Ostara

Ostara is the celebration of the Spring (Vernal) Equinox when day and night balance. Astronomically, the sun crosses the celestial equator at this time. Held in late March, the actual date can vary from year-to-year as with the Autumnal Equinox and the two Solstices. The Vernal Equinox usually falls on March 20 or 21.

Called Ostara after the Saxon Goddess Eostre, this is a time of renewal, regeneration and resurrection as the Earth wakes from her long slumber. This is the time of planting, children, and young animals.
It is the fertility of the Earth that we celebrate, and we symbolize this new life springing from sun and soil with eggs, chicks, lambs, and rabbits (all symbols of the Great Mother).

Ostara promises freedom form the dreariness of winters, it heralds the return of hope and dreams. With the days lengthening, we fill our lungs with fresh air and drink the pungent cleansing teas that clear our bodies from the heavy foods of winter

The Goddess at Ostara

Eostre is the Goddess of dawn and new beginnings. Her name is similar to the word for the Christian Easter, because that holiday took its name from the ancient Pagan Goddess of Spring and rebirth. Another name in the same family is Ishtar, the Babylonian Goddess of the forming and evening stars. Eostre’s sacred animal is the rabbit or hare. Rabbits bear young in the springs, and have come to represent fertility and abundance. Hares, which are bigger and wilder than rabbits, have long been identified with magic, the springs, and the mysteries. Hares are associated with the moon – the ancients saw the “rabbit in the moon”, today known as the “man in the moon”.

The other Goddess we associates with the Spring Equinox is Kore or Persephone, daughter of Demeter, the Greek Goddess of grain and growing things. In the Spring, Persephone comes back from the Underworld to be reunited with her mother. A part of the Goddess that has been sleeping all winter reawakens with the warming of the ground of springs. She who has been mother, midwife, and teacher through the winter now welcomes back her own daughter-self, the Maiden of Springs. At this time of balance the Goddess is Mother and Daughter both.

The God at Ostara

The God of Springs is the young God, playful and joyful, the trickster. He is the spirit of everything that is joyful, light, and changeable. Born at Winter Solstice, nurtured at Imbolc, now he’s like a young and mischievous child, still wild and new. He is raw, creative energy that has not yet been harnessed, tamed, civilized. He sees with clear eyes and does not hesitate to announce that the emperor is naked. He deflates the pompous and laughs at self-importance.

The trickster is an important spirit power in many earth-based cultures. To many of the Native American tribes, he is Coyote. To the First Nations of the Northwest Coast, he is Raven, who creates the world. In parts of West Africa, he is Elegba, the small child-God who as a point of light constantly runs circles around the universe. To early African-Americans, he is Brer Rabbit, who tricks his way out of trouble.

In European earth-based traditions, he is the Fool of the Tarot, who leaps blithely off a cliff as he follows a butterfly, yet always lands on his feet, because he takes himself lightly. He is spirit taking the plunge into matter, idea manifesting as form. He is Robin Goodfellow, shape shifter and wood sprite, child of the Faery King. He comes to us in the springs when all of nature is shifting and changing: seeds poking out sprouts, butterflies emerging from cocoons, tadpoles growing legs and turning into frogs.
We celebrate him on the Spring Equinox, but of course, his proper holiday comes shortly after, on April Fool’s Day. In his honor, we play tricks on one another.

The Altar

The altar for springs includes images of rabbits and birds, eggs of all sorts, nests, flowers, and living plants.

If you like to keep your altar up for a long time, blow your eggs after you’ve colored them. Take a small branch from a tree and hang the eggs from it. Start some seeds, to be planted out in the garden, and let your seed trays become the basis for your altar. Water them every day, talk to them, and watch them grow.

The Colors of Ostara

All pastels are appropriate for Ostara — especially greens, yellows, and pinks. White makes a nice accent, but is a bit too too barren for an altar cloth representing the season of growth and fertility.

Incense, Herbs, Gemstones, and Woods

Violet, honeysuckle, narcissus, and lemon make good incenses for Ostara — the scents should be clear and light, floral and evocative, but not overwhelming or intoxicating.

Herbs associated with springs include meadowsweet, cleavers, clover, lemongrass, spearmint and catnip.

The gemstones for Ostara are Clear quartz crystal, rose quartz, jasper, agate, amazonite, citrine, and amethyst.

If you want to use wood in your spells and rituals, ash has a strong ling with the equinox due to its connection with the macrocosm-microcosm concept in the Celtic ogham runes – the balance of light and dark… as above, so below.

