OSTARA - Goddess of Renewal

Colors - all of the pastel colors, green

Symbols - rabbit, egg, feather

Aspects - personal renewal, new beginnings, rebirth, fertility

Suggested Offerings - eggs, rice, incense, feathers, flowers



What I love most about this time of year are the birds. They start their springtime symphony early in the morning as the sun begins to peer over the mountain. The trees are budding and tulips and other flowers are showing up in all the stores. This is the time of year when Ostara is honored and thanked as she resumes her "throne" and presides over the season of spring with her familiar, the rabbit.



Long ago, the Germanic goddess, Ostara, was honored in the month of April each year with festivals honoring re-birth and renewal. Nowadays we recognize her festival as "Easter". The name Easter evolved from the Goddess's name, Ostara, which means "movement towards the rising sun" or "East". Ostara is the living symbol for air and the life force of spring. East is representative of the element of air and our mental powers. Air is about new beginnings and allowing your spirit to soar. Ostara is still one of the most powerful Goddesses today. So much so that she has made herself right at home within Christianity and modern medicine.



Easter, like most Pagan festivals, evolved into a Christian holiday focusing, not on the Goddess, but on the Biblical Jesus and his "rebirth" or "resurrection" . Even so, Easter somehow managed to retain the fertility symbols and the Easter Basket. (I always wondered what the Easter Basket had to do with Christ's resurrection. Didn't you?) Ostara, goddess of fertility, has managed to infiltrate our society with the well known "Rabbit Test" (do they still call it that?) to find out if a woman is pregnant and also the hormone estrogen. Both named for her.



Ostara is the perfect goddess to call on when dealing with women's health issues, especially when related to the reproductive system.

Ostara is Goddess of joy, new beginnings and fertility. That is where Easter Eggs and Easter Bunnies (rabbits) come in. Eggs are an obvious symbol for fertility and the rabbit (Ostara's power animal) has a rather well known propensity for reproducing. Ostara presides over our personal renewal and fertility issues. She is goddess of the dawn.



Eggs were (and still are!) dyed or painted bright colors as an offering to Ostara. Dawn is the best time to invoke her. In days of old, fires were lit at dawn in her honor. It always amazes me how traditions like this survive over the millennia.



Right now is the perfect time to build an altar to Ostara so that you can begin to bring in the energy and vibration for new beginnings and fertility. This is the time of year when we symbolically wake up from our winter slumber and become more alert and active. Ostara's altar will help our minds become fertile once again with ideas, making it very easy to take advantage of the vibrations this time of year offers us. This is a good time for starting new projects of all kinds. Let's build an altar honoring Ostara and the changing of the seasons.



OSTARA'S ALTAR

Here is what you will need for your altar to Ostara:

Brightly colored stones such as Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Calcite, Citrine and/or Aquamarine

Hard boiled eggs, preferably colored or brown

Seeds or rice

Feather (symbol for air)

Incense

Rabbit figurine

Spring flowers

Ostara loves bright colors. The light pastels of spring are perfect offerings for Ostara. To represent earth on your altar, choose bright or pastel colored stones like Rose Quartz, Amethyst, or any of the Calcites (blue, red, yellow, or green). If you have some Citrine, be sure to include it. Citrine has long been an aid for mental clarity.



By including an offering of colored eggs on your altar, you will be taking part in an ancient tradition (still performed!) by the Germanic people. Ostara has been honored this time of year with painted eggs for centuries.

To symbolize fertility, in addition to the eggs, you can include seeds or rice on your altar. I like to use rice as a symbol for fertility on my altars.

Incense and feathers are perfect symbols for air on your altar. It is important for Ostara's altar that you include a symbol for air because Ostara herself is the living symbol for Air. (This must be the way Ostara and Easter became associated with birds, i.e. chickens) Be sure to burn incense at your altar when you are dedicating it to bring in the energy and vibrational qualities of Ostara.



The perfect time to dedicate your altar is at dawn. Choose a day, then plan to dedicate your altar to Ostara at dawn's first light by lighting incense and repeating an invocation to her as well as a prayer of thanksgiving for all that Ostara symbolizes in your life; A clear mind. New beginnings. Personal renewal. Fertility, either for the purpose of bearing a child or for creativity such as arts and crafts, writing, or decorating.



