Ostara, The Season for Rebirth
Ostara is a beloved favorite holiday in the Wheel of the Year, simply for our long-awaited return to spring. Celebrated on or around March 21st, it marks the Spring Equinox. The date is determined by the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator - that imaginal line in the sky above the Earth's equator.
The celebration of spring is present in many ancient customs, across all cultures. Like many other spring celebrations in other cultures, Ostara symbolizes fertility, rebirth, and renewal. The word Ostara comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess name, Eostre. Eostre represented spring and new beginnings. This time of year marked the beginning of the agricultural cycle, and farmers would start planting seeds. Many of the symbols of Ostara have roots in other traditions, and the use of rabbits and hares is one such example. Researches have proposed that the hare or rabbit was a sacred companion to Ostara. In medieval times in Europe, the March hare was seen as a fertility symbol, and a sign of spring. This species of rabbit is nocturnal most of the year, but in March, it is mating season for the animal. Females of this species are extraordinarily prolific: They can get pregnant with a second litter while pregnant with their first litter. As for the egg, numerous ancient spiritual practices honored a universal egg as symbol for new life. Most notably, iconic medieval imagery of the Phoenix egg suggests renewal. Some writings from the early 1900's suggest a bird which once honorably drew the flying chariot of the goddess Ostara was injured. Ostara showed mercy by transforming the injured bird into a hare. In gratitude, the hare is believed to have honored Ostara by laying eggs as its offering to her.
Notable Mentions
Blodeuwedd is considered by some to be the Welsh Goddess of Spring bringing warmth and new life, in the form of flowers, after the cold and barrenness of winter. She is the Goddess of Earth's Renewal and Faery Queen Giver of Life. She is called Flower-Face and is one in a long line of Flower Women revered by the Celts and created in the Otherworld. Guinevere, who marries King Arthur, is also a Flower Woman. The patches of white clover we see in grass and fields in Spring are said to mark a Flower Woman's path.
The name for the festival of the Spring Equinox in Welsh is Alban Eilir, which means "The Light of the Earth." Alban Eilir is a time of balance: The point of balance between Imbolc and Beltane, the point of balance between winter and summer, and the point of balance between day and night. It is an opportune time to open to the quality of balance in our own lives.
One of the inner mysteries of Ostara is the egg. Life-giving, it is the egg protected by the hare, which is still celebrated by the giving of Easter eggs by the Easter bunny. The white of the egg is associated with the purity of the Goddess Ostara, and the yellow of the egg is seen as the Sun, which in turn represents the God. The balance between male and female, God and Goddess, is represented within the egg itself.
How to Celebrate Ostara
While the holiday of Imbolc is all about cleansing and purification, Ostara is all about creation. It marks the new stirrings of the beginnings of life in all forms.
Now is the time to begin seed starting indoors for summer gardens, as well as planting the "seeds" of future projects. Begin collecting what is needed to create new works of art, renovations, or collaborations. Symbolically color eggs for yourself or as gifts to others. Bake sweet breads with sprouted seeds. Bring blooming plants into the home. Hold a small feast with your beloved humans as a way to bring hearts together in rebirth and unity.
Observe the rising sun and bless the earth around your home as part of your circle casting. Perhaps widen your circle of care for others and share baked goods or eggs with neighbors or those in long-term care facilities. Honor the rabbit by donating specific rabbit care items to local shelters who care for displaced pet rabbits in need of bedding, hay, or fresh greens. Let Spring speak to you. See hot it wants to move in and through you.
The Ostara Altar
An altar is a collection of items which create a hum in your being whenever you are near. In spring, the altar can represent new life. Create it from instinct, which feels similar to pleasure. Make it beautiful, make it lush, make it loved. Let your altar reflect where we are in the turning of the year - and express who you are in its turning.