Flowers

What better day to decorate for the springs season than with the flowers that blossom at this time? They are abundant and beautiful. Daffodils, jonquils, tulips, narcissus, violets and crocus and snowdrops – fill the house with their color after you’ve finished your spring cleaning.

Meditations

Take regular walks around your neighborhood, looking and listening for signs of spring: the fattening leaf buds on trees, the first flowers of spring, the first Robin. Think about the Earth’s movement toward greater light and less darkness.

Resources: Whispering Worlds and Pagan Pages.org

Gemstone Jewelry for Weight Loss

I’ve been experimenting with creating gemstone jewelry to help keep me moving forward on my path to a healthier life.  Especially when I find my path blocked by a stubborn, little problem like managing my diabetes.  Another related problem I have holding me back is the 50 extra pounds I’ve been carrying around; 50 pounds I really don’t need to be bringing along on this journey. But because of my sedentary job, my medications, and my natural aversion for cardio, weight loss has, until now, been impossibly frustrating.

So I decided to put what I know about gemstones to work again. I started by making this necklace (shown below) to help lend it’s energies to my struggle. Since I started wearing it, I find myself less hungry, craving healthier foods, and actually eager to exercise with energy to spare.  And, the coolest part… I’ve finally managed to shed some of the excess fat that’s been clinging to me.

It’s working so well, I’ve since made a bracelet to wear as well (above), for those days I am in the mood to wear one of my many gemstone pendants.

Each of the stones I chose to use was selected for their unique metaphysical properties in regards to weight loss. They are:

•  Sunstone revs up the metabolism and increases energy, packing a one-two punch when it comes to shedding pounds.
• Iolite helps to  reduce fatty deposits in the body and supports liver detoxification.
• Blue Kyanite:  This beautiful blue stone helps your body to releases excess weight, both physically and mentally.
• Seraphinite not only promotes weight loss but also encourages transformation and the shedding of old, outdated behaviors that are no longer serving you.
• Apatite helps promote weight loss by  suppressing hunger and raising ones metabolism.  In fact, it did such a good job, I find that more days than not, I’ve been forgetting to eat unless I make a point to remind myself to do so.

Up Next… Gemstones for Weight Loss

Whimsical Purple Fluorite and Amethyst Pendulum

My pendulum finally called me to assemble it, and I am delighted with how it came out. The wire wrap on the weight really captures how I feel when I’m being led in a vision; flowing, sweeping waves of imagery and undulating spirals carrying me deeper into the unknown. Normally the lack of symmetry would be something I would vehemently avoid,  but for this piece, it felt right to just let the wire move the way it wanted to. It’s surprisingly well balanced and intuitive, and though I am just starting to get a feel for her, I believe she will become a beloved part of my Divination practice.

Purple Fluorite enhances intuition and brings order out of chaos. Purple Fluorite dispels negative energy and then re-energizes the atmosphere. Purple Fluorite is excellent at increasing one’s mental capacities and inspiring creativity.

Amethyst connects the physical plane with higher realm, making it a good choice when working with the Third Eye Chakra. Amethyst also provides a wonderful peaceful energy for meditations, and helps with developing intuition and psychic abilities.  Amethyst opens and activates the Crown Chakra as well, allowing easier access to the divine. Amethyst enhances spiritual awareness and spiritual wisdom, promoting a higher state of consciousness. Amethyst clears and repairs holes in the aura and draws in Divine energy, as well as aligning and fostering cooperation between the energy bodies.

Although Opalite is a man-made ‘crystal’, it still, nevertheless, holds plenty of beneficial properties.  Opalite is useful in meditation partly because it gives off a calming and relaxing energy, but also because it is associated with opening up the third-eye chakra, which is the chakra of intuition, insight and vision. Because of this, when placed over the crown chakra, it is said to induce visions and enhance psychic powers. Though opalite is an aid to communication on every level, it is particularly beneficial for communication on a spiritual level. As such, opalite can also help communicate to and receive messages from the spirit world, as well as help interpret those messages and visions.

Silver releases the emotions and encourages proper expression of feelings. It promotes generosity and empathy. Silver helps us to become more flexible mentally or to remain so and to let go of influences and dependencies, particularly if these go hand in hand with feelings of helplessness.  The imagination and the ability to visualize are all stimulated by silver… Silver also helps maintain control and balance on a psychic level.