On March 21 we celebrate Spring. The date of Ostara falls exactly between Midwinter and Midsummer. And on the day of Ostara, the return of Spring, day and night are equally long. Spring comes from Germanic and means “to lengthen”; lengthening the days.
This day is also the start of the active part of the year. Spring is the season of Ostara, the Goddess of Light and Fertility. She is full of energy, youthful and enthusiastic. She teaches us to live in the here and now, to honor the present and to embrace your inner child. The Bunny is her magical companion and accompanies Ostara on her travels where she awakens new life in the sleeping earth and flowers by placing eggs in the earth.
Ostara by Deviantart
People extensively celebrated the return of Spring. Tradition has shown that this was often done in the form of a play. A man, wrapped in animal skin and straw, depicted Winter. And that was conquered by a woman dressed in green and decorated with flowers, Mother Earth, who takes her place after Winter. In addition, people in parades went past the fields where the earth was symbolically tapped with sticks, sometimes decorated with bells, to awaken the earth. Games were also held to celebrate the victory of Winter and the sparse period.
Ostara, the Spring Solstice, is the third Festival of the Year and symbolizes the victory of light and the dawn of the fertile period, Spring, as well as the active part of the year.
Her name refers to the East, the direction where the light, the Sun, comes from. Symbolically Mother Earth is awakened by the young Sun God. And the first thing she does is take care of all animals and crops.
The Story of the Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is Ostara’s companion. She brings the eggs and with that she plants fertility. But the Easter Bunny was not always a bunny…
Ostara lived on the edge of the forest, along with her animals, including her chicken. People went to Ostara for advice and assistance. For example, they asked Ostara for advice to grow the crops, to have children of their own and much more. Ostara used a certain amulet for her services to empower her magic. And one day her chicken picked up the amulet and ate it. Since then, Ostara needed her chicken to help people and animals. Should her services be needed, Ostara whispered to her chicken with her amulet what was needed and then the chicken laid a magic egg. People had to lay that egg where the magic was needed. So if the crops had to grow better, then people buried the egg in the fields. If the cows had to give more milk, they put the egg in the barn with the cows. After the winter, Ostara’s chicken laid a very special magical egg. That egg made the days longer and the nights shorter and Spring came back again.
However, after a few years, Ostara’s chicken stopped laying her special eggs. Ostara did not understand. She whispered to the chicken what to do, but the chicken did nothing. A farmer came and asked if his cows would have calves. A shepherd came and asked if his sheep would have lambs. Yet another farmer asked if his crops would grow well. Time and time again, Ostara asked her to lay an egg, but nothing happened. Nor for the women who came to Ostara to ask if they would become pregnant. This continued until the moment when the chicken had to lay the special Spring egg. If that didn’t happen, it would be Winter forever. And Ostara was concerned about this. She decided to keep a close eye on her chicken, hoping to find out what was going on with her chicken.
She asked her chicken to lay the special Spring Egg and the chicken looked angrily at her. The chicken ran away to do what she was asked to do, and this time Ostara followed her in such a way that the chicken didn’t notice. Ostara saw the chicken lay the egg. It was beautiful, red and it glowed. Just like the dawn. Ostara happily approached her hen, but instead of the hen giving her the egg, she hoisted the heavy egg on her back and ran off. Ostara followed her chicken right through the forest, but lost her. Sadly, Ostara walked home again. How was she supposed to tell people what she had seen and that it would therefore always be Winter.
In the morning, when Ostara set out for the village to tell her story, she saw her chicken sitting in her house. She walked over to her and asked what had happened, why the chicken was acting like she did. And if that had happened with all eggs. The chicken finally told Ostara what was bothering her. She was so tired of having to lay eggs day after day, year after year. She wanted something different and yes, Ostara could understand that. Ostara asked the chicken if she remembered where all the eggs were hidden. Some yes, some no. But there was not enough time to find all that unless the chicken could be faster than it was now. And that gave Ostara an idea. The chicken wanted something different and the chicken wanted to be faster. Thus, Ostara turned her chicken into a hare. And the chicken loved it.
Ostara asked the bunny if she wanted to get the special Spring Egg. Then she went to the village to bring the good news and ask people to help find all the other hidden eggs. People wanted to do that only too well. Everywhere you heard shouts of joy when an egg was found, again and again. And that night there was a big party.
