For
this ritual you will need two small chalices or cups of water
or wine and, if you’re working outdoors, you will need two
bowls in which to pour the liquid. You will also need two candles
and some matches. A ritual blade or wand is optional.
Place these items on
a small altar, table, or other flat surface. In a pinch I’ve
used the top of my dresser as an altar, and even the small stand
on which I keep a portable stereo. At other times I’ve had
no trouble using a flat rock or even the ground itself.
Arrange the candles
so that one is to the extreme left of the altar and one to the
extreme right. Place the chalices of water or wine beside the
candles. If you are working outdoors, place the bowls on the ground
on either side of the candles.
Begin by offering prayers
of thanks to the God and Goddess for the blessings of Ostara.
List aloud each one. Go slow. Be thorough. As you do this, dip
your fingertips into each chalice alternately and flick the water
around your immediate area to impart those blessings. Use caution
if you are indoors or, if you’re using wine – go through
the motion of aspurging without actually touching the liquid.
Focusing on the candles,
think about them representing the winter behind you – the
time of year with the greatest darkness – and say:
I
stand at the center and balanced be,
The change of seasons meets here in me.
From wintertime’s dark and lonely nights,
To summertime’s warm and lively light.
(Take
the matches and light both candles)
Now
at the center at Ostara am I,
Not light or dark to dominate the sky;
But a time of lengthening light and day,
As we pass from balance to summer’s days.
(Extinguish one candle
to represent the balance of light and dark)
Take the chalice to
your right and hold it up, saying:
God
of the Sun and Lord of Light
I honor your spirit in which I delight.
Pour the water or wine
onto the ground to your right or into a bowl to be poured onto
the ground later. Then take the chalice to your left and hold
it up, saying:
Goddess
of the Earth and of the night,
I honor your spirit as the earth turns light.
Pour the contents of
this chalice onto the earth or into the bowl.
You may spend as much
time as you want at your altar, speaking with your deities, meditating,
or just contemplating the meaning of your ritual and of Ostara.
When you are
ready to stop, extinguish the candle with a private word of thanks
to your deities. Take any water or wine collected in the bowls
and pour it outside onto the face of Mother Earth to complete
your offering to the deities.
From Ostara
- Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring by Edain
McCoy
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