Witches Haven

Ostara

Ostara is the Spring Equinox Days and nights are equal in length.

Myth has the goddess Ostara as the symbol of fertility. According to myth, Ostara loved children; she had a pet bird (some say it was a raven but who knows? It's a myth) she changed her pet bird into a rabbit to amuse the kids.

The rabbit summoned up a bunch of eggs in all sorts of bright colours. Ostara gave the eggs to the children, hence the tradition of Easter eggs. Again, spring wines are used to celebrate and dishes that use eggs as a main ingredient are served. Much laughter, song and general fun.

Ostara is the first breath of new life for the world. New opportunities await the diligent gardener who pushes forward with fresh hopes and dreams for the coming season.

This is a fresh time, a new time, a time for excitement and joy that the cold, the dark and the fear of winter is, finally, over. Any Sabbat ritual for Ostara should reflect this fresh and sweet time of the Calendar.

Decorate your altar with all the things that make Spring special to you. A pot of tulips, brightly coloured eggs - hard boil them and serve them as part of the Great Rite ritual.

Everything about the ritual should scream "SPRING" to you. This isn't a time to be subdued. Another winter is behind you, the world is at your feet.

Make this ritual fresh, let everything about it tell you of abundance to come.

An Ostara Ritual Outline

Ostara has found us again; as She does every year. She offers us fresh, new beginnings. A chance to allow us to plant, tend and infuse our lives with the joy a warming sun and blue skies can offer.

The dark of winter is behind us now and all that it represents. The slowing of life, the exposure of what lies beneath the leaves on a tree or the stark stem of the flower after the petals have long since fallen.

The past is buried, it melted with the winter snow and ice. The future is laid before us.

Welcome to this ritual to Ostara and Spring Eternal.

Spirit of the North –
Watcher of the Earth
The fecund earth awakening.
Life beginning in your warmth once again.
We call to you.
We ask you to attend this circle.
Protect and guard us.
So Mote it be

Spirit of the East
Watcher of the Air
On you, the sweet scents of spring.
The welcoming breeze embracing us.
We call to you.
We ask you to attend this circle.
Protect and guard us.
So Mote it be.

Spirit of the South
Watcher of Water
The womb of life around us.
The gentle sound of your waves.
We call to you.
We ask you to attend this circle.
Protect and guard us.
So Mote it be

Spirit of the West.
Watcher of Fire
The Sun brings rays of joy.
Beams of light halo around us.
We call to you.
We ask you to attend this circle.
Protect and guard us.
So Mote it be

The Deities we will ask to join us represent fertility. They represent renewal and
fresh promise. Cernunnos has left the Underworld and comes to us as the stag,
the ram; growth, virility and stature.

Esotre is the Goddess of Spring. She brings birth and with us, She'll stand
with Cernunnos and share the gift of the new. She is the Flower
of Promise.

Cernunnos, you have thrown off the binds from winter.
The underworld waits for your return but for now, You are Spring.
You are the young male. Strong and virile.
Through You
the leaves return to the oak, to the ash.
Through you too, does our own strength, our own convictions
renewed and refreshed.

Cernunnos, You who are all.
All that is blessed, all that is pure
That which is wild in the heart of woman, of man and of Earth

You bless all that is pure and true.

Surround us.
Be here with us now.
Strong and young.
That which we have sought outside ourselves, you offer
To us always.
Hail and Welcome Great Cernunnos.

Eostre,

From Winter's long sleep, You awake the Earth.
Dressed in a gown of promise, of growth.
The Sun is your constant companion.
The soft warm rain, your bath.
You are the new baby, the kid, the budding flowers.
You are our hope renewed again.
You bring us the Spring.

Eostre, You who are all.
All that is blessed, all that is pure
That which is grows in the heart of woman, of man and of Earth

You bless all that is pure and all that is new.

Surround us.
Be here with us now.
New Born and true.
That which we have sought outside ourselves, you offer
To us always.
Hail and Welcome Sweet Eostre.

Welcome to All,
Seen and unseen.

A new season lies in front of us and it is up to each individual, what they choose to do with it. We all have choices. The life cycle shows us what we should be doing but we are always free to do what we will.

