Ostara, March 21st Northern Hemisphere, September 21st Southern Hemisphere. Also known as Oester's Festival, Alban Eiler, Eoster's day, Feast of the world Egg, [renewed creation ] The Rites of Spring, Groundhog Day, Spring Festival & the sowing & planting time in the north, Earth cycles of plant & animal fertility.

Colour of Festival Yellow. Candle colour: Yellow. Each one present may carry a yellow / gold candle or they may be placed in a bank of candles indoors, or they can be placed in an outer circle as elf lights. A yellow candle is also placed in the cauldron, which is decorated with a yellow ribbon & surrounded by eggs & spring flowers. Some times these flowers are floated in the cauldron itself & a large yellow candle surrounded by decorated eggs, is placed in the bank of candles, these eggs are given as an offering after the rite by each one present.

It is traditional for those Wiccans who live in cities to symbolically plant some seed together at this point in the seasonal round, this takes the form of a spell within circle & the ritual of daily tending the seed till it is large & strong enough to be planted else where. [Family, friend's or Coven's garden or some where in the wild] The seeds of trees are the most popular today.

The altar cloth is yellow. Incense is Sandalwood, Lavender & Alder.

Greenery: Willow, ferns, young oak shoots, pine, myrtle, lavender, rosemary, rue & alder. Decorations: As many spring flowers that you can find at this time, but look out for yellow roses, chrysanthemums, primroses, daisies etc. Violets are the main festival flower, collected for luck at this time. Tarot card is the Moon 18.

Bran, Branwen, Flora, Kore, Greenman, Druantia, Tammuz, Bel, Oestre, Ostera, Frigg, Freyr & Freya, Pan, Ostara, Ishstar, Astarte, Baal, Isis & Osiris & many others.

Festival foods; All egg dishes, all fowl & fish dishes. [both fish & fowl produce eggs] all spring fruit & vegetables. Almond is the nut of this festival, though pine nuts are also used at this time in both sweet & savoury breads & cakes. Crescent cakes are baked with almonds at this time & Hot Cross buns are served hot & spicy. [Hot cross buns are Pagan, so are the eggs, whether they be chocolate or real] The eggs are traditionally dyed red, dark orange, gold or copper. The eggs have various designs or runes according to the part of Europe or the God system you are using in the ritual.

Turkish delight a sweet made from rose water is also used at this festival as are sweets made from almond paste. Breads are filled with fruit & nuts, or have whole eggs baked into them. Ritual & festival drinks include, herb & fruit wines, ale, beer, mead, Rose hip cool drinks, tea & punches & elderberry wine or elder flower punch.

Dress Code - Yellow or neutral. [black or white]

Ostara in the Northern Hemisphere is called Easter by the Christians & it is an old Pagan holiday dedicated to the Goddess & adopted by the early Christian Church. The Easter bunny represents the form the Goddess sometimes takes at this time, the hare, a fertility symbol. Easter eggs & buns with solar crosses on them date to 1500 years before Christianity & are possibly older in origin.

Statues of hares & black ravens are used at this festival. [or a ravens feather is placed on the altar at this time to represent the God. [Bran]

Christians are led to believe that Easter means " Resurrection of Christ". The name Easter is merely the slight changed spelling of the ancient Goddess Ishstar, pronounced by Assyrians exactly as we pronounce "Easter". She was the Queen of heaven / Spring Goddess & was honoured at this festival. The Babylonian name was Astarte, consort of Baal the Sun God. Beltis or Bel also called Moloch was honoured at this time.

Flower crowns are worn at spring rites, form a circle of willow & tie with yellow ribbons, insert your flowers & herbs. [rosemary, mint etc] These crowns are given as an offering or hung in the home until the next Spring rite, when it replaced with the new crown & the old one is then burnt in the ritual fire of Beltain.

Natural Dyes For Eggs. [Neo- Pagan]
Colour Herb Type of magic
Green Coltsfoot & Bracken Growth.
Yellow Green Carrot tops Fertility.
Yellow Tumeric Solar energy.
Orange Onion skins As above.
Rust Onion skins Strength.
Red Madder root, Cochineal Love.
Blue Blue berries. Mulberries Protection.
Pink Beet, Madder root, Cochineal Affection.
Bright Blue Red Cabbage & vinegar Spirit.
Grey Blue berries & splash of vinegar Peace.
Violet Blue berries & vinegar Spirituality.

To consecrate your eggs.

Place on altar & bless with the 4 elements. Hold the athame high & intone these words:

"In the name of the Spring Goddess & the ever returning God, [name them] By the power of the 4 elements, Earth, Air, Fire & Water, these eggs are cleansed & prepared as an offering to the Lord & Lady, So mote it be."

Make a pentagram over each egg then say: "Now do they contain new life in accordance with their signs, This is my will so mote it be!"

The consecration is done before main rite, best at Sunrise or midday.

BLESSED BE