Ostara

Ostara, or the Spring Equinox, is an enchanted borderland time outside of time where a magickal seam joins dark and light. From this moment on, the Sun God begins his seminal journey across the sky. His light and warmth overtake the darkness of Winter until his power peaks at Summer Solstice in June.

Ostara is a time of new fire. The light and dark are in perfect balance, but the light is growing and the Sun is about to burst forth with new energy. It is a season of fertility and growth.
Eostre or Ostara is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring to whom offerings of cakes and colored eggs were made at the Vernal Equinox. Rabbits were sacred to her, especially white rabbits, and she was believed to take the form of a rabbit.

ALTAR:  For the Ostara altar:
-- Candles should be light green.
-- Incense may be jasmine.
-- Decorate the circle with spring wildflowers.
-- Place an earthenware or wooden bowl containing soil or a large seed of some kind on the altar.

I don't have mine set up yet, but here are a few others:

HERBS to use in your magic at Ostara: lily of the valley, tansy, lavender, marjoram, thyme, tarragon, lovage, lilac, violets, lemon balm, dogwood, honeysuckle, oakmoss, orrisroot, sunflower seeds, rose hips, oak, elder, willow, crocus, daffodil, jonquil, tulip, broom (Scotch or Iris), meadowsweet, acorn, trefoil (purple clover), vervain.

STONES:  Clear quartz crystal, rose quartz, agate, lapis lazuli, amazonite, garnet.

ACTIVITIES:  

*Perform a seed blessing and indoor planting ritual.  http://earthwitchery.com/seed-blessing.html
*Have a traditional breakfast of buns, ham, and eggs.
*Make natural egg dyes from herbs.  http://earthwitchery.com/egg-dyes.html
*Color hard boiled eggs and add symbols for the Fertility God, the Goddess, the Sun God, unity, fire, water, agriculture, prosperity and growth, strength and wisdom, spring, love and affection, and protection.

Consecrate the eggs:

In the name of the Goddess of Spring, (name); and the ever-returning God of the Sun, (name); By the powers of the four elements -- earth, air, fire, and water; I do consecrate these eggs of Ostara..

Point the athame at the eggs, make the sign of the pentagram, and see the energy flow through the blade into the eggs, and say:

New life lies within as new life shall enter the soil. Let those who seek this life find it and consume it, for all life feeds on life.

The eggs may be hidden and an Ostara Egg Hunt commences.
Make pysanky http://earthwitchery.com/pysanky.html and krashanky http://earthwitchery.com/krashanky.html, magickal amulets of fertility, protection, and prosperity.

Make hot cross buns to honor the union of the earth and the sun for Spring. Slash the "X" with the bolline and bless the cakes.
Toss crushed eggshells into the garden and say:

For fairy, for flowers, for herbs in the bowers, The shells pass fertility with springtime flowers.

Wear green clothing.


Eat an egg you have empowered with a quality you desire.
On Ostara Eve, light a purple or violet candle and burn patchouli incense. Carry them both through the house, and say:

Farewell to wintry spirits and friends; On morrow we greet the spirits of spring. Our blessings to thee as your way we wend; And merry we'll meet next winter again. Blow out the candle and say: Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again.

At this time, witches cast spells for careers, relationships, and love. It's a time for planting new ideas. Seek harmony and balance in the incredible energy of the season, and project good health, good fortune, and confidence in achieving goals.

FOOD: Eggs! Cream and milk, bake bread with a decorated egg inside, spring salad, hot cross buns.  http://earthwitchery.com/hot-x-buns.html

My Alter is set...

Broken Wing blessed the Alter for over 2 wks.

She's now a butterfly angel.

Ostara

Ostara is a time of balance. It is a time of equal parts light and dark. At Mabon, we have this same balance, but the light is leaving us. Today, six months later, it is returning. Spring has arrived, and with it comes hope and warmth. Deep within the cold earth, seeds are beginning to sprout. In the damp fields, the livestock are preparing to give birth. In the forest, under a canopy of newly sprouted leaves, the animals of the wild ready their dens for the arrival of their young. Spring is here, so why not celebrate with a simple ritual honoring the themes of the season?

Magical Herb Garden

So you've decided you're ready to do a magical working... but you're not sure which herbs are the best ones to use. Use this list as a reference point to determine which herbs, plants and flowers are the best choices for your purposes.

Rabbit Magic :)

Spring equinox is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature goes a little crazy. The rabbit -- for good reason -- is often associated with fertility magic and sexual energy. So how did we get the notion that a rabbit comes around and lays colored eggs in the spring? Learn about rabbit symbolism, the Easter bunny, and mad March hares!

Moon Gardening )O(

This is the time of year when many readers are planning their plantings. Have you ever thought about planting flowers that bloom just at night? Yeah, sounds a bit odd, but it's glorious to look at (and smell) when it's done right. Try cultivating a Magical Moon Garden as a way of getting in touch with lunar energies. This not only looks beautiful, it provides a nice backdrop for evening rituals during the summer.

