It's the time of the Spring
Equinox if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's a true marker that
Spring has come. The word Ostara is just one of the names
applied to the celebration of the Spring Equinox on March 20. The Venerable Bede said the origin of the
word is actually from Eostre, a
Germanic Goddess of spring. Of course,
it's also the same time as the Christian Easter celebration, and in the Jewish
faith, Passover takes place as well. For
early Pagans in the Germanic countries, this was a time to celebrate planting
and the new crop season.
Today many honor
Frigg, Freya and Nerthus. Libations of
mead are poured onto the Earth. Ostara celebrates the coming of spring and return
of life after the dead of winter. Many Americans follow the tradition of
coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. The Easter Bunny is a popular legendary
anthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture.
This is an excellent time to perform rituals involving
purification, business success, study, employment, breaking addictions of all
kinds, travel, releasing guilt and jealousy, healing diseases and the conscious
mind. A time of Air, Spring,
Maiden and Warrior.
Other Names: Eostre's Day, Ostara, Vernal Equinox,
Alban Eiber, Bacchanalia, Lady Day, Summer
Finding
Activities: Dying Eggs, Bonfires, Looking for Spring
Growth, Planting seeds, Introduce the joy of planting and working
with gardens to the underprivileged, Spring Cleaning
Altar: Upon a cloth of Ostara
colors, place a rain stick, a bowl of eggs, a great bowl of water filled with
stones, a yellow candle, incense of violets, and a fan made in the shape of a
bird's wing. Add also flats of earth and
a bowl of seeds. Set up a vase of branches
cut from a tree and allowed to sprout green in warm water. Hang hollowed eggs marked with appropriate
symbols from the tree. Some should be
half golden and half black.
Animals: Rabbits, Snakes, Chicks, Robin
Attunement
Teas(Individually or Blended): Dandelion, Egg Drinks, Hyssop, Linden
Colors: Pink, Yellow, Grass Green, All Pastels,
Robin's Egg Blue
Deities: Youthful and virile God and Goddess
Element: Earth, Air
Foods: Eggs, Honey, Nuts, Flower Dishes, Mead
Goddesses: Aphrodite (Greek), Eostre (Teutonic),
Gaia (Greek), Iris(Greek), Lady of the Lake (Welsh-Cornish), Moon Mother (Native
American), Coatlicue (Aztec), Flidais (Irish), Isis (Egyptian), Minerva (Roman),
The Muses (Greek), Persephone (Greco-Roman), Rheda (Anglo-Saxon), Venus (Roman),
Freya (Norse)
Gods: Adonis (Greek), Lord of the Greenwood (English),
Dylan (Welsh), The Great Horned God (European), Mithras (Greco Persian), Odin (Norse),
Osiris (Egyptian), Pan (Greek), Thor (Norse)
Incense: Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry,
Floral of any type
Key Action: Open, Begin, Renewal, Growth
Meaning: Balance, New Life, Rebirth, Goddess and
God in Youth, Non-Celtic End of Winter, Light Overtaking Darkness
Mythical
Creatures: Unicorn, Merpeople, Pegesus
Plants: Crocus, Daffodil, Jasmine, Irish Moss,
Snowdrop, Ginger, Violet, Flowering trees
Pronounced: "O-STAR-ah"
Ostara
Ritual Oils: Lotus, Magnolia, Ginger
Stones: Aquamarine, Rose Quartz, Moonstone, Jasper
Symbols: Eggs, New Moon, Butterflies, Cocoons,
Baskets, Seeds
Taboos: None
Spring's Return by Justin Douglas Blackford
The grass grows tall and green.
The air is dewy sweet.
Winter is in retreat.
Sunna has returned sheen.
The skies seem bright and clean.
The wind bows fields of wheat.
The cold is dealt defeat
By the warmth in-between.
With new leaves, the trees thrive.
The breeze is brisk and cool.
Flowers are brought to life.
The sheep are shorn of wool.
Children resume their plays
Outdoors on these great days.
The grass grows tall and green.
The air is dewy sweet.
Winter is in retreat.
Sunna has returned sheen.
The skies seem bright and clean.
The wind bows fields of wheat.
The cold is dealt defeat
By the warmth in-between.
With new leaves, the trees thrive.
The breeze is brisk and cool.
Flowers are brought to life.
The sheep are shorn of wool.
Children resume their plays
Outdoors on these great days.
We Color Ostara´s Eggs
Can be chanted as 'call and response' while children paint their eggs.
Can be chanted as 'call and response' while children paint their eggs.
Red will the eggs be, red like Thor´s beard.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with red.
Yellow will the eggs be, yellow like Sif´s hair.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with yellow.
Green will the eggs be, green like Frey´s thumb.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with green.
Blue will the eggs be, blue like Odin´s eye.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with blue.
White will the eggs be, white like Frigg´s cloak.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with white.
Bright blue will the eggs be, bright blue like Njord´s sea.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with bright blue.
Flame red will the eggs be, flame red like Freya´s heart.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with flame red.
Bright green will the eggs be, like Ostara´s dress.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with bright green.
Colorful will the eggs be, just like the rainbow.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with all colors there are!
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with red.
Yellow will the eggs be, yellow like Sif´s hair.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with yellow.
Green will the eggs be, green like Frey´s thumb.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with green.
Blue will the eggs be, blue like Odin´s eye.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with blue.
White will the eggs be, white like Frigg´s cloak.
- We color Ostara´s eggs all with white.
Bright blue will the eggs be, bright blue like Njord´s sea.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with bright blue.
Flame red will the eggs be, flame red like Freya´s heart.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with flame red.
Bright green will the eggs be, like Ostara´s dress.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with bright green.
Colorful will the eggs be, just like the rainbow.
- We color Ostara´s eggs with all colors there are!
(German original "Wir färben Ostaras Eier": Michael
Schütz)
No comments:
Post a Comment