Vernal Equinox (Ostara) 2024

This year, Ostara (Vernal Equinox) is on 03/19/2024…the Sun ingresses 0 degrees tropical Aries at 11:06 PM ET.

Here at Witch Joseph, we are SO excited about the coming of Spring this year.  (Angelique and Joseph prefer the warmer weather…as does Brother Christopher.) The celebration of the coming of Spring has been celebrated across many cultures and traditions.  In Witchcraft traditions, the Vernal Equinox is conceptualized as one of the 8 “sabbats”, or “days of power”, that comprise the wheel of the year.  It is also referred to as Ostara which was first used to refer to the Vernal Equinox by Aidan Kelly in 1974.  (Kelly also gave the name “Litha” to the Summer Solstice and “Mabon” to the Autumnal Equinox…these are considered somewhat controversial names by some.)  “Ostara” is ultimately derived from the old English Eostre who was presented in the works of Bede as an Anglo-Saxon Goddess venerated in the Springtime.  (“Eostre” is also the root of “Easter”…which carries parallel themes generally with the Vernal Equinox.  These holidays continue to cross pollinate in the garden of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft.)

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Experiment with color correspondences when dying your Eggs.

 

Experiment with symbols, sigils and designs when dying and decorating the Eggs

Leave comments under the blog and tell us how you dye eggs and how this impacts your magic(k)al practices for this Season.

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For our dinner sometimes I prepare a Spring salad with ingredients that I know everyone will love…and I like to dye hard boiled eggs (without the shell) in various colors…by immersing them in water with a splash of vinegar (apple cider or white) and regular food dye in various colors.  The salad becomes a nest…and I place the egg in the center.  I have also put these eggs in a nest of sautéed Kale with lemon zest, which is delicious (and so good for us).

Some years I just put a bowl or basket, with the hard boiled eggs in it, right on the dinner table and let people choose which color they want.

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Something else we like to do, particularly in the Spring, is create special Spring Teas with Tea Sandwiches.  My favorite Spring Teas are “Lady Gray” (Earl Gray with Lavender blossoms)…and a lovely Chamomile with Rose Petals and Verbena and Mint.  For the sandwiches, we get artisan bread and slice it and create the most delicious little tea sandwiches with cucumbers, cream cheese and fresh dill and/or watercress.  Egg salad also makes a wonderful tea sandwich.  Experiment and see what you like the best.

What sorts of treats do you create for yourself and loved ones for this time of year?

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We tend to be very eclectic in our practices and celebrations…One of the things we often like to focus on is the story of how Goddess Aset raised Osiris from the dead.  Dying and Rising Gods are often found in Vernal Equinox celebrations…and the kemetic myths are among the oldest recorded.  They become especially relevant to us since we are devotees of Goddess Bastet and we often create Ostara decorations and ornaments with kemetic themes.

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Brother Christopher’s Ostara Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter

1/4 cup of vegetable shortening

1 cup of Sugar

2 Eggs

11/2 tbs Honey

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white wine

1 tsp cinnamon 

21/2 to 3 cups of Flour

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together butter and shortening…add sugar and continue to cream.  Add eggs, honey, wine, cinnamon.  Mix separately the Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Oats.  Combine everything and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Roll onto lightly floured surface and cut out cookies with Spring themed cookie cutters (ie. Eggs, rabbits, flowers ect).  Place on un greased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to cooling rack and let cool.  

Icing

ingredients:

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon melted butter

2-3 tablespoons of milk

teaspoon of vanilla

Mix together into a thick consistency.  You can separate into different bowls and add food coloring to make Spring colors.  Experiment with sprinkles.

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Another “Spring” mythic motif especially relevant to us, being members of the LGBTQIA+ community, is the myth of the Sun God Apollo and his Lover, Hyacinth…Hyacinth was killed during a discus competition with another deity…and Apollo was grief stricken and gave Him immortality by changing Him into the Hyacinth flower.  These are some of the ones we have in our garden and entrance way here at Witch House.  They are my favorite Spring flower…and I adore the scent in the Spring when they bloom.

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Vernal Equinox (Ostara) Ritual Suggestions

Items needed for this ceremony: Spring Candle, Seeds (flowers or herbs), a pot for planting the seeds in with clean soil

Sabbat Colors: Pastels, Greens and White

Altar is decorated with Spring Flowers, Eggs and Rabbits

Circle is cast or Sacred space is established according to your traditions.

Opening declaration: “This is the time of Spring’s return, the seed time, when Life bursts forth from the Earth and the chains of Winter are broken.  Day and Night are Equal:  It is a time of balance, when all the elements within us must be brought into a new harmony.  The God of the Sun stretches out His hand and the Dark Maiden returns from the land of the Dead, cloaked in the fresh rain.  Where They step, the wild flowers appear; as They dance, despair turns to Hope, sorrow to Joy and want to Abundance.”

-holding match ready to light the Ostara candle in the cauldron-

“May our hearts open with the Spring!”

-candle is lit-

“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 magick, Earth Goddess.  The God stretches and rises, Tiger in His youth, and bursting with the promise of Summer.  We walk the Earth in  friendship, not in dominance.  Mother Goddess and Father God, Instill within us, through the planting of these seeds, a warmth for all living things.  Teach us to revere the Earth and all Her treasures.  May we never forget.”

-Seeds are passed thru the flames and charged with intentions for the coming season…and then planted in the pot.  You can also plant these in hollowed out egg shells filled with soil as an upgrade for the spell…follow your intuition.-

“Lord and Lady, as You dwell in us, make a fit vessel of us;  Give us strength and wisdom to do these things we have promised to You.”

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Be sure to share this blog with magic(k)al loved ones…and also tell us in the comments about your Spring celebrations, rituals and ceremonies and what kinds of practices you incorporate in your practices.

We want to thank you for visiting our Ostara 2024 blog…and we wish you and yours the happiest of Seasons.  May we be reborn with the Spring…We Are Rising.  Love and Blessings xoxox 

WJ