Rituals for Solitaries

Ostara is a time of balance. It is a time of equal parts light and dark. At Mabon, we have this same balance, but the light is leaving us. Today, six months later, it is returning. Spring has arrived, and with it comes hope and warmth. Deep within the cold earth, seeds are beginning to sprout. In the damp fields, the livestock are preparing to give birth. In the forest, under a canopy of newly sprouted leaves, the animals of the wild ready their dens for the arrival of their young. Spring is here, so why not celebrate with a simple ritual honoring the themes of the season?

Get Crafty :)

Spring is a time of year when many of us start feeling those creative juices begin to flow again - after all, we've been cooped up inside for months, and that can cramp our creative style. Now that the days are getting a little longer and brighter, it's a good time to start some fun spring craft projects. Since Ostara is just a couple of days away, why not whip together a couple of new goodies to celebrate the themes of the season?

Get Outside! :)

Celebrate spring by enjoying the outdoors. Sure, it's still a little chilly out for most of us -- and a lot of folks still have snow piles in the yard -- but the sun is coming back, and the days are getting brighter and warmer. Mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year by working on projects that bring you back in touch with the outdoors. If you have kids (or even if you don't), build a Spring Weather Station to help mark the changes in the season. If you're ready to start your garden for the year, kick things off by putting your seeds in a Miniature Greenhouse. 

)O( Blessings )O(

 

Imbolc

I'm going to circle my Imbolc Altar with white candles each representing goals I have for the new year.

I'm going to make paper snowflakes and cast them into the bon fire to banish the winter and bless in the new season.

I'm going to place ice in a special container on my Imbolc Altar to melt away any negativity and then pour it out off my property.

I'm going to plants seeds indoors and buy an indoor house plant and make friends.

I'm going to bless my pets with safe amulets.

I'm going to offer milk to the Gods by pouring some on the ground outside and leaving some in a bowl for the wild animals.

I'm going to do a vision quest/meditation on the Wolf Totem.

IMBOLC is a Fire Festival in the fixed astrological air sign of Aquarius.  The magic that you do during this time period will have long-lasting consequences.  Uranus and Saturn (modern and classical planetary rulers, respectively) bring the ability to make sudden changes, reach for rewards, and learn how to interact with authority figures.

Page 81 of Silver RavenWolfs "Solitary Witch" B.O.S.

http://www.silverravenwolf.com/

Another interpretation from "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft Third Edition"

Imbolc (February 2):  Rebirth of the Sun

Imbloc (pronounced IM-bolk), which is also called Candlemas, is the time when Wiccans celebrate the renewing fertility of the earth.  The Goddess is seen as recovering from childbirth, and the God is a small child.  There is the feeling that spring is coming, but a certain restlessness or cabin fever can set in.  This can also be the bleakest time of the year when we start to fear that spring will never arrive.  Many people celebrate Groundhog Day on this date.  And what is Groundhog Day but a way to let Nature reassure us that spring really will come?  Sometimes, even though it is still cold, you can see early buds on trees on this date.  This is another way that Nature reminds us to hang on; life is getting ready to burst forth.

Imbolc, a Greater Sabbat, is a time to celebrate with seeds, or with a newly germinating idea.  Some covens like to initiate new members at this time of year.  Imbolc is a holiday of purification and of the renewed fertility of the earth.  It's a great time for some early spring-cleaning, too.  Get rid of things you don't need.  Get ready for the spring season to come.

Chants for ritual from the book "Grimoire for the Green Witch Complete Book of Shadows" by Ann Moura:

Clear out the old and let the new enter.  Life starts anew at this time of cleansing.

With my besom in my hand I will sweep out that which is no longer needed so as to purify my surroundings, preparing the way for new growth.

This is the Mid-Winter Festival of Lights.  Spring lies within sight, the Earth quickens, the milk of ewes flows, and the seed is prepared for sowing.  Now does Grandmother Crone place the Infant God of Light in the arms of the Mother, relinquishing Her hold on the Child of the New Year, that the seasons being to turn once more.  Her time of midwifery is past, and the Crone departs to reunite with the Holly King in the Land of Snow and Ice.

I call upon the power of these herbs that their scent now released in this cauldron's fire purify me, my surroundings, and the tools of my Craft.  With this rite I am reaffirmed in my Craft and made ready for the renewal of life in the coming of Spring.

May this besom be cleansed that nothing cast out of the Circle in the coming year return with it or cling to it.  So Mote It Be!

As I have purified all within this Circle, I am now ready to Renew my oath to my Lady and my Lord.

By the power of this smoke I wash away the negative influences that this place be cleansed for the Lady and Her Babe.

We welcome in the Goddess and seek the turning of the Wheel away from Winter and into Spring.

Great Lady enter with the Sun and watch over this room!

