Saturday 18 March 2017

The Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox
Ostara
20th-22nd March

The festival of chocolate... Well that’s what it seems like and I can live with that…

Ostara is a celebration of the Spring Equinox, the signs of spring should be well under way and new planting of crops and flowers should be happening. It is a time when day and night are equal. All of nature is stirring and showing signs of activity after its winter slumber. The power of the sun will increase from now, the days will lengthen and the nights will shorten.

This is the festival of fertility and sowing of seeds. Spring is sprung!


Symbols
Hares, chicks, eggs, rabbits, spring flowers, lambs, baskets and the Green Man.


In the garden:

New life should be springing up in the garden now, new shoots should be beginning on the trees and plants, spring flowers should be starting to bloom. Just keep an eye out for frosts still.

Herbs

Broom, ginger, jasmine, mugwort, sage, St John’s Wort, vervain

Foods

Eggs, fish, honey, lamb, dandelions, nettles, dairy foods, hot cross buns, green vegetables, sweets, edible flowers and chocolate (did I mention chocolate already).

Colours

Pastel colours – blue, yellow, pink, green and white

Activities

Take a walk in your local area and smile and celebrate at the signs of spring, not just the plants but the wild animals, birds and insects too.

Paint eggs and hide them for an egg hunt.

Go to a local park or beach and pick up litter, help the Earth by cleansing it of rubbish.

Perform egg divination (called oomancy). Separate the whites from the yolks, then drop the white into a bowl of hot water and see what symbols or shapes it makes.

Light black and white candles around your home to symbolise the dark and the light – this reminds us of the balance in life and within ourselves.

Incense

Ginger, jasmine, mugwort, sage, nutmeg, vervain, rose, magnolia, violet, orange peel and willow.

Incense Recipe

Frankincense
Nutmeg
Violet
Orange
Rose


Oils

Hyacinth, lily, rose, violet, strawberry, lotus, myrrh, elder, ginger, geranium, patchouli, chamomile, cedarwood and broom.

Oil Recipe 1

Rose
Geranium
Chamomile
Myrrh
Cedarwood


Oil recipe 2

Lavender
Violet
Elder
Patchouli


Spell workings

Renewal and rebirth, new beginnings and balance. Inspiration, changes, new opportunities and hope.


From Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch by Rachel Patterson

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