You can include anything you like on your altar to Ostara. You will know by how you feel if an item is appropriate or not. I believe it is important to include symbols for the four elements on my altars. The four elements are Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. The four Calcites on my altar (red/fire, green/earth, yellow/air, and blue/water) represent Mother Earth and the four elements. I have added feathers and other items that symbolize Ostara to my altar as offerings to her.



Last, but not least, I have included a figure of a rabbit. The rabbit is Ostara's power animal. I am sure this is because of their propensity for fertility.



That reminds me of something. When I was a kid (oh no, here goes one of my "when I was a kid" stories again!) I used to think that rabbits laid eggs. I think because my Easter basket always had rabbits and eggs in it. Did you think that too? It wasn't until I was in the 4th grade (the same year that I found out there was no Santa Claus!) that I found out that rabbits don't lay eggs. What a traumatic age that was for me. Then I went through a large part of my life wondering why we don't have chickens instead of Easter rabbits for Easter. Someone else must have thought the same thing because shortly after that they started making candy in the shape of "chicks" for Easter. I don't think the chicken idea really caught on though. The Easter Chicken just didn't have the same "ring" to it. All the while, I never knew of Ostara or how Easter started until much later in life. And, "Why is that?" you might ask. Well, that is a whole other story.



information from GoddessVision. net

An Ostara Chant to Honour the Trees

"When nights and days are balanced and halved,

The ancient Oaks sprout life anew.

Limbs of buds and leaves reach out

Collecting the breath of the mornings' dew



Summer will come and the Winter winds,

Turning and turning the leaves on their stems.

Then they must fall, but now in the spring

the twig is bound, and the Bud remains.



Hang the leaf from sturdy limb

Of Oak or Maple, or Ash, or Elm,

Praise the Oak God, the tree is him!

Thus will the trees live long and well."

A Wind Spell

The ancient people of the Aegean believed the power of the wind could be harnessed and used to empower their magic. Let the March wind communicate your desires to the unseen realm. To do so, say:


I whisper over the hills and through the hollows,

For I am the Wind, come, if you wish to follow;

Speak to me your spells and magical words,

Or any prayer-all will be heard;

I will carry your dreams to Father Sky,

Far beyond where eagles fly.

To send your wish, rise before dawn;

Facing east before darkness is gone;

Announce each wish, one at a time;

I will be your messenger to the divine.




The wind spirit will help you achieve your goals.

by: James Kambos

*Perfect for me - my element is air

A Great Breakfast

Dear Readers:

Normally I do not blog about my meals, but did you ever just get one that you wanted to tell people about.  I did this morning, for breakfast.  We stopped in the West Side Diner at 19th and Tilghman Streets, in Allentown, PA - formerly Saylor's Restaurant after we had blood tests taken, now, true it was a fasting blood tests, so maybe we were hungry - but for value and taste it could not be beat.  Yours truly feasted on a Gyro Omelet and my man, on Grannie's Omelet.  Mine was wonderful the gyro meat, fresh tomato and onion omelet was served with a thick cucumber sauce on the side.  KUDOS on the fried potatoes.  I judge my breakfast places on the fried potatoes and these were the best.  Golden crunchy not burned, perfect for a gal who like's her crunchy.  My date loved that fact that the wheat toast was REALLY wheat toast - not that generic I really can't tell if it white or wheat toast and they had blackberry jelly in the little packs, what's not to love about blackberry.  His omelet was huge - it contained potatoes, ham, cheese & onion (he asked them to hold the green peppers) and topped with more cheese and bacon.  All this for $12.61 - the coffee was included!!!! and may I add, my cup was never empty.  Now of course, this is a Thursday morning - but we are going to go again on a weekend to see if we get the same great service.  Two thumbs up for breakfast at West End Diner.

A Charm Bag to Bring Luck in Business

Make or buy a draw-string bag about 2-4 inches deep. Put in equal

parts of each of the following:



bayberry

red clover

comfrey

dragon's blood

mandrake root

5-6 tulip petals



Inscribe your full name on one side of the mandrake root, and the

runes Dagaz, Fehu and Teiwaz on the other. During the

waxing phase of the moon, preferably on a Wednesday or Thursday, put

the bag together, then consecrate and charge the bag. Keep it in your

pocket.