However, the bunny had not yet returned. Ostara was very worried again. Het bunny was probably afraid that she and the people were angry with her. To reassure her bunny, they all decorated houses and squares with bunnies and chickens and eggs to show hare how important and special she was to Ostara and the people in the village. When the bunny found out about this, she finally dared to come out. She told Ostara that she was ashamed of what she had done and that she was so happy that Ostara and the people were not angry. She returned the special Spring Egg, upon which the sun rose, and with it the light, warmth and Spring.
Symbolism of Ostara
Eggs used to be put in fields to bless them. Eggshell was sprinkled over soil for good growth of plants and grasses. This is reflected in many cultures and the egg is a symbol of fertility.
Just as the egg is a symbol of fertility in many cultures, the eggs are also painted in these cultures. The bright colours symbolize the revival of colours in nature. The world is reborn and comes back to life.
With Palm Easter, a stick or cross is decorated with eggs, greenery and treats and carried around. This custom is pagan in origin and belongs to the Maypole celebration of the Germans. To celebrate the returning Summer, the Germans carried a decorated pine. In the top of that pine was a cock. The pen and the rooster symbolize the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and the rooster Gullinkambi (Golden Comb) that was in the top. The rooster crows every morning at the first dawn, thus symbolizing the return of light. The roosters are now, thank goodness, made from bread. This stems from the period when people no longer wanted to sacrifice animals. To make the roosters look real, they have the shape of a rooster and often eyes of currants or raisins.
How can Ostara be of help to you?
When you start living according to the Wheel of the Year and use the symbolism of Mother Nature in your own life, you will discover, learn to (re) know and experience the power of natural energy. Ostara’s energy represents fertility and growth.
In this period you can use this energy and use it to develop your personal growth or your plans, ideas, projects or whatever you want to achieve this year. And if you are looking for a new start, invite Ostara during your spiritual activities and creativity. Ask her fertility for your performance and results. If you would like to bear fruit, in the broadest sense of the word, ask Ostara to put some of her ever-blooming seed in you.
Eggs represent the recurring life after Winter. Eggs are symbols of fertility, full of promising and potential life.
Use the energy of this moment, that bubbling, sizzling, energy full of promises for your inner plans, ideas and projects. These can now be put into practice. Focus your full attention on what you want to achieve and go for it!
How can Ostara be celebrated?
Focus on what you want and go for it! Now is the time!
5 ways of 5 minutes to celebrate Ostara
1. A bouquet of flowers
Bring a bouquet of flowers into your home and honour Spring this way. While you give your Spring bouquet a nice spot, visualize the Sun (or better yet, keep it in the sunlight if there is one) and ask Ostara to bless your bouquet with balance, playfulness, love and a fresh start. Then put it in a nice place. This way you have brought Spring into your home with its fresh, green energy.
2. Dance and smile ate the same time, preferably on barefoot
Ostara has a youthful energy and asks you to embrace your inner child. So go and have fun with music, dance on barefoot and have fun! It is even better to do that outside. This is going to give you sparkling Spring energy that will bring joy wherever you go.
3. Bless chocolate eggs with your intention and enjoy eat them
Take 3 deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Take a chocolate egg in your right hand and hold your left hand over it like a roof. Visualize your most positive intentions into reality. And let your visualization flow into the chocolate egg by your right hand. Then eat it. This will internalize and initiate your intention. Just like a seed planted in the soil. That way it can grow and blossom. Repeat this with up to 2 intentions.
4. Sprinkle rose petals over your bed
With Spring comes romance and being in love. Summon this energy and bring it into your home and your love life by sprinkling rose petals on your bed. Leave them until you go to bed ♥
5. Plant herbs and flowers and plants in your garden
Plant your seeds with Ostara. If there is still a chance of frost, first plant them in a pot and transfer them to the solid ground when there is no longer any chance of frost. Before planting the seeds in the soil, hold them against the sunlight and bless them with your intentions for the active period of the year. Think about what you want to harvest, achieve this year and blow those intentions into your seeds.
Great fun to make yourself, an Ostara Nest
How can you celebrate Ostara even more
1. Go for a walk
Go for a walk in your favourite piece of nature. But make it a walk with attention. Watch the birds chirping, Spring flowers in bloom, buds in trees and feel the vibrant Spring energy around you. If the weather permits, take off your shoes and literally ground yourself by standing with your bare feet in the soil or on the grass. Let the wind pass through your hair and breathe in the Spring air deeply. Who knows, you might also see a bunny or a hare. Enjoy all the natural beauty around you and be grateful for all this beauty.
2. Plant something
There really is no better way to celebrate fertility than by gardening and literally being in the soil with your hands. Plant something beautiful. It does not matter whether they are bulbs, seeds or already plants. After planting something, take a step back and appreciate the life you just planted. And are sincerely grateful for this.