Colors | yellow, Robin's egg blue, spring green, lavender
Nature | daffodils, violets, birch, willow, pussy willow, moss, grass, honey, bees, mushrooms, lemons
Symbols | nest, rabbit, egg, lamb, snail, mushroom, mother, child
Botanicals | mint, parsley, dandelion, chamomile, lemon balm, sage, chives
Stones | citrine, amethyst, moonstone, jasper, turquoise, lapis lazuli
Spiritual | deities, amulets, talismans, images, all personal to you
Elemental | earth/soil, air/feather, fire/candle, water, feminine & masculine symbolic items
Atmosphere | rebirth, gestation, transformation, growth, mothering, parenting, youth, sexuality
Naturally Dyed Eggs | Color Symbolism
Natural materials reconnect our hearts to the earth in wonderful ways. Here you have several recipes for natural egg dyes. The symbolic meaning of each color is also given, with a blessing you may wish to present on a handwritten card to pair with an egg as a special gift to a loved one for Ostara.
Gather
- Hard boiled eggs, white or brown
- Natural dye materials of your choice from the list below
- White vinegar
- Pots for each color
Instructions
Bring vinegar and water to a boil (specific amounts specified for each dye color) and add the dye ingredients for your chosen color. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain our dye materials and soak hard boiled eggs in dye for 30 minutes or overnight for deeper color.
Green | 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, 2 cups water, 4 tablespoons vinegar
Blue | 3 cups chopped red cabbage, 4 cups water, 3 tablespoons vinegar
Yellow | 3 tablespoons ground turmeric, 4 cups water, 3 tablespoons vinegar
Orange | 4 cups yellow onion skins, 4 cups water, 3 tablespoons vinegar
Red | 4 cups red onion skins, 3 cups water, 3 tablespoons vinegar
Purple | 3 cups blueberries, 1/4 cup chopped beets, 4 cups water, 3 tablespoons vinegar
Herbs, flowers, and teas, make useful dye material too. Coloring brown eggs creates deeper, rustic colors. Enjoy the surprise as you experiment.
Symbolism & Blessings
If you've ever wondered why you are drawn to one color over another, it may be because of the color's history - what part of the world it came from, how it was made, what it meant to wear clothing or a jewel of such a color. There are volumes written about the history of colors. Here you have a small handful of such symbolism to consider and explore. Each color's blessing is a gift for you, and a gift which may also be shared.
Green is a field of grass sending up fresh blades, a canopy of trees leafing out. Green is good fortune. It is new life and hope and abundance. Gift a green egg with the blessing - May health and fortune favor you.
Blue is a clear sky and the deep ocean, the purity of a robin's egg, the breath of a misty spring rain. Blue is inspiration and clarity and wisdom. Gift a blue egg with the blessing - May your path be clear and a truth be your guide.
Yellow is the life-giving warmth of the sun, a field of fragrant cowslip coming into bloom. Yellow is energy and optimism, and joy. Gift a yellow egg with the blessing - May your delights be endless and bright.
Orange is the clear presence of rain and sunshine and earth contained in a single, fragrant fruit. It is creativity and strength and sensuality. Gift and orange egg with the blessing - May passion and adventure soar within you.
Red is the grounding goodness of life's force. It is the heart and blood. It is the shine of a ripe apple, the heat of a chili pepper, the glittering jewels of raspberries in summer. Red is courage and life and love. Gift a red egg with the blessing - May love flow to you & through you. May love be who you are.
Purple is a soothing field of lavender lulling honeybees in soft clouds humming of mystery. It is the ethereal mood of magic, the iridescence of a dragonfly's wings. Purple is intuition and mystery and enlightenment. Gift a purple egg with the blessing - May you be forever open to the mystery.
Ritual & Intentional Magic
Ritual is a practice. To practice means to perform an activity again and again in order to require a skill. For ritual, the skill acquired is awareness.
What does this give us? We become very present, perhaps more calm, clear about our desires and needs, more able to provide just the right kind of help to others, and more capable of identifying and fulfilling our purpose on this earth.
Ritual Performed
The performing of ritual is a deeply human experience. Everyone has rituals - common ones like birthdays, graduations, holidays, marriages, and funerals.