Separating Yourself from a Problem or Person

Small issues can be handled in a magick circle, whereas larger issues

may need a full ritual. Think carefully which is best for the

situation. You will need two black candles, a long black ribbon, black

gloves, scissors, the cauldron containing small amount of alcohol, and a

silver bell. Cleanse and consecrate all items. Dress the candles to send

negativity away from you, then light them. Hold each end of the ribbon

and name the ends. Pass the silver bell over the altar several times,


until you feel you are in tune with the Universal energies of love and

peace. Anger is not a luxury afforded to you in the situation. Put on

the black gloves and say:



"I call upon the energies of Universal balance

I call upon the ancient energies of my people

I call upon the living essence of the Morrigan

Underworld and heaven

Land and sea

I waken these energies unto me.

Witness now that I renounce and sever

Break bonds and connections with ______

By all powers that are One Power

May the great sisters of karma now weave anew

And separate me from you

As I will, so mote it be!"



Cut the ribbon: It is so.


Light the cauldron. Burn both pieces of ribbon.

CANDLEMAS: The Light Returns

It seems quite impossible that the holiday of Candlemas should be considered

the beginning of Spring. Here in the Heartland, February 2nd may see a

blanket of snow mantling the Mother. Or, if the snows have gone, you may be sure

the days are filled with drizzle, slush, and steel-grey skies -- the dreariest

weather of the year. In short, the perfect time for a Pagan Festival of

Lights. And as for Spring, although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the

little buds, flowers and leaves will have arrived on schedule before Spring

runs its course to Beltane.



'Candlemas' is the Christianized name for the holiday, of course. The older

Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc. 'Imbolc' means, literally, 'in the belly'

(of the Mother). For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from our mundane

sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was

planted in her womb at the solstice is quickening and the new year grows.

'Oimelc' means 'milk of ewes', for it is also lambing season.

The holiday is also called 'Brigit's Day', in honor of the great Irish

Goddess Brigit. At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a group of 19

priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor.

She was considered a goddess of fire, patroness of smithcraft, poetry and

healing (especially the healing touch of midwifery). This tripartite symbolism

was occasionally expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters, also named

Brigit. (Incidentally, another form of the name Brigit is Bride, and it is thus

She bestows her special patronage on any woman about to be married or

handfasted, the woman being called 'bride' in her honor.)



The Roman Catholic Church could not very easily call the Great Goddess of

Ireland a demon, so they canonized her instead. Henceforth, she would be 'Saint'

Brigit, patron saint of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. They 'explained'

this by telling the Irish peasants that Brigit was 'really' an early Christian

missionary sent to the Emerald Isle, and that the miracles she performed

there 'misled' the common people into believing that she was a goddess. For some

reason, the Irish swallowed this. (There is no limit to what the Irish

imagination can convince itself of. For example, they also came to believe that

Brigit was the 'foster-mother' of Jesus, giving no thought to the

implausibility of Jesus having spent his boyhood in Ireland!)

Brigit's holiday was chiefly marked by the kindling of sacred fires, since

she symbolized the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the forge, and the

fire of poetic inspiration. Bonfires were lighted on the beacon tors, and

chandlers celebrated their special holiday. The Roman Church was quick to

confiscate this symbolism as well, using 'Candlemas' as the day to bless all the

church candles that would be used for the coming liturgical year. (Catholics

will be reminded that the following day, St. Blaise's Day, is remembered for

using the newly-blessed candles to bless the throats of parishioners, keeping

them from colds, flu, sore throats, etc.)



The Catholic Church, never one to refrain from piling holiday upon holiday,

also called it the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (It

is surprising how many of the old Pagan holidays were converted to Maryan

Feasts.) The symbol of the Purification may seem a little obscure to modern

readers, but it has to do with the old custom of 'churching women'. It was

believed that women were impure for six weeks after giving birth. And since Mary

gave birth at the winter solstice, she wouldn't be purified until February

2nd. In Pagan symbolism, this might be re-translated as when the Great Mother

once again becomes the Young Maiden Goddess.



