Witchcraft A Beginner's Guide

Ostara

Ostara takes place during the spring equinox. Ostara is usually between March 19th and the 22nd. It takes place between Imbolc and Beltane. In this way it can be seen as a time to celebrate the balance between the seasons. It is commonly referred to as the first official day of spring. With this sabbat we welcome spring, and the return of Ostara. The modern holiday of Easter, has taken a lot of it's core symbols from Ostara, such as the rabbit, eggs, and flowers. These are signs of abundance returning to Earth. The animals are coming back from hibernation, the birds return, and the flowers begin to bloom again. Ostara is the goddess commonly associated with the rabbit, or hare. The egg is symbolic of new life, fertility, and rebirth. The flowers returing bloom represents renewal. Rituals pertaining to Ostara, typically pertain to balance and renewal. You can start by cleansing and purifying your home. This is a good time to do work with things you need to let go of. You can plant seeds, when you plant the seeds, give them your intention and allow them to manifest your goal in the coming months. If you want to do an egg charm you will need; a needle and an egg of corresponding color. Brown eggs are used in spells involving animals, white eggs are used for people and plants. You will need to use the needle to pierce two holes in the egg. Use the needles to scramble the yolk. When the egg has completely came out of the shell you can paint it. Speak your intentions into the hole on the top and place on your altar. It is a good time to make charms for yourself, bringing abundance and balance. You can also dress a chocolate egg, give it your intention, and consume the egg, thus ingesting the charm. It is a common practice for egg hunts, or scavenger hunts. If you have kids a good plant practice can be to let them 'plant' some seeds, you can transport grass, or any common plant into a potted plant, and allow them to care for it. They can make a wish or provide the plant with intentions. Do not forget to notice the signs of spring. You can take walks to see how many rabbits you can spot, or leave food out in an appropriate setting for nature to come to you. If you are not in an area where you can readily experience nature, the Earth is all around you. You can take trips to a national park, a forest, or a regular walk through your yard. Wherever you feel most comfortable to welcome spring is the place to start.

How it is celebrated:
Color correspondences;white, green, and pastels
Activities; Purifying the home, planting seeds, egg charms, scavenger hunts, pick up litter, egg divination, light white and black candles, imbew an effigy with things you would like to leave in winter, make bird feeders and clean out hair brushes, tell the story of Ostara,
Cooking with intentions; eggs, cakes, buns, and milk
Herbs and plants; Lavender, daffodils, violets, lemon grass, and any other flowers blooming at this time
Crystals; amethyst, clear quartz, rose quartz, and moonstone

The story of Ostara:

Underneath the Earth Ostara is sleeping. The Lord of the Wood is waiting. She sleeps through the winter. While she sleeps, the hares keep watch, with startled eyes, long rounded ears, the hares stand vigil, as they are her guardians. They are her connection to the turning year. Together they gaze at the moon and sun. They monitor the cycling of the heavens. When they see the sun begin to turn toward the Earth once more, they know it is time to begin. They raise Ostara from her bed, to bring forth spring. As Ostara rises, so does the land. Where she treads, new life springs forth. The white and gray, give way to vibrant green plants. She brings about the passing of winter. When summer takes hold, Ostara retires to the Earth. Where she sleeps, until the hares return. One year when Ostara was very late to emerge, she realized the land had been under the blanket of winter for far too long. Snow and ice stubbornly refused to melt. All life suffered in this never ending winter. As Ostara prepared herself for the task ahead, she found a sparrow. She had succumbed to cold and hunger. She lay on the ice, half dead.  Ostara was drawn to the suffering bird. With softness she reached down, and lifted the bird from the ice. It lay limp in her hands. It's terrified eyes were it's only sign of life. Ostara lifted the bird to her lips, and she blew warmth into the bird. She was filled with new life, as the shadow of death was blown away. In an instant, the sparrow revived. It broke into song, and as it sang, a warm breeze came through. Ostara smiled, an unintentional bond had been created. The little bird shared her breath, and with it some of her power, some of her immortality. So together they ushered in spring. Then the next, then the next, and then the next. The two became inseparable. Together they began to share responsibility for spring, Ostara was responsible for the land, and the little sparrow was responsible for the southern winds. They brought in spring each year for centuries. One year, they came across a new member of the hares. He was unlike any hare they had seen before. All of the other hares were nervous, skinny, and flighty creatures. He was strong and fearless. He never cowered from the fox, or ran from the falcon. Ostara was used to the other hares bowing before her when she came close, but not him. He stood tall and proud. Ostara smiled at his confident posture. The hare was anything but confident, when he looked at the sparrow on Ostara's shoulder, he began to feel a bit of panic. He did not know how, but he knew, some day he would make that beautiful sparrow, his wife. Eventually, he could contain himself no longer, he became desperate to obtain her attention. So he broke into a dance. It was a dance filled with passion and longing. His feet carried him high from the ground and faster than ever. No matter how high he rose with each jump, his eyes were fixated on the little sparrow. Ostara laughed at his frenzied display, until she noticed the sparrow.  She noticed the bird transfixed by the hare. She became lost in the dance. In jealousy Ostara stepped forward, and brought the dance to end, but she was too late. The sparrow flew down to the ground beside the hare. She began to sing, a song filled with love, and truth. Ostara was moved by this, and knew the little sparrow's heart belonged to the hare. She would give the bird a gift. She gave the bird a gentle kiss on the head. As Ostara stood, a great cloud of feathers grew around them. As the feathers parted, where the little bird had been, now stood a great hare. The following year when Ostara woke, she was sad. She was alone again, as she had been before. When she walked the land, her passing did not bring back spring. The snow refused to melt. Ostara didn't seem to care. She felt loss. She looked over the fields to see the largest gathering of hares she had ever seen. The hares were dancing in circles within a circle. When they saw Ostara they parted, to form an avenue leading to the innermost circle. As Ostara walked down the path, each hare bowed. In the middle was the great hare, and the sparrow who had turned to a hare. They were beaming with joy. They had a nest of feathers and sticks. Inside the nest were hare sized eggs. Ostara watched as one of the eggs split. Inside the egg was a newborn hare, perfectly white from the tip of it's nose to the end of it's tail. Ostara lifted the hare, and broke into laughter. She led the hares in a new dance. This dance brought spring back to the land.