Ostara Celebration

Our Ostara Pictures

Materials for this ritual:
Light Green Alter Candles
Jasmine Incense
Wildflowers
Circle Candles
An earthenware or wooden bowl
Parchment paper and a favorite writing tool

Instructions for the Ceremony

Sweep circle area; lay out circle and alter items; bathe and robe.
Light incense and alter candles. Ring bell three times and say:

The circle is about to be cast and I freely stand within to greet my Lady and my Lord.
Take center candle from alter and light each candle of the circle moving north, then east, south, and west, and say:

(N) I call upon light and earth at the north to illuminate and strengthen the circle.
(E) I call upon light and air at the east to illuminate and enliven the circle.
(S) I call upon light and fire at the south to illuminate and warm the circle.
(W) I call upon light and water at the west to illuminate and cleanse the circle.
Take athame in upraised hand, begin circle at north and move around the circle north to east,to south to west, and say:

I draw this circle in the presence of the Goddess and the God where they may come and bless their children.
Lower the athame at the north, and as you walk around the circle, envision a blue light shooting out from the point
and forming the circle boundry, and say:

This is the boundry of the circle. Only love shall enter and leave.
Return to the alter and ring bell three times. Place point of athame in salt and say:

Salt is life and purifying. I bless this salt to be used in this sacred circle
in the names of the Goddess and the God.
Pick up salt bowl and use tip of athmae to drop three portions of salt into the water
bowl and set salt bowl back in it's place. Stir three times with athame and say:

Let the blessed salt purify this water that it may be blessed to use in this sacred circle.
In the names of the Goddess and the God, I consecrate and cleanse this water.
Take the salted water bowl in hand and sprinkle water from it as you move deosil around the circle (N-E-S-W-N):

I consecrate this circle in the names of the Goddess and the God.
The circle is conjured a circle of power that is purified and sealed. So mote it be!
Return the water bowl to the alter and pick up censor; take it around the circle to cense it; return censor to alter.
Take anointing oil, make a Solar Cross ringed by a circle on your forehead, and say:

I am consecrated in the names of the Goddess and the God,in this their circle.
Open a door in the circle with the athmae now for all to enter.
Using anointing oil to trace a solar cross in a circle on their foreheads as each person enters, having said some kind
of greeting, such as the Wiccan, "I come in perfect love and perfect trust." Then close the door with the athame.
Take the wand and hold it aloft, with both arms open and upraised, at the north of the circle (envision a powerful bull arriving) and say:

I call upon you, Elemental Earth, to attend this rite and guard this circle, for as I have body and strength, we are kith and kin!
Lower wand and move to the east, raise up wand (see devas, fairies, or an eagle in flight) and say:

I call upon you, Elemental Air, to attend this rite and guard this circle, for as I breathe and think, we are kith and kin!
Lower wand and move to the south, raise up wand (see a dragon) and say:

I call upon you, Elemental Fire, to attend this rite and guard this circle, for as I consume life to live, we are kith and kin!
Lower wand, move to the west, hold wand aloft (see an undine, a sea serpent, or a dolphin) and say:
I call upon you, Elemental Water, to attend this rite and guard this circle, for as I feel and my heart beats, we are kith and kin!

Return to the alter and use wand to draw the symbol of infinity (an 8 lying on its side) in the air above the alter,
the sign of working between the worlds. Set wand on alter, raise up athame in both hands overhead, and say:

Hail to the elementals at the four quarters! Welcome Lady and Lord to this rite!
I stand between the worlds with love and power all around!

Set down athame and pick up goblet of wine. Pour a little into the cauldron.
This is a libation to the Divine in which they are honored by offering to them the first draught, then you take a sip.
You may prefer to have a bowl specifically for the libation. Ring bell three times and say:

O Great Goddess, you have freed yourself from the icy prison of winter.
Now is the greening, when the fragrance of flowers drifts on the breeze.
This is the beginning.
Life renews itself by Your magic, Earth Goddess.
The God stretches and rises, eager in His youth, and bursting with the promise of summer.

Hold the soil in your hands. Connect with its energies and, through it, all nature.
Travel inside it through visualization - from the center of your consciousness out through
your arm and fingers and into the soil. Explore its inner nature; sense the miraculous processes
of life at work within it.
After a time, still touching the soil say:

I walk the earth in friendship, not in dominance.
Mother Goddess and Father God, instill within me through this soil a warmth for all living things.
Teach me to revere the Earth and all its treasures.
May I never forget.