We delineate time, making it more meaningful by repetition of yearly or daily rituals. Some center around family tradition, cultural legacy, or spiritual practices. Others are simple, personal actions like preparing a cup of tea with attention and reverence, setting the table a certain way, or getting oneself ready for the day using the same sequence of tasks as the day before.
If you feel you don't know enough to practice ritual, trust yourself. You carry all you need within.
Intentional Magic
There is magic in every choice you make. Your presence places real power behind all you do. It's no coincidence that paying attention makes things clear, that belief activates action, that understanding brings light to the unknown or feared.
In this way, intentional magic is how you live.
At the heart of intentional magic are three things - personal connection, knowledge, and ritual. To help you discover this in your own life, think about the way your days unfold and ask yourself these questions.
What daily ritual of mine just makes things feel right?
What natural items am I drawn to and what do I know about them?
What rituals (mine or others) have touched me deeply, and why?
You may wish to take a moment to write down some of your thoughts.
Making Magic
Begin where you are. Celebrate your history and what you know to be true. Listen to what speaks to you. Pay attention to your heart, your breath, your body. Hear the wind, feel the sun, walk barefoot upon the earth. The better you come to know yourself, magic will naturally flow.
Cast Your Circle
To cast a circle is to invoke a sacred vessel to hold your ritual. Guidance is provided here.
Prepare
Clean your space and cleanse your body with a bath or shower. Turn off all devices, be still and remember your intention. Choose a location indoors or out. You can use a compass to locate and mark the directions of north, south, east, and west with a stone or crystal. Walk your circle clockwise and purify its entirety with incense. Place your ritual tools and offerings in the center and light your candle. Ostara offerings include rabbit, eggs, spring flowers, sparkling wine, and green ribbon.
Begin
Invoke the Four Elements
East - Air - Knowledge
I face East, the direction of the rising sun & all beginning. I call upon the element of Air & the creatures of flight. I welcome the beauty of new life & understanding to this circle.
South - Fire - Action
I face South, the direction of sustained activity & service. I call upon the element of Fire's forms of flames, lightning, & electricity. I summon the quick coyote & welcome powerful action to this circle.
West - Water - Intuition
I face West, the direction of the setting sun & visions. I call upon the element of Water in all her forms & depths. I trust my emotional strength & welcome its true instinct to this circle.
North - Earth - Wisdom
I face North, the direction of guidance & all paths home. I call upon the element of Earth in her nurturing solidity. I feel my body grounded by soil & stone. I stand & welcome its wisdom to this circle.
Ostara Invocation
In the balance of light and dark on this day of Equinox, we gather to honor the sacred turn of the Wheel of the Year. As the earth awakens from her winter's rest, so too do we awaken to the promise of renewal and rebirth.
Goddess Ostara, Maiden of the Spring, Lady of Dawn, we call upon you. In this sacred space, we invite your radiant presence. Grace us with your light, imbue us with your vitality. As the earth softens to receive the seeds of a new beginning, may our hearts soften to receive your blessings.
Ostara, bless the seeds we plant in the fertile earth of our lives. Nurture them with the warmth of your love and the light of your wisdom. As the earth blooms in this season of renewal, may our spirits bloom with creativity, growth, and transformation.
Ostara, symbol of hope and renewal, guide us to form a deeper connection with all living beings. Let us feel our feet rooted in the earth, our spirits reaching for the sky, as we acknowledge our place in the great circle of life.
Bless us, Ostara, with the prosperity of the springtime, with health in our bodies, wealth in our hearts, and wisdom in our spirits. As we witness the rebirth of nature, remind us of ever-renewing cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
May the seeds we plant in the spring of our lives bear fruit in the fullness of time. May they nourish us, sustain us, and bless those around us.
In the name of Ostara, the Goddess of Spring, for the greatest good of all, we ask these blessings. As the seeds burst forth from the earth, so may our intentions manifest in our lives. As it is spoken, so shall it be.
In order to bring about change, one must feel it fully. We build energy and makes solid change as we continually return to the practice. You may suddenly voice your own words for casting the circle, invoking the seven directions, or performing a ritual. Use them to connect more profoundly to your own awareness and heart.
