspired countless others to persevere and sow seeds of change. Like the seeds planted in the earth during Ostara, Paula de Eguiluz’s impact has grown far beyond her own time, fostering a legacy that continues to flourish today.
Paula de Eguiluz’s story is one of immense strength, resilience, and transformation. Born in a time when the odds were stacked against her, she survived the brutalities of slavery and faced accusations of witchcraft, yet she emerged as a powerful healer, offering not only physical but spiritual restoration to others. Her life reflects the deeply intertwined struggles for freedom, identity, and survival that many faced during her time, and her legacy continues to inspire those seeking liberation and healing today.
Paula de Eguiluz was born in the early 17th century, in a time when the transatlantic slave trade ravaged the lives of countless Africans. Like many of her peers, she was taken from her homeland and forced into slavery. Yet, even within the confines of her brutal circumstances, Paula’s innate strength and survival instincts began to flourish. Her ability to endure and persevere is a testament to her resilience, much like the earth itself, which endures the harshest winters before spring’s renewal.
Over time, Paula’s life took a dramatic turn when she was accused of practicing witchcraft. This was not an uncommon fate for those, particularly women, who had knowledge of herbal medicine, spiritual practices, and healing arts. In an age when fear and superstition ran rampant, accusations of witchcraft were often used as a weapon against women who were seen as “other,” or who had knowledge that threatened the established order. Paula, however, was not a woman to be silenced.
Rather than crumble under the accusations, she survived them, and it was in these very trials that she found her power. In surviving the witchcraft allegations, Paula de Eguiluz’s resilience was not just personal—it became a symbol of the strength of marginalized people, especially women, in overcoming oppression. Her very survival marked her as something more than a victim of the system; she became a symbol of defiance and survival.
Paula’s greatest transformation came when she embraced her true calling as a healer. With her deep knowledge of herbs, plants, and traditional healing practices, she began to care for the sick and the downtrodden. This wasn’t just physical healing, but spiritual as well, a kind of medicine that understood the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit. In an environment where the effects of trauma, displacement, and loss were widespread, Paula’s healing brought hope and restoration to those around her.
Her work as a healer, especially as someone who had once been enslaved and falsely accused of witchcraft, was deeply subversive. It was an act of reclaiming her own power, a way of taking control over her own life and destiny, as well as giving others the means to take control of theirs. Paula de Eguiluz was a bridge between the physical and the metaphysical, showing how one could heal not just from external wounds, but from deep spiritual and emotional trauma as well.
Paula’s story parallels the themes of Ostara, the Spring Equinox. Just as the equinox signifies balance, growth, and renewal, Paula’s life represents the balance between oppression and liberation, suffering and healing, darkness and light. She was a woman who, like the first flowers of spring, managed to bloom in the harshest of circumstances, bringing light and renewal to herself and others.
Today, we can look to Paula de Eguiluz as a symbol of strength, survival, and healing. Her life, though fraught with challenges, became a testament to the transformative power of perseverance, wisdom, and the willingness to rise again. In a world that often seeks to diminish the power of marginalized individuals, Paula’s story reminds us that even in the darkest times, there is always the potential for healing, renewal, and growth—just as Ostara’s arrival signals the return of spring and the promise of new beginnings.