Spring is a fresh start. We aren't bound to repeat our mistakesif we don't choose to do so. Ostara is a chance to plant new seeds. To watch them take root, to grow into something
wonderous and beautiful.

It is a chance to make our lives our own. We are slaves to no man. We create our own reality. We create our own destiny.

We can wallow in the mud, created by the thawing of what was or we can turn that muck into something that will spring forth new life. Nature gives us a clue. We can learn from the clues or we can doom ourselves to repeat our mistakes.

Each day, each season, each year is a chance to design, to build, to change ourselves. Ostara is the perfect time to do this.
Make a vow, to yourselves, to the Deities, to create something
real.

Listen to the Nine Virtues of the Asatru:

1. Courage - Bravery or boldness, the ability to stand and fight in the face of any threat.

2. Truth - Honesty and the ability to standby what is true.

3. Honour, Reputation, Renown. Your personal worth as well as that of your family's.

4. Fidelity - Troth or loyalty to those around you be that family, friends, or fellowship.

5. Discipline – Self-control, the ability to be in command of oneself, at all times, in all circumstances.

6. Hospitality - The ability to make a guest feel welcome.

7. Industriousness - The ability to work hard in maintaining one's self and family.

8. Self Reliance -ability to rely on one's self without the aid of others.

9. Perseverance - Steadfastness or the refusal to give up even when things are rough.

All these vows are tools for creation. Tools to till the fertile soil that lies within all of us.
With these words, we can plant, tend and allow to grow, a new person. The individual we should all strive to become.

Take a second, think about what you would like to sow in your life. What is it you want to see from yourself, to take root and allow to blossom. Vow here, in front of your coven members, in front of the Elements that govern us, in front of the Deities who are ever present.

Coven members make their vows.

Great Rite.

Without the Goddess, without the God
There can be no life.
Without balance - there is chaos.
As the God is to the Goddess.
As the Deities are to us.
May this simple ritual manifest the sacred joining.
May this simple ritual create the life within us all.

This liquid represents the life force; Blessed Be

This bounty, represents the fruits of the joining; Blessed Be.

May you never thirst.
May you never hunger.

And so ends this Ostara Ritual. We will invite the Deities to stay should They wish to do so or to go as is Their Will and we will bid hail and farewell to the Elements.

Cernunnos, having thrown off the binds from winter.
You joined us in joy.
You are Spring.
Every time we look to the oak, when a stag breaks through the trees,
We will think of You.
Through you too, our own strength, our own convictions have been
renewed and refreshed.

Cernunnos, You who are all.
All that is blessed, all that is pure
That which is wild in the heart of woman, of man and of Earth

Surrounding us with Your strength.
Strong and young.
That which we have sought outside ourselves, you offer
To us always.
Stay if You Will, Go if You must, Great Cernunnos.

Eostre,

You awakened the Earth.
Dressed it in promise, in growth.
You have given us back, our Sun, our light.
You have returned the spring rain to us, soft and nourishing.
You are our hope renewed again.
You bring us the Spring.

Eostre, You who are all.
All that is blessed, all that is pure
That which is grows in the heart of woman, of man and of Earth

Surround us with your beauty and promise
New Born and true.
That which we have sought outside ourselves, you offer
To us always.
Stay if You Will, Go if You must, Sweet Eostre.

Spirit of the West.
Watcher of Fire
The Sun brings rays of joy.
Beams of light halo around us.
We thank you for attending this circle.
For Protecting, for guarding us.
Hail and Farewell.

Spirit of the South
Watcher of Water
The womb of life around us.
The gentle sound of your waves.
We thank you for attending this circle.
For Protecting, for guarding us.
Hail and Farewell.

Spirit of the East
Watcher of the Air
On you, the sweet scents of spring.
The welcoming breeze embracing us.
We thank you for attending this circle.
For Protecting, for guarding us.
Hail and Farewell.

Spirit of the North
Watcher of the Earth
The fecund earth awakening.
Life beginning in your warmth once again.
We thank you for attending this circle.
For Protecting, for guarding us.
Hail and Farewell.

From All of Us at Witches' Haven,
To All of You.

A Blessed Ostara and May the Promise
of Spring Be in Your Life Forever.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Canada License.