Today, this holiday is chiefly connected to weather lore. Even our American

folk-calendar keeps the tradition of 'Groundhog's Day', a day to predict the

coming weather, telling us that if the Groundhog sees his shadow, there will

be 'six more weeks' of bad weather (i.e., until the next old holiday, Lady

Day). (*By the way - he saw his shadow again this year).  This custom is ancient. An old British rhyme tells us that 'If Candlemas

Day be bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year.' Actually, all

of the cross-quarter days can be used as 'inverse' weather predictors,

whereas the quarter-days are used as 'direct' weather predictors.

Like the other High Holidays or Great Sabbats of the Witches' year,

Candlemas is sometimes celebrated on it's alternate date, astrologically determined by the sun's reaching 15-degrees Aquarius, or Candlemas Old Style.



Incidentally, some modern Pagan groups have recently begun calling the holiday itself

'Brigit', presumably as a shorthand for 'Brigit's Day'. This lexical laziness

is lamentable since it confuses a deity-name for the proper name of the

holiday. The same disconcerting trend can be seen in the recent practice of

referring to the autumnal equinox as 'Mabon', which is more properly the name of a

Welsh god-form. Another holiday that gets mixed up in this is Valentine's

Day. Ozark folklorist Vance Randolf makes this quite clear by noting that the

old-timers used to celebrate Groundhog's Day on February 14th. This same

displacement is evident in Eastern Orthodox Christianity as well. Their habit of

celebrating the birth of Jesus on January 6th, with a similar post-dated shift

in the six-week period that follows it, puts the Feast of the Purification of

Mary on February 14th. It is amazing to think that the same confusion and

lateral displacement of one of the old folk holidays can be seen from the

Russian steppes to the Ozark hills, but such seems to be the case!

Incidentally, there is speculation among linguistic scholars that the vary

name of 'Valentine' has Pagan origins. It seems that it was customary for

French peasants of the Middle Ages to pronounce a 'g' as a 'v'. Consequently,

the original term may have been the French 'galantine', which yields the English

word 'gallant'. The word originally refers to a dashing young man known for

his 'affaires d'amour', a true galaunt. The usual associations of

V(G)alantine' s Day make much more sense in this light than their vague connection to a legendary 'St. Valentine' can produce. Indeed, the Church has always found

it rather difficult to explain this nebulous saint's connection to the secular

pleasures of flirtation and courtly love.



For modern Witches, Candlemas O.S. may then be seen as the Pagan version of

Valentine's Day, with a de-emphasis of 'hearts and flowers' and an

appropriate re-emphasis of Pagan carnal frivolity. This also re-aligns the holiday with the ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility festival held at this time, in

which the priests of Pan ran through the streets of Rome whacking young women

with goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The women seemed to enjoy the

attention and often stripped in order to afford better targets.



One of the nicest folk-customs still practiced in many countries, and

especially by Witches in the British Isles and parts of the U.S., is to place a

lighted candle in each and every window of the house (or at least the windows

that faced the street), beginning at sundown on Candlemas Eve (February 1st),

allowing them to continue burning until sunrise. Make sure that such candles

are well seated against tipping and guarded from nearby curtains, etc. What a

cheery sight it is on this cold, bleak and dreary night to see house after

house with candle-lit windows! And, of course, if you are your Coven's

chandler, or if you just happen to like making candles, Candlemas Day is the day for

doing it. Some Covens hold candle-making parties and try to make and bless

all the candles they'll be using for the whole year on this day.



Other customs of the holiday include weaving 'Brigit's crosses' from straw

or wheat to hang around the house for protection, performing rites of

spiritual cleansing and purification, making 'Brigit's beds' to ensure fertility of

mind and spirit (and body, if desired), and making Crowns of Light (i.e. of

candles) for the High Priestess to wear for the Candlemas Circle, similar to

those worn on St. Lucy's Day in Scandinavian countries. All in all, this Pagan

Festival of Lights, sacred to the young Maiden Goddess, is one of the most

beautiful and poetic of the year.

by Mike Nichols