Mother of the Earth and the Sun, Keep us safe and keep use warm, As over our home You extend Your blessing.

And now more reading from "The Witch Book The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism" by Raymond Buckland:


IMBOLC
Also known as Oimlec, Candelaria, and Luperucs, Imbolc is one of the four major Sabbats of Witchcraft, falling on February Eve.  It marks the halfway point through the "dark half" of the year, or the winter months.  Great bonfires, or balefires, were once lit on the highest hilltops across Britain and much of Europe to lend extra energy to the God as he made his way through the dark half of the year toward energy Beltane (May Eve) and the coming of the Goddess.  The Goddess herself was in the throes of transferring from the Crone aspect to that of maiden, when she emerged from the Underworld in the spring.
The Christian church adopted the old Pagan Imbolc festival, as it did so many others, calling it Candelmas.  By the fifth century, a procession of lighted candles became a regular part of the Roman Catholic rites, echoing the Pagan origins.
Stewart Farrar says that Imbolc, or the Irish form of i'mbolg, means "in the belly," being the "first foetal stirrings of Spring in the womb of Mother Earth."  However, Graham Harvey says the word means "lactation."  Regardless of meaning, it traditionally marks the beginning of lambing season and the time of lactation of the ewes.  It is also the Feast of Brighid, who is fertility bringer.  In a monastery at Kildare, in Ireland, a perpetual fires was kept burning in Brighid's honor.
The making of Corn Dollies and Sun Wheels is a popular Pagan practice, to recognize and honor the Maiden aspect of the Goddess.  In many cases, the straw used to weave the Corn Dollies is that which was cut from the last bundle - known as the Corn Mother - at the previous year's harvest.
Imbolc is the time of the year when Wiccans look to make a change, to clear out that which is no longer useful in their lives to make room for the new things that need to come into their lives.  Some traditions and Solitaries symbolically sweep the circle with a broomstick as part of the Imbolc rites.

Yule Solstice

The Winter Sabbat

Yule Lore (December 21st)
Yule, (pronounced EWE-elle) is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider.

Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour. The apples and oranges represented the sun, the boughs were symbolic of immortality, the wheat stalks portrayed the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and life. Holly, mistletoe, and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also the inside of homes. It was to extend invitation to Nature Sprites to come and join the celebration. A sprig of Holly was kept near the door all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to pay visit to the residents.

The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the festival. In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder's land, or given as a gift... it must never have been bought. Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze be a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose). The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log. It is the sacred world tree of the Teutons, known as Yggdrasil. An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice.
A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three candles. Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so it sets upright. Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.

Deities of Yule are all Newborn Gods, Sun Gods, Mother Goddesses, and Triple Goddesses. The best known would be the Dagda, and Brighid, the daughter of the Dagda. Brighid taught the smiths the arts of fire tending and the secrets of metal work. Brighid's flame, like the flame of the new light, pierces the darkness of the spirit and mind, while the Dagda's cauldron assures that Nature will always provide for all the children.

Symbolism of Yule:
Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.

Symbols of Yule:
Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, christmas cactus.

Herbs of Yule:
Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.

Foods of Yule:
Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).

Incense of Yule:
Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.

Colors of Yule:
Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.

Stones of Yule:
Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.

Activities of Yule:
Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule

Spellworkings of Yule:
Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.

Deities of Yule:
Goddesses-Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother. Gods-Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon. 

Sabbats

What is a Sabbat...

The Wheel of the Year is a Wiccan and Neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth's seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are referred to by Wiccans as Sabbats (pronounced /ˈsæbət/). While the term Sabbat originated from Abrahamic faiths such as Judaism and Christianity and is of Hebrew origin, the festivals themselves have historical origins in Celtic and Germanic pre-Christian feasts, and the Wheel of the Year, as has developed in modern Neopaganism and Modern Wicca, is really a combination of the two cultures' solstice and equinox celebrations. When melded together, two somewhat unrelated European Festival Cycles merge to form eight festivals in modern renderings. Together, these festivals are understood by some[who?] to be the Bronze Age religious festivals of Europe. As with all cultures' use of festivals and traditions, these festivals have been utilized by European cultures in both the pre and post Christian eras as traditional times for the community to celebrate the planting and harvest seasons. The Wheel of the Year has been important to many people both ancient and modern, from various religious as well as cultural and secular viewpoints.

In many forms of Neopaganism, natural processes are seen as following a continuous cycle. The passing of time is also seen as cyclical, and is represented by a circle or wheel. The progression of birth, life, decline and death, as experienced in human lives, is echoed in the progression of the seasons. Wiccans also see this cycle as echoing the life, death and rebirth of the Horned God and the fertility of the Goddess. While most of these names derive from historical Celtic and Germanic festivals, the non-traditional names Litha and Mabon, which have become popular in North American Wicca, were introduced by Aidan Kelly in the 1970s. The word "sabbat" itself comes from the witches' sabbath or sabbat attested to in Early Modern witch trials