Ostara

[[WitchMomma]]

Hello everyone!

Well, I am really excited about celebrating Ostara this year. This will be my first year so I am looking forward to it, but also could use some suggestions for how to put together my celebration.

Keep in mind that I am a solitary practitioner of Wicca, so this is something I will be doing on my own.

From what I understand I should light a fire in my cauldron during my rites? Is this right? I read that the significant symbols are the colour white and plants. That will be easy to incorperate.

I don't really sing, but could use some ideas on words to say.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Risingpanther]

Ostara is also known for the dyed eggs....a good idea is to empower an egg to release some sort of negativity in your life then bury it off your property....very effective!!

Also, you dont HAVE to light a cauldron fire, however it is a good idea, it was after all used in the ancient practices. Here is the invocation I use (gleaned from Silver RavenWolf's book):

"Ouroborus tells us the beginning has no end,
Alpha and omega all reside within.
Pisces swims beyond the veil, Aries on the rise.
Mars becomes the focal point capturing the prize.
The moon slips through her mansions
Dancing in the signs
Stars are fixed yet activate
The treasures of the wind.
The air is filled with harmony of plant and bloom and bud each egg foretells the birthing of peace joy and love.
Persephone emerges as winter falls away mother earth rejoices her daughter’s come to stay.
As days grow long and the nights are warm the goddess reigns supreme her power rises in my blood I command all things unseen! Magick symbol, knots and cords
Wand, staff and blade earth, water, fire and air become the witch’s trade.
I’m the ground, the sea, the sky
The breezes springtime sweet gods and spirits dance the round
With in the circle meet.
I conjure thee o leaves of spring hyacinth and myrtle roses, lilacs, lavender black earth, warm and fertile.
Gifts of Gaia, green man rule my wishes come to form
Good fortune roots within my world prosperity is born so mote it be "

[[WitchMomma]]

Thank you very much for your help. Doing the eggs would be a great way to get my daughters involved too.

[Eretik]

It's great fun painting eggs.We used to go out to a hilltop on Easter Sunday and roll the eggs down,gentle slope is best,as kids tend to run alongside the eggs.lol.I'm not sure why,we did this,but I'll check.Winner got a silver coin.I still do it with the kids,if it's raining: indoors, on the stairs,first down or least cracked,lol again,wins.[the eggs are hard boiled first of course,before painting.lol.Egg races would be egg splats otherwise].

We do chocolate eggs,tradition and habit,but I don't do any other celebration at this time - Easter Sunday,that is.I have my 'Spring' festivites at the Equinox,but I'm not Wiccan,so, that's why I don't do Ostara as a Sabbat.

http://www.goddess.servup1.co.uk/information/ostara/36/

There is a lovely story about hare and Eostre on this site,the kids will like it.

[[WitchMomma]]

Eretik - The egg races sound like fun. If the snow melts here by then - I think I will give that a try. I know my 5 year old would be thrilled by that! Great photo op too!

Thanks for the idea.

[Anive1]

Oh, I'm so excited for spring! I love spring. I can't wait for Ostara. I'll be celebrating it solitary as well, but that's fine by me, I enjoy it. It'll be my first year to celebrate Ostara. What makes it even better is I was born on March 21, which means I will be celebrating Ostara on my birthday. I'm just so excited. I wish it was spring already. Yay! Are there any other good ways to celebrate Ostara alone?

Sorry about the extreme excite and confusion, I've just been really hyper lately, it must be the nice days we're getting with the on coming of Spring.

Have fun!

Blessed Be.

[[WitchMomma]]

Oh, I'm so excited for spring! I love spring. I can't wait for Ostara. I'll be celebrating it solitary as well, but that's fine by me, I enjoy it. It'll be my first year to celebrate Ostara. What makes it even better is I was born on March 21, which means I will be celebrating Ostara on my birthday. I'm just so excited. I wish it was spring already. Yay! Are there any other good ways to celebrate Ostara alone?

I hear you totally! I am super excited as well. I am actually practicing an idea for decorating some eggs today to make sure it works so I can have my kids do this for the celebration!

Hope you have a wonderful celebration. Spring - bring it on! Cheers!

[Solitary_Wiccan]

Spring is defintely a fun time in my books! And this year will also be my first year to celebrate the Sabbats so I too am very excited!!

Spring and Summer are much much better than Winter! Hate the rotting cold! lol!

[[WitchMomma]]

Spring is defintely a fun time in my books! And this year will also be my first year to celebrate the Sabbats so I too am very excited!!

Spring and Summer are much much better than Winter! Hate the rotting cold! lol!

I am ready for it, but it seems as if it is never coming here in Canada. we have had the most snow this winter that I can ever remember. I can't even remember what the grass looks like anymore.

We need a huge thaw here!

[Blazewind]

I agree wholehearted ly with you WitchMomma. I live in wesrten Canada, and am way beyond tierd of this winter weather, and all the warming up and cooling off again as spring comes close and then fades again back to winter. The way the weather is going in my part of the country, I'd feel lucky to see flowers and green grass before Baltane. Ostara will likely be either muddy and soggy, or freezing cold.

[[WitchMomma]]

Blazewind - so much the same for this part of Canada. I guess we have been spoiled the last bunch of years and this is what winter is really supposed to be like??

Well, when spring does come. We will be welcoming it with open arms for sure.

[jcrowfoot]

Oh, btw, in stead of taking epson salts and putting it in a cauldron with rubbing alcohol (or vodka) and lighting it on fire, you can just use a while round candle in a cauldron. Believe it or not, scraping all that wax out later is actually easier than removing the concretion created by the "burned" alcohol epson-salt mixture. Also, the fire is smaller, easier to contain, and won't leave three small burn marks wherever you happen to leave it.

I did this once, on my balcony at my apartment, and it scared the willies out me! Believe it or not, I thought that burning wood in a small grill was less dangerous, and did that the next time I wanted a need fire.

To keep that small of a fire interested, I used a mix of kindling and pine needles. Use them with care, since fire REALLY likes pitch.

Another way, is to do the native smudge fire, but that will usually give off LOADS of smoke.

Sometimes, especially if one has kids or something, I'd use other means. For example, you can get sealed oil "candles", flicker battery-operated candles, (they even come in tea light size these days!) even glow sticks.

I use glow sticks a lot when I'm dealing with small fry or highly flamible circumstances.

One mid-summer I used a jar of fireflies for the need fire.