Ostara Page
Date: Celebrated on or about March 21st on the date of the Veranl Equinox (a time when the sun passes the celestial equator and day and night are equal in both hemispheres). Also the day the sun enters the sign of Aries. Falling in 2001 on the 20th of March
Activities and Rituals: planting, welcoming spring, coloring eggs, making/wearing new clothing, fertility rites, rituals of balance, herb work - magical, medicinal, cosmetic, culinary and artistic, spells for prosperity/fertility, new beginnings, potential, action
Stones/Gems: Jasper, amethyst, aquamarine, bloodstone and red jasper.
Incense: African violet, jasmine, rose, sage and strawberry
Herbs/Flowers: Honeysuckle, Iris, Peony, Violet, Woodruff, Gorse, Olive, Iris, Narcissus, Daffodils, Jonquils, Primrose, Forsythia, Crocus, all spring flowers, pine tree
Colors: Green, Yellow
Symbols & Decorations: four leaf clover, baskets, eggs, lambs, flowers, chicks, bunnies, budding twigs, flowers, pussy willows, sprouting bulbs, colored ribbons
Foods: jelly eggs (jelly beans), chocolates, lamb, eggs, seeds, leafy green vegetables, spiced or flower cupcakes, fruits, hot cross buns, sprouts, honey cakes, unleavened bread
Deities: The Maiden, Astarte, Aurora, Eostre, Eos, Ostara, Kore or Persephone (as the maiden), The Green Man, Ares, Mars, Attis, Adonis, Osiris, Narcissus, Hyacinth and Dionysus
Animals: rabbits, hares, robins, dragons (associated with eggs the earth and fertility), lambs, chicks
Other Holidays: St. Patrick's Day (Christian-Mar. 17), Eostara (first full moon after equinox), Easter (Christian-first Sunday following Spring Equinox and full moon), Ides of March (Roman New Year March 15), Hilaria or the Day of Joy (Roman-March 15), Festival of Astarte (Mar 17), Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Passover (Judaism)
Also called: Lady Day, Alban Eiler (Druidic), Eostara (Teutonic), Oestara, Eostra, Alban Eilir (Druidic), Vernal Equinox, Summer Finding (Asatru), Naw Ruz (Persian New Year), Alban Elfed, Festival of Trees, No Ruz, Ostra, Rites of Spring
You can also consider Ostara as a time of balance between light and dark. Night and day equally divide the 24 hours now; the dark half of the year gives way to the light. You can perform rituals to ask for balance in your life, and to honor both dark and light.
Go out and collect wild flowers if they are out in you area.
Take a walk and look for signs of emerging life in the forests and fields or in a local park.
Plant early seeds such as peas, lettuce, cabbage family. Start others indoors
Plan your magickal garden to plant after Beltane
Pick up litter at your favorite park or beach. Help the earth rejuvenate by getting rid of the mess. Even an hour of cleanup can make a big difference.
Do a spring cleaning rites/ritual and cleanse your home of negativity and any energies that might prevent you from taking advantage of prosperity in your life.
Perform oomancy (divination by eggs). To perform the most common form of egg-divination, separate egg whites and yolks. You then drop the white into hot water and divine from the shapes it assumes.
Celebrate Nawruz, the Persian New Year, which falls on the spring equinox by fixing a special dinner of seven food dishes that begin with 'S.' Either look up the names of the Arabic foods that you will want to use or use English words and eat salad, salami, soup, squash, etc. Decorate the table with a mirror, a bowl of water with one freshly-picked green leaf floating in it, a candelabra containing a candle for every child in the house, a copy of the Koran (or other sacred text), rose water, sweets, fruit, a fish, yogurt and colored eggs.
Draw sprouting leaves on an egg and bury it in your garden to help stimulate your plants.
Perform magick by planting a seed to grow with your spell. You can use the energy of this time of year to fuel any new project or goal. Think of how you wish to change and grow while planting the seed and watch it flourish as you do. :)
Make hot cross buns **see recipe section below**
Light pairs of white and black candles, symbolizing dark and light, in different areas of your home. Each time you pass a pair of candles, you can honor the balance of light and dark we find this time of year, and the balance of light and dark within yourself.
Dye eggs with natural dyes and try decorating them with magickal or other symbols. Ideas for thos you can use include runes, astrological symbols, elemental symbols, the Theban alphabet, zodiac/planetarysymbols, Ogham writing, Native American pictographs, lunar & solar symbols,stars, pentacles, Egyptian hieroglyphs, God/Goddess symbols, the triscale and
more! Try our magickal symbols and alphabet sections for great ideas.
Create an effigy of the dark half of the year and imbue it with the things of winter you'd like to leave behind. You can then either burn it in a bonfire or drop it in the nearest watercourse
In ancient Italy in the spring, women planted Gardens of Adonis. They filled urns with grain seeds, kept the in the dark and watered them every two days until they sprouted. You can do this yourself with grass seed in baskets.You can then put your decorated eggs on the altar, etc. in your grass filled baskets. Talk about how this custom persists today in Sicily, where women plant seeds of grains--lentils, fennel, lettuce or flowers--in baskets and pots. When they sprout, the stalks are tied with red ribbons and the "gardens" are placed along roads on the Christian Good Friday. They are meant symbolize the triumph of life over death.
