SPIRIT

Begin by discussing the nature of the Ostara festival. Ostara like all Sabbats has many aspects one can talk about, depending upon where you wish to put your emphasis. In discussing the nature of Ostara you might say something like:

"We come together to celebrate the festival of Ostara, to celebrate Spring and renewed life. The reborn Sun God rises as Hero and the Earth welcomes Him. The return of the Sun warms the Earth and brings forth the living things: leaves and flowers open, spreading color and scent to delight the senses. The animals rejoice and become active -many bring forth their young. It is a time of new beginnings and of limitless potential. Rejoice then -embrace the spirit of life which moves in the world afresh! Let us, like Hero and Maiden, walk where we have not walked before, embrace the new and brave the unknown! Let us grow and expand even as light and life grow and expand at this time of year!"

ACT OF POWER
Egg Divination

Ostara is the festival of the spring, and its themes have to do with rebirth and new growth. It is an excellent time to be thinking of new directions or new projects for the coming summer.

Like many Pagan holidays the customs of Ostara are shared to some extent with non-Pagans. An example is the use of symbols such as baby animals and eggs to represent rebirth. Flowers, and the vivid colors of the Spring are also associated with this holiday. Colored eggs have been used at the Spring Equinox for untold generations.

Our first Ostara Act of Power makes use of just these symbols.

For this you will need a bowl of colored eggs. Use as many colors as possible. Place the bowl of eggs on the altar. When you have cast your Circle and invoked, and spoken of the nature of the Sabbat, and come at last to the body of your ritual, take up the bowl of eggs from the altar –hold it up so that all may see. Hold the bowl of eggs before you in the center of the Circle, or pass it hand to hand. Speak about the symbolism of eggs. You might say something like:

“Behold, our friend the egg.

“From the most ancient times the egg has represented new beginnings, new life, new potentials yet unopened. New life is hidden within, but all that we see is the blank face of the shell.

”To celebrate Ostara we color eggs with all the colors of the dawn, to honor the Young Lord Who is now reborn, and the Maiden Goddess Who has prepared the way for His coming, even as many-colored Dawn prepares the way for the Sun.

“Our lives too are a source of endless potential: Each dawn brings in a new day, but who knows what each day will hold? So too with us: as we enter this season of growth we come with many hopes, but who can say what shall follow?

“Think now on the coming months of Spring and Summer. What do you hope for? What do you plan? Reflect on these.”

Allow a few moments for reflection. When you feel that people have reflected long enough, begin a chant. A good choice might be:


“Powers of Eternity
I know you abide in me
So by my will let me see
What the future holds for me!”

You might wish to place the eggs in the center of the Circle and dance and chant around them. If you do not wish to dance, then hold of set the eggs in the center of the Circle where all can focus on them. In either event, when the chant is finished, have everyone focus energy into the bowl of eggs. You might direct them like this:

“Imagine the bowl of eggs filling with energy –see them glowing, shining brightly with energy. Send energy into the eggs –more, and more…Behold, in the name of the God and of the Goddess, may these eggs be blessed to our purpose! So Mote It Be!”

All
“So Mote It Be!”

Now take up the eggs again. Say something like:

“So many hopes and dreams. Who can say how they shall befall? God/dess can. The Wise can. We can. Take now an egg –close your eyes and draw at random that She may tell us what the dawn of the year brings for us.”

Have each person close their eyes and choose one egg. Then go around the Circle and interpret each person’s egg according to its color (or you can wait and do this after ritual if you prefer). For example pink might mean love, blue communication, lavender spiritual growth, green prosperity, etc.…

Have each person hold onto their egg or set it in a safe place. Now continue with your ritual.

You may think it would be a good idea to combine this with the toast, so that the eggs are eaten in Circle. We advise against it –peeling boiled eggs is a messy business, and time consuming. Better to save the eating of the eggs for the feast after ritual.

Variation '>1

An obvious variation on this is to write a divinatory meaning directly upon the egg. This allows you more leeway with your meanings since they need not be tied to the colors of the eggs. Use a wax pencil or the special marking pens sold for egg decorating to write the meanings on the shell.

Variation '>2

Another variation is to buy the hollow plastic eggs which are commercially available in the Spring. Inside of each hollow egg place an item such as a tumbled stone or a token of some sort which the recipient can take home after the ritual. Use all the same items on the inside and interpret the eggs by their color, or: use different stones or other tokens on the inside and interpret by them, or: write divinatory meanings on slips of paper and place inside the hollow eggs and divine from these, rather like fortune cookies.

Variation '>3

Our final variation on this simple Act of Power is to use flowers instead of eggs. Get flowers of many colors and interpret the flowers according to color, just as you would the eggs. Or if you are familiar with the properties of flowers you might get a selection of different types of flower, and interpret according to the type: for example, a rose might mean love. Obviously, you would vary the spoken parts to allow for the qualities of flowers rather than of eggs, but the symbolism is very close