Merry Meet,
As Ostara is coming up very soon I've have been working towards my Ostara entry for my B.o.S and it's been quite an interesting journey! This is the second post of the Sabbat series:
As Ostara is coming up very soon I've have been working towards my Ostara entry for my B.o.S and it's been quite an interesting journey! This is the second post of the Sabbat series:
Ostara
Celebrating the
Sabbat
21st March (Northern)
21st September (Southern)
(Sun is 1o Aries)
History, Mythology & Culture
This Sabbat sounds a lot like
“Easter” and it’s no coincidence considering Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon Dawn
Goddess, her symbols are the egg and the hare and She is the European
counterparts of Ishtar and Astarté. Her
worship dates back thousands of years and most definitely pre-Christian (3,000 BC
or older). You can also find her name in
medical references to feminine words like oestrous and oestrogen. While entertaining children, Eostre turned a
bird into a rabbit and the bewitched animal laid colour eggs, this story is
where the Easer Bunny sprouts from and the tradition of egg hunting.
The act of giving eggs at this time was known to early Egyptians,
Persians, Greeks, Romans and Gauls.
The
Goddess is a full Maiden form from Imbolc and we can see her all around us in
the awakened land blanketed in fertility, the leaves on the trees, the flowers
and the first shoots of corn.
The
God has grown to full maturity and as he walks the greening fields he delights
in nature’s abundance. The God and
Goddess impel the creatures of the Earth to reproduce.
Ostara
also marks the Spring Equinox, a time of balance, when day and night rule in
equal lengths. Now is the perfect time
where we begin to seek our own balance within.
Out with the old and in with the new.
Hence the term “Spring cleaning”.
This can be anything and everything, spiritual cleansing and releasing
bad habits to clearing out old belongings we no longer have a need for. Use th9s time to accept yourself for what you
are and find the balance within. This is
also a time of beginnings, taking action, planting spells for future gains and
tending ritual gardens.
The
Saxon word eastre translates to “beginnings” and they named the fourth month
Estormonath, to roughly mean “month of beginnings” or “month of openings”.
Modern
Germany
The
Hebrew festival of light, fertility and rebirth is known as Pasah.
Associations
Goddess
Role:
Maiden
Goddesses: (Fertility, Renewal/Rebirth,
Prosperity) Spring Maiden, Eostre, Artemis, Diana, Isis, Freya, Anu, Arianrhod,
Boann, Brighid, Cerridwen, Druantia, Epona, Macha, Rhiannon, Rhea, Cybele,
Persephone, Nerthus, Athirat, Asherah, Gaia, Tellus, Ninhursag, Inanna, Ishtar,
Frigg, Hag, Crone, Cailliach, Epona, Nerthus
God
Role:
Young Lord/Warrior
Gods: (Fertility, Prosperity, Renewal/Rebirth)
Spring Lord, Dionysus, Bacchus, Bel, Cernunnos, Blue God, Attis, Dagon, Baal,
Saturn, Kronos, Amon, Geb, Ra, Dagda, Gwynn ap Nudd
Planetary: Mars
Element: Air
Celtic
Month:
Ash
Animals: Hare, Rabbit
Birds: Chicks
Symbolism
& Focus: Fertility, New Beginnings, Eggs, Seeds, Sunrise
Other
Names: Oestara, Rites of Spring,
Eostra’s Day, Ostre, Mean Earraigh, Alban Eiler, Caisg, Pesse, Ostern, Pasah
Altar & Magical Correspondence
Altar
Cloth & Candles: Green, Yellow, Pastel Shades,
Altar
& Circle: Decorate with wild or seasonal flowers, Mark the Quarters with Baskets
of Appropriately Coloured Eggs, Cast Circle
with Wand or Flowering Branch
Incense:
Orris
Root, Jasmine, Rose, Violet Petals,
Stones: Moss Agate, Green
Moonstone, Orange Calcite, Rose Quartz
Flowers: (All Spring Flowers)
Herbs: Daffodil, Woodruff,
Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus, Orris Root, Jasmine, Rose Petals,
Violet Petals
Food & Drink: Eggs, Milk, Breads
& Cakes with Seeds or Fruit
Other
Information
With Ostara
being a time of rebirth and renewal, the deities Odin, Attis, Osiris, Dagda,
Mithras, Orpheus, Hera and Persephone were also resurrected during this time.