3. Meditate outdoors
The early Spring sun is packed with energy. To recharge yourself, you can meditate outside in addition to taking a walk. Find your quiet place in the garden, on your balcony, in the park, the forest or where you are nice and comfortable. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and breathe in and out gently. Relax and open up to Mother Earth’s messages. She always speaks, you just have to listen.
4. Pick flowers or collect beautiful branches
Take a walk and collect beautiful branches and flowers. Just be extra careful and don’t just pick fanatically or cut branches. The best thing is to compose a field bouquet. Always ask Mother Earth before you pick if you are allowed to pick. Are you now wondering how to do that? Look at the flower you want to pick up and listen to your feelings. If it feels light, then it is allowed, if it feels heavy, then leave the flower. If you ask the field if you can pick some flowers, you will automatically feel if it is ok and you will be guided during the picking. Thank the flowers and Mother Earth for her beautiful gift to you.
5. Have a picnic
In the Spring it is often very nice weather. Nothing more fun than having a picnic. Take fresh products with you. Typical Ostara dishes are: Nettle tea, fresh sandwiches with a cross in them (balance and association male-female), quiches in which fresh vegetables and eggs are incorporated, where the eggs represent new life). The most important thing is to be outside and enjoy the fresh air and the vibrant energy of Spring and Mother Earth.
6. Watch birds
Watching the birds is great at this time of year. You can always spoil them by sprinkling some bird seed. Then they will know where to find you and will in turn treat you to a beautiful concert. Another fun thing to do is to make birdseed eggs and hang them up.
7. Lie down under a tree and enjoy being
Choose a beautiful tree or go to your own tree. Lie under it and enjoy the security of the tree, the sunlight coming through the branches and playing with the leaves. Have a conversation with the tree and listen to his or her wisdom. Trees are always open to contact, and here as well, you just have to listen. If you need some extra energy, sit comfortably with your back against the trunk. You will feel the energy of the tree going through you. When the time comes to go, thank the tree for its time, the wisdoms and energy received. Who knows , this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship ♥
8. Smudge yourself
Smudging yourself, energetic cleaning, is a good thing and if you haven’t done that in a while, now with Ostara it is a perfect time to do so. Ostara is all about new beginnings and therefore also throwing away the old to make room for the new. Just as Mother Earth throws off her Winter mantle, by smudging you throw off your old energy that you no longer need. Grab a smudge stick, a sprig of Rosemary or a handful of Rose Petals, Sage Leaves, Mugwort, Thyme, Juniper Berries, or make your own mix and smudge yourself. And while you’re at it, take your home and workplace with you right away.
9. Paint eggs with natural colours
It is great fun to paint eggs with natural paint and Mother Earth is grateful for it. You get red and pink eggs by brushing them with beet or berry juice. You get green eggs by fresh spinach or herbs into powder and mixed with a little water. Blue eggs from blueberries or red cabbage. Brown eggs from coffee or tea. And yellow eggs by Curry or Turmeric. White eggs give a bright colour and brown eggs a deep colour. If you want a complete manual, you can find it here: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/easter-ideas/how-to/a31737/natural-easter-egg-dyes/
10. Ostara Party
Throw an Ostara Party and celebrate Spring with family and friends. You can do that low budget by making it a pot luck party. That means that everyone brings something. Just ask to keep it in Ostara’s theme; painted eggs, fresh herbal water, quiches, salads, fresh vegetables, grilled chicken, asparagus. Enough to come up with. Use the colours green, yellow, pink and yellow, the Ostara colours. And put beautiful Spring Flowers on the table. If you are in a creative mood, make an Easter tree and hang eggs and ribbons in it. While you prepare your dishes and dress up your party, think about the beginning of Spring, the fertility, the active period of the year and what you want to accomplish this year. Before you eat with your company, think about the deeper meaning of Ostara together and express your gratitude to Mother Earth, her gifts and her sacrifices, especially when meat is on the table. Fill an extra dish and put it down as a sacrifice for Mother Earth, the nature spirits and the elements.
And which is also a lot of fun to do:
# Create floral wreath or pentagram
# Come up with new ideas for the coming year
# Make Easter wreath or Easter tree
# This 2-minute magic to bring the energy of Spring into your home:
Tess Whitehurst
What can you drink and eat with Ostara?
Nine Herb Soup
What do you need:
# 30 grams of butter
# 2 tablespoons of flour
# a litre of broth
# salt
# Dandelion leaf
# Nettle
# Chives
# Seven leaf
# Parsley
# Cress
# Sage
# Plantain
# Sorrel
Make sure you have all the edible (officinalis) versions of the herbs.
