WAYS TO CELEBRATE OSTARA

Bring spring flowers into your home and to stay in tune with the theme of
balance, give some of them to others. It doesn't have to be expensive, one or
two blooms given for no other reason than 'spring is here' can bring a smile
to a gloomy face.

Do a little 'personal housekeeping'. We live in an age where guilt is often
encouraged and we dwell on our 'negative' points and habits. THIS IS NOT
THE WAY OF THE WITCH! As a Witch, we need to learn to be as honest
about our plus points as society would like us to be about our minuses.

Advertising is probably the most pervasive kind of propaganda encouraging
us to think of ourselves as 'less than perfect' and selling us products,
equipment or apparel to make us look like the people in the advertisements.
Think of this, if we actually needed those products and more importantly, if
they worked as advertised...there would be no need to advertise them, we
would buy them without being told to.

But, returning to 'personal housekeeping', make a list of 5 plus points,
things you are good at. Then make a list of 5 minus points, things you would
like to improve. Make sure the things you put on your minus list are things you
can actually change, then work toward making those changes.

One of the first tasks of the Witch is to understand and accept themselves,
good and bad points both. It is only when you understand yourself that you
will be in a position to understand others. That is a good portion of a Witches'
Magick.



Start a tradition of going to a field and randomly collecting wildflowers.* Or,
buy some from a florist, taking one or two of those that appeal to you. Then
bring them home and divine their magickal meanings by the use of books, your
own intuition, a pendulum or by other means. The flowers you've chosen will
reveal your inner thoughts and emotions. It is important at this time of
renewed life to plan a walk (or a ride) through gardens, a park, woodlands,
forest and other green places.

This is not simply exercise, and you should be on no other mission. It isn't
just an appreciation of nature, make your walk celebratory, a ritual for nature
itself.

Other traditional activities include planting seeds, working on magickal
gardens and practicing all forms of herb work - magickal, medicinal,
cosmetic, culinary and artistic.

Foods in tune with this day (linking your meals with the seasons is a fine
method of attuning with nature) include those made of seeds, such as
sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, as well as pine nuts.

Sprouts are equally appropriate, as are leafy, green vegetables. Flower
dishes such as stuffed nasturtiums or carnation cupcakes are a great way to
celebrate with food.

These are ideas for your Ostara ritual that will add special meaning to your
celebrations. You can color and empower Ostara eggs for health, wealth and
prosperity. Celebrate the return of the Goddess by potting plants and giving
them to friends and loved ones. (This next one is my favorite), incorporate
chocolate into your Ostara ritual! Review the items in your magickal cabinet or
box and replace what is needed. Empower the supplies during your Ostara
ritual. Bless seeds for your garden.

You should hold your ritual at dawn because Ostara is solar driven. The sun
moves from mutable, watery Pisces to cardinal, fiery Aries. Aries is a great
'starter' sign, but it manages to dissipate as time passes. Any magick done
while the sun or moon is in Aries should be supplemented with other workings
later on.
*Thank the flowers for their sacrifice before picking them and make sure you aren't trespassing on private property.

Solstice
Again did the earth shift
Again did the nights grow short
And the days long
And the people of the Earth were glad
And celebrated each in their own ways.
Author Diane Lee Moomey




THE VERNAL EQUINOX
In 2015, spring begins with the vernal equinox on March 20 at 7:45 P.M. CST.

The beginning of the spring season. This festival's familiar symbols of
rabbits, pastel-colored eggs, and bright spring flowers are sweet and
romantic. Look around you; everywhere in nature there are signs of life
returning to the land. To bring a bit of this natural magic indoors, pick up a
pretty pot of blooming bulbs. Try tulips for love, or daffodils for chivalry
and honor and take them home to brighten things up.

Perhaps you can jazz them up a little by tucking some moss over the soil or
adding a festive bow or tiny colored eggs to the container. Enchant these
spring flowers for fresh starts and good luck.

Light a soft green candle and call on the Goddess of spring, Eostre, to work
this Sabbat spell for new beginnings and to increase the positive things in
your life.

Ostara begins our season of Spring, good luck,
joy and cheer these flowers do bring.
Eostre, bless my home, family and friends,
May your love and blessings never end.
Ellen Dugan (from Llewellyn's Witches datebook 2006)



Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning (new beginnings) Sunrise observance (to celebrate the
growing light of the sun) Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden.
Take a long walk in nature just for the purpose of reflecting on the Magick
of nature and our Great Mother and Her bounty. Have a traditional
breakfast of buns, ham and eggs. Moon cakes or hot cross buns are round
and marked on top with a cross dividing it into quarters. This symbolizes the
quarters of the moon and the four elements. On Ostara Eve, light a purple or
violet candle and burn patchoulli incense. Carry them both through the house
saying:

Farewell to wintry spirits and friends
On morrow we greet the spirits of spring.
Our blessings to thee as your way we wend
And merry we'll meet next winter again

Snuff the candle and say:

Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again.
This site was established in 2005 and is created with Yahoo! Sitebuilder (2.8.5). Content and Publication is the sole responsibility of Odess Moondragon HP, the
inspiration from the Goddess. If you are owner of any content and can prove copyright, contact me and I will remove it from my site, but you have to have proof of
ownership. All information contained within this site is purely for fun and amusement and any rituals or spells you decide to try are at your own risk for the outcome.
By entering this site you are agreeing that I will not be held responsible for any magickal backlashes you create in your practice of magick. E-mail me at
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Last updated 2-20-2014.
BLESSED BE!
Witches Cove
Odess Moondragon HP )O(
Ostara
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