The Hot Cross
Bun was originally baked to symbolise the Sun Wheel, Christianity adopted it
later.
Magical Workings:
Possible
Activities:
¶ Colour
and empower eggs for Health, Wealth and Prosperity.
¶ Gift
potted plants to friends in celebration of the return of the Goddess.
¶ Incorporate
chocolate into your Ostara workings or ritual.
¶ Review
your magical supplies and replace items that are needed, empower these items
during your Ostara ritual.
¶ Bless
seeds ready to plant.
¶ Hold
your Ostara ritual at sunrise.
¶ Hold
your Ostara ritual outside.
¶ Mark
your herb garden with symbols using stones, for example a pentagram or the Sun
Wheel.
Craft
Ideas & Activities
¶ Collect
or buy spring flowers, bring half into the home and give half to others as
gifts to keep the theme of balance.
¶ Personal Housekeeping: Make a list, 20 in the
pro’s column and 20 in the con’s column of things you’re good at and things you
want to improve on. Be sensible and
positive.
¶ Learn
about herbs and plants that are used for remedies and considering growing some
of them. Maybe even take a herbalist
course or read a herbal remedies book.
¶ Make
deviled eggs for libation.
¶ Hard
boil eggs and label them, using a white crayon, with qualities that you want to
bring to your life or personality. Dye
them with corresponding colours using food dye.
Bless them during your Ostara ritual and then eat them. Visualise that you are ingesting these qualities;
the spiritual seed has been planted within you.
¶ Make
Egg Nog (Recipe to follow)
¶ Bake
Hot Cross Buns (Recipe to follow)
¶ Bake
Pashka Cake (Recipe to follow)
Natural
Dyes
Yellow
Carrot, Turmeric, Fenugreek,
White Grape Juice
Orange
Onion Skins, Paprika
Red
Red Onion
Skins, Madder Root, Cayenne
Red-Violet
Purple Grape Juice, Red
Berries
Green
Carrot Tops,
Bracken
Blue
Blueberries,
Red Cabbage, Blackberries
Blue-Violet
Blackberries, Beet
Juice, Mulberries
Pink
Heather
Fruitful
Home
Items
required:
¶ Four uncooked eggs
Plant
the uncooked eggs at each corner of your property, for each corner say
something like:
“Fertile
egg of ancient life
Bring joy
and laughter – ease all strife
And with
your great fertility
Grand
perfect love and harmony
To all who
live within these bounds
Be they
person, thing, wild life or hound”
Dorothy
Morrison
Garden
Blessing
Items required:
¶ Three eggs
¶ One litre milk
Beat
the eggs and blend in the milk. Before adding
this mixture to a spray bottle bless it by saying something like:
“Fertile
measures of the Earth
Mel and
mix with joy and mirth
Bring all
you touch fertility
As I will,
so mote it be”
Spray
the unplanted areas of your garden or the inside of plant pots; bless them by
saying something like:
“Milk and
egg, now fertilise
This plot
of Earth beneath the skies
I bless
this place by the Lord and Maid
Soil grow
rich in sun and shade”
Dorothy
Morrison
Rid a Habit, Gain a Wish
Items
required:
¶ Dry Leaves (One for each thing you want to be rid
off)
¶ Seeds or Seedlings (One for each thing you wish to
gain)
Write
on each leaf something that you want to rid yourself of.
Dig
a hole big enough to allow the seedlings to grow, place the dry leaves into it
and say something like:
“Lord and
Lady of this time of balance
These are
the things I wish to be rid of
As these
leave wither and rot
May I let
go of those things that might hold me back.”
Place
one or two of the seedlings on top of the leaves and say something like:
“Lord and
Lady, these are the things
Which I
wish to attain in the coming season
Let them
grow strong and true
From the
remains of the old.”
Cover
the hole back up with soil and water.
Kate West
Reference: Kate West
Dorothy
Morrison
Ann
Murphy-Hiscock
Scott
Cunningham
Silver
RavenWolf
Edain
McCoy
Ann
Marie Gallagher
Raven
Grimassi
Get in touch! Would love to hear from you ☮ ♡ & ツ
Brightest Blessings
☆ ☽✪☾ ☆
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