How you make it:
Melt the butter and put in in the flour. Then add the stock in small amounts and stir well. Add salt to taste and bring to boil. Chop the herbs and add them. The soup may now no longer boil (with the herbs).
Egg Salad
What do you need:
# 6 eggs
# salt
# mayonnaise
# mustard
# Chives
# curry powder (optional)
How you make it:
Boil the eggs for about 5 minutes and peel them. Then cut the eggs into small pieces and put them in a bowl. Add mayonnaise and curry powder to the eggs until a smooth mass forms. Season the salad with salt, curry powder and mustard. Cut the Chives into small pieces and mix them into the salad. Serve the salad with sandwiches or toasted bread.
White bread rolls (24 pieces)
What do you need:
# 500 grams (spelt) flour
# 4 tablespoons of sugar
# 2 ½ teaspoon salt
# 1 ½ tablespoon of dry yeast kernels
# 50 grams of butter
# 350 ml of water
# 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
How you make it:
Mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast together. Mix with butter and then add the water. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead by hand for 20 min. Bless your bread by saying your intentions out loud or in yourself while kneading. Brush the dough with oil. Place it in a large bowl, cover and let it rise for 1 hour. Form balls of the dough and place them on a greased baking tray. Let it rise for 45 minutes. Bake them in the oven at 200 ° C for 12-14 minutes.
Preparation 40 min; making 13 min; additional time 1 hour 45 min rise; ready in 2 hours 38 min
Sweet buns (10 persons)
What do you need:
# 3 ½ dl water
# 2 tablspoon honey
# 2 tablespoon syrup
# 1 little bag of dried yeast
# 500 grams of whole wheat flour
# ½ cup of extra flour
# 1 teaspoon of salt
# 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
# 3 tablespoon sunflower seeds.
How you make it:
- Place warm water in a measuring cup and stir in the honey, syrup and yeast.
- Let this mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- Keep the 1/2 cup of extra flour for a while.
- Place the 500 gram flour and salt in the mixing bowl and make a hollow in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the hollow. Stir this well together. Knead the dough with your hands into a firm ball. Wet the tea towel under the tap, wring it out and place it over the bowl. Place the bowl in a warm place, for example above the heater. Let the dough rise for half an hour.
- Meanwhile, grease the baking tray with oil, do it with a brush. Clean and dry the countertop. Sprinkle the ½ cup of extra flour over the counter. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead well.
- Spoon 3 tablespoons of sunflower seeds into a bowl.
- Roll the dough into a long sausage with your hands. Divide the rolling pin into 10 pieces and roll each piece into a roll. Press the rolls very gently into the sunflower seeds. Place the rolls with the sunflower seeds on the greased baking tray. Wet the tea towel again, wring it out and place it over the rolls. Let them rise again in a warm place for half an hour. Turn the oven on at 225 degrees Celsius.
- Rub the top of the rolls gently with water, do it with a brush. Place the baking sheet with the rolls in the oven. Bake the rolls in 15 minutes; the top is then light brown. Put on the oven gloves and take the baking tray out of the oven. Remove the rolls from the baking tray with a spatula and place them in the basket. Let them cool down for a while.
Other dishes that accompany the Ostara feast:
# Green salad
# Fresh vegetables
# Filled eggs
# Quiches
# Ham, chicken and lamb
# Fruit bread or wreath
# Corn cookies
# Chocolate fountain
I wish you a very happy and warm Ostara. That all your plans, ideas, projects or whatever you wish for this year, may be fruitful and yield great results ♥
Have fun and go for it!
With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\ 2020 ©
Sources:
https://tesswhitehurst.com/5-ways-to-celebrate-ostara-in-5-minutes-or-less-2/
http://www.pennilesspagan.com/2016/03/ten-ways-celebrate-ostara-spring.html
http://www.thespiritofthegoddessis.nl/Jaarfeesten/Ostara/TekstOstara.html
http://www.abedeverteller.nl/ostara-de-betekenis-van-het-heidense-paasfeest-2/
http://aardewijsheid.nl/seizoenfeesten/57-de-haas-en-de-kip
http://www.smulweb.nl/recepten/zoete+broodjes
http://allrecipes.nl/recept/1201/ouderwetse-witte-broodjes.aspx
https://www.druiderij.nl/
https://www.druidry.org/
Pictures:
See the source under the picture, other pictures www.pixabay.com
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The Alder Scrolls 