Close
To close your circle, release the elements by speaking a simple phrase of dispersal and gratitude of your own choosing, or something like this -
"The elements and energies of all, I thank you for your presence here and release you."
Extinguish your candle, collect your markers for the directions as you walk your circle once more. With reverence and gratitude, walk out and go forth.
Blessed Be.
Devotional Inquiry
Spring is enlivening. We come out of dormancy to greet the world anew. All around us, the dance of the divine feminine comes to meet us. Spring's colors, sounds, fragrances, and textures remind us of her sacred nature. This is the time to ask what makes you come alive, and then to figure out how to do it.
What brings me suffering? What releases me from suffering?
What do I most deeply want?
What would I benefit from letting go of?
What do I believe is possible for me, for life?
How am I living into my true nature or essence?
How do I recognize the divine feminine in all her guises - maiden, mother, crone- in all aspects of my daily life?
In an earth's awakening, how shall you kindle your life's vital force?
Ostara Recipes
Shower Ritual
How does your skin feel right now? Feel into your skin. Not just your hands, but the soles of your feet, your arms, belly, your thighs.
Your skin is your largest organ and your protector. It prevents loss of water, shields your inner organs against injury and infections. It regulates your temperature, provides vitamin D, and fights off allergens and insects. Most importantly, it processes toxins which would otherwise poison you.
To cleanse your skin is to help ease the work it must do to protect you. To cleanse is to release.
Step In
Start your shower. As it warms, choose some favorite music. Bring fresh soap or a nourishing body scrub and step into the warm water. Allow a little time for your skin to heat up while sensing where in your body energy feels sluggish or stuck.
Wash & Release
With soap in hand, work up a lather and step out of the water stream or shut it off. Use your soap or scrub to exfoliate every bit of skin. Work your way from the center of your chest outward, using a brushing action to intentionally move energy and provide release to those areas which are stuck.
Breathe. Release.
Take your time. As you move over your whole body, think of how you draw out the unnecessary while imbuing a sense of nourishment. This is more than a quick shower, it's paying attention to moving energy, while also tending deeply to your skin's purpose of protection.
Rinse & Rest
Complete your ritual with your hands resting at your heart under the stream of warm water. Allow it to rinse away all of which was cleansed from your skin and body, both physically and energetically, perhaps setting your intentions for the coming day. Upon exiting, gently pat your skin dry and follow with a skin-feeding body oil or mist, then a period of rest and hydration.
Runes
Runes are letters of an ancient alphabet. Their power resides in the crafting of words. Insight can be gleaned from each letter, phonetic sound, and meaning. Runes open a door to how we think about the nature of words, while tapping into our subconscious. Runes are a reminder that words have power, both healing and destructive, depending on our word choice and use.
Through any word or the letter which built it, we may therefore discover our story.
History
The runic alphabet, discovered as ancient inscriptions and presumably evolved from Greek writing, was born in the 2nd century. The name Futhark comes from its first six letter of this twenty-four letter alphabet, the entire order of which is not understood or simply lost to time.
By the 17th century, the Old High German origin of the word runa meant "a secret conversation or whisper." The modern addition of a blank tile to a set of runes, occurred in the 1980's, expanding the range of interpretations for the contemporary Zeitgeist. For the purposes if this booklet, only the original twenty-four runes have been defined.
Methods
There are as many methods for rune divination as there are opinions about runic history. It is widely understood that their use is similar to the use of Tarot cards for accessing one's subconscious for inner direction, as well as ancestral guidance.
Historically, runes have been cast/tossed upon a special, personally meaningful cloth, while lifting your gaze to the sky or closing your eyes as you select a number of runes. Another method is to watch as the runes are tossed upon your cloth, with only the runes which land face up selected for your result.
The number of runes read for casting is also varied as spreads used for Tarot card readings. You can cast and select one, three, five, seven, or the full twenty-four runes to interpret.
Rune-Making
While there are plenty of sources available for procuring pre-made runes, it can be a hugely meaningful experience to craft runes for yourself. A journey of discovery from beginning to end, how you will be opened by the wisdoms of rune-making is something you cannot know until you begin. Here's how.