Have each member of your family/coven select a seed or bulb that they wish to plant. Bless them (See the blessing below by Pauline Campanelli or make one of your own) and visualize your plants in full bloom. Then you may wish to invoke each of the four elements necessary for the plants' growth. You may either plant your items outside, or if it is too cold place them in a pot of soil and pat down the earth (element earth), poured water on it (element water), breath on it (element air) and then hold the pot over a candle (or up to the sun, if you are outside) (for fire).
Give a potted plant to friends or family for their garden or window sill
Take time to notice what birds have returned from their winter homes. Place feeders and/or a bird bath out for them.
Make a growth charm out of a hard-boiled egg -- decorate it with symbols, write on it the quality you would like to manifest more fully within yourself, energize it, and then eat it.
Create ritual garment. Try our easy robe pattern. Embellish it with trims, embroidery, bells, stones, sequins or anything else that strikes your fancy. Save it to wear until Ostara as it was considered bad luck to wear it before then in ancient times.
Connect with plant energies. Choose a plant and spend time exploring the leaves and stem in great detail, being careful not to harm it. Use a magnifying glass. Feel the textures and inhale the scent of the plant.
Let the whole family create a dance depicting the rising of new shoots from the earth to greet the sun. Create your own music with drums, rattles and whistles, or choose music that reminds you of spring. Bundle up, spread out a blanket, and watch the sunrise. Eat honey cakes and eggs for breakfast.
Do a spring rite Take walks in parks, woods or other green areas. Make the walking a ritual in itself. Wear flowers in your hair, or as a necklace, and strew them around and on your alter. Toss crushed eggshells into the garden and say: For fairy, for flowers, for herbs in the bowers, The shells pass fertility with springtime showers. from: Green Witchcraft by Anna Moura (Aoumiel).
Don't buy that fake grass for your basket! Ick! Make this instead - it's easy and fun!
Items needed:
a basket
winter rye seed
aluminum foil
plastic wrap
potting soil
dried flowers (optional)
Directions:
Two weeks before you need the basket, line the basket with the aluminum foil
Fill with potting soil
Sprinkle the top with the rye seed, cover with 1/4 inch of soil, and moisten.
Cover the basket with the plastic wrap to help keep it moist; place in a warm area (on top of the refrigerator is good, if you don't forget to check it!
After the rye grass has sprouted, remove the plastic wrap and keep a close eye on it. Water if begins to dry.
After a few weeks, you'll have a basket full of grass! Weave dried flowers around the edge if you like, and place your eggs inside.
Salt Dough Bunnies
I use this dough to make a passal of bunnies to put around the house for Oestre. Of course, you can use this dough for just about anything, eggs,chicks, even make your own Willendorf Goddess statue <G>
Items needed:
3/4 cup salt
3/4 cup non-self-rising flour
2 tsp powdered alum (look in the drugstore or grocery)
3/4 cup water
2 tblsp vegetable oil
food colouring
Directions:
Mix salt, 1/2 cup flour, and alum in a saucepan.
Add water slowly, stirring to break up lumps.
place over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is rubbery and difficult to stir. It should not be sticky when touched.
Add vegetable oil. Stir until blended.
Turn out onto a plate or aluminum foil. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
If more than one color is desired, divide mixture into portions and to each portion add a different color. Knead until color is blended.
Add up to 1/4 cup flour if clay is sticky.
Makes 1 1/2 cups
How to Use: Model as with any clay. Press clay into molds or use it to make beads (pierce holes in beads before clay dries) This clay hardens in 1 or 2 days; do not bake. Store in an airtight container.
Egg Tree -You will need: Pot or container, interesting tree branches, sizes depending on the size of your container, acrylic paint or spray paint, your choice of colors (match your colors to the colors of your potpourri if you wish), moss, newspaper, branch clippers or pruning shears, floral form brick (readily available at florists or most craft supply stores), knife for cutting floral foam
Ribbon bows. Using your clippers or pruning shears, cut the ends of the branches at sharp angles. Paint each branch completely and allow to dry. Cut the floral foam to fit into your pot or container firmly. Insert the stem of your branch about 3 inches into the foam. You may want to apply a little bit of white glue to the tip of the branch before you insert, for added stability. Next, apply a little glue to the top of the foam, and lay the moss completely around the foam. Hang up your eggs, add bows or other decorative items.
Egg Shell Mosaic - You will need: broken eggshells from dyed eggs (seperated into colors), heavy paper or thin cardboard to make your picture on, white glue, clear lacquer spray (if desired). Draw a picture or design on a piece of paper. You can draw anything you like, but the more detailed the picture, the more complicated your mosaic will be. Decide what colors you want in which areas of your drawing by placing them there first. Once you know what you want where, carefully remove the shell pieces and set them aside. Spread a thin layer of the glue over one section of your drawing at a time. Then place the colored shells carefully back into place. You can even sprinkle a little glitter over the area if you like. As each section dries, you can do another section until your picture is finished. If you want a shiny glaze on the completed project, use a clear spray lacquer to coat the entire mosaic.