Take up flowers from the alter and moving deosil around the circle (start at the north), drop the flowers inside around the circle.
Ring bell three times and say:

Springtime is the time to sow the seed, and it is the time for me to plant what I want to grow.
This season brings hope and joy; expectations for desires realized; and inspiration for new ideas.
My life is brought into balance and I am reborn with the earth's renewal.
I welcome thee, beautiful spring!
In planting our seeds of hope for the future, please help us to remain aware of the constant manifestations of Your gifts and wonders that have already been graciously granted us.
Visualize the seed on the alter as what you want to plant - a quality, an opportunity, a creation, or whatever -
so the seed represents the idea in the mind. Ring bell one time, then write on parchment the seed idea.
Light the parchment from the center alter candle. Drop the burning ashes into the bowl of earth on the pentacle, and say:

Lady and Lord, receive the seed of my desire and let it grow and prosper that it may ripen and bear fruit.
Use the athame to mix ashes into the soil. Take the wand, and with it upraised, move (dance) around the circle three times to raise the energy.
Return to the alter with wand still upraised, and say:

By the power instilled in this raised wand will the seed be planted in the ready soil.
Blessed be the wand of spring and blessed be the earth that receives it!
Kiss the tip of the wand, transferring the raised energy into it, then make an indentation in the center of the soil with it and visualize the energy entering.
Set down the wand. Hold the seed aloft, concentrate energy into it (infusing it with your idea), place it in the furrow and close the soil over it, and say:
As I will it, so mote it be!



Now comes the time for cakes and wine...I actually prefer grape juice for spring rituals...kind of a beginning kinda thing...back to the book...



Cakes and Wine
Ring bell three times. Feet spread and arms upraised, say:

I acknowledge my needs and offer my appreciation to that which sustains me!
May I ever remember the blessings of my Lady and my Lord.
Feet together, take up goblet in left hand and athame in right. Slowly lower the point of the athame into the wine and say:

As male joins female for the benefit of both, let the fruits of their union promote life.
Let the earth be fruitful and let her wealth be spread throughout all lands.
Lay down the athame and drink from the goblet. Replace the goblet on the alter and pick up the athame.
Touch the point of the athame to the cake offering dish and say:

This food is the blessing of the Lady and the Lord given freely to me.
As freely as I have received, may I also give food for the body, mind, and spirit to those who seek such of me.
Eat the food, finish the wine, and say:

As I enjoy these gifts of the Goddess and the God,may I remember that without them I would have nothing.
So mote it be!


When all is finished, hold athame in your power hand level over alter and say:

Lord and Lady, I am blessed by your sharing this time with me,
watching and guarding me, and guiding me here and in all things.
I come in love and depart in love.
Raise up athame in a salute and say:

Love is the law and love is the bond. Merry did I meet, merry do I part, and merry will I meet again.
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!
The circle is now cleared. So mote it be!
Kiss the flat of the blade and set the athame on the alter. Take up the snuffer and go to the north quarter, raised up arms, and say:

Depart in peace, Elemental Earth. My blessings take with you!
Lower arms and snuff the candle, envision the Elemental Power departing.
Go to the east, raise up arms and say:

Depart in peace, Elemental Air. My blessings take with you!
Lower arms and snuff the candles, envision the Elemental Power departing.
Go to the south, raise up arms and say:

Depart in peace, Elemental Fire. My blessings go with you!
Lower arms and snuff the candle, envision the Elemental Power departing.
Go to the west, raise up arms and say:

Depart in peace, Elemental Water. My blessings go with you!
Lower arms and snuff the candle, envision the Elemental Power departing.
Return to the alter and set down the snuffer. Raise up arms and say:

Beings and powers of the visible and invisible, depart in peace!
You aid in my work, whisper in my mind, and bless me from the Otherworld,
and there is harmony between us. My blessings take with you.
The circle is cleared.

Take up athame, go to the north quarter, point athame down and move widdershins (counter-clockwise)
around circle (N-W-S-E-N). Envision the blue light drawing back into the athame and say:

The circle is open yet the circle remains as its magical power is drawn back into me.
When you return to the north having walked the circle, raise up the athame so the blade touches your forehead
and envision the blue light swirling around back into you. Return to alter and say:

The cermony has ended. Blessings have been given and blessings have been received, may the peace of the Goddess
and the God remain in my heart. So mote it be!
Set down the athame. Put away all magical tools and clear the alter except for candles or any objects that need to burn out
or work for a stated time (such as candle magic). The cauldron or libation bowl contents are poured onto the earth
(if not in the yard, then into a flowerpot containing soil and prehaps a hardy, leafy green plant).
Traditional foods for Ostara are seeds and sprouts, sweet wine or wine with honey in it, hard-boiled eggs (decorated),
yellow cake with poppy seeds, and banana nut bread.
After the Sabbat is concluded, you may want to transplant your seed into the garden or place it
in an indoor flower pot. As it grows, your idea should also grow into being.
I have on occasion used seeds I found on the ground and then planted outside after the Sabbat.
Two of these seeds became magnificent green plants of tree-like proportions, so I like to use what nature provides.




~May the Goddess be between you and harm in every lonely place you may walk~


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