Use the chart below to learn the rune symbols. As you prepare to make your own set of 24, explore your options for materials.
Material
If we step back from any choice we make, we can see how intuition is threaded through our days. Allow time with materials, hold them in your hands, feel their energetic effects upon your heart and body before choosing. What you choose, or what chooses you, is perfectly suited to your life right now
Paper | Beautifully handmade papers of a thick weight make lovely, inexpensive runes. Naturally pigmented inks make drawing the rune symbols a sensuous experience.
Wood | Walk the woods in a place where you feel at home. A tree whose vibration enlivens you may offer up a branch. From a branch, small round discs can be cut. Rune symbols may be carved, painted, or burned into the wood. Offer your gratitude to the tree for its gift.
Stone or Shell | Explore a shoreline or trail. Open to stones or shells which feel at home in your hand. They need not be alike or even the same size or substance. Naturally pigmented paints with a matte sealant preserve work. If you are talented with tools, carving or etching might be a more permanent option.
Metal | Metals are born by extracting and purifying ancient materials of our Earth. Perhaps you work with metal or know a metalsmith or jeweler. Very fine runes can be cast from molds, or more rustic runes may be fashioned from scraps of metal via stamping, etching, or laser cutting.
Ceramic | Clay is the stuff of our Earth. It is her soil, water, ash, and stone. If you work with clay or have access to a place where you can, this may be an option which calls to you. Take your time choosing the type of clay, forming the shapes of the runes, carving or stamping rune symbols, choosing the color and type of glaze. Upon finishing your runes by firing in a kiln, the runes will feel utterly yours.
Bone or Horn | There are sources for responsibly obtained animal bones or horn which can be utilized. Please research carefully to respectfully obtain what you are called to. Perhaps you have a totem animal which is strong in your life. Both are dense materials and can be difficult to cut or carve. Small pieces are easily painted.
Journey
You could spend months journeying through the making of runes. It is a type of passage, as any intuitive or spiritual journey can be. Make notes, keep a journal, let what you learn become part of who you are and your runes will live side by side with you in your daily life for a long time to come.
Consecrate
When you've settled upon your set of 24 runes and made them perfectly to your liking, choose an auspicious day to formally dedicate the purpose for their use by consecrating or blessing them into being.
Light a candle, and some incense or smudge. Hold your runes within a satchel in both your hands and breathe gently until you feel settled, calm, and grounded.
Pull one rune at a time, look at it and say the name of its symbol aloud. Use the rune chart for assistance. Then pass the rune through the candle's flame to purify and bless it before placing it down.
Your set of handmade runes now live by the work of your own hands, breath, and spirit. They will serve you wisely and well.
Rune Divination Ritual
For the purposes of this post, you have been provided with the option of drawing one or three runes.
Hold your runes as your breathe. Soften your thoughts and settle into your heart to begin.
- Bring to mind a question or subject for which you would like guidance.
- Pull 1-3 runes from out of your bag and place them before you.
- One rune for singular, direct guidance. Three to examine your situation, possible actions and possible outcomes.
- Gaze upon your selections without judgement or expectation. Perhaps jot down notes about your initial impressions or sensations.
Interpret
Utilize the chart below, which illustrates the twenty-four Futhark runes, to locate the letter, name, and concept for each of your runes. Notice the rune symbols. Notice the letters. Perhaps read the name for each out loud. Consider the meaning for each.
The meanings for each rune are compiled from both traditional and contemporary interpretations. You may enjoy sketching the shapes of your selected runes together or write down the combinations of meanings which speak most directly to your heart.
This is a place to begin. Consider leaving your runes out for a period of time to ponder over time. Or you may wish to try again on a different day.
We become our own, most truthful guide when we trust in our own intuitive nature.
The Ostara Season
Recommended Resources
Celebrate the Earth by Laurie Cabot
Emily Dickenson
MFC Credits
Kim Brain
Jessica Rigney
Elizabeth Marglin
Sheila Ellis
Maddie Block