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Ostara - Blog Posts
i forgot to post my Ostara altar! this is the first time i fully decorated my altar and i’m kinda proud of it 🥺
Ostara 💐
🍄 Also known as the spring equinox
🍄 Takes place around March 21st, but the exact date varies each year. It is the midway point between the winter and summer solstices
🍄 Herbs: mint, jasmine
🍄 Flowers: daffodil, lily, tulip, violet, lilac
🍄 Trees: willow, pine, olive, elder
🍄 Animals: chick, hare, robin, lamb, butterfly
🍄 Foods: eggs, chocolate, dairy, sunflower seeds, warm bread
🍄 Crystals: clear quartz, agate, rose quartz, aquamarine, amazonite
🍄 Colors: yellow, purple, green, pink, blue, white
🍄 Incense: rose, jasmine, strawberry, vanilla, cedarwood
🍄 Decorations: flowers, ribbon, baskets, pot of soil with a new seed
🍄 Deities: Persephone, Aphrodite, Eostre
🍄 Activities: Bake pastries/bread, plant seeds for a garden
Perfect Bread:
I absolutely love this recipe! The bread is soft, and is perfect for sandwiches, French toast, and pretty much everything you can think of. I don’t want to buy bread from the store ever again!
6 Cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ Cups very warm water
2 Tbsp. Active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Butter
Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar and let sit until the surface is foamy (If it’s doesn’t foam, the yeast doesn’t work).
When yeast is activated, add 3 cups of the flour, the salt, and the butter. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.
Once mixture is smooth, add the remaining 3 cups of flour. I recommend folding the flour in until fairly combined before kneading.
Once combined, knead dough for 6-8 minutes in a stand mixer, or 8-10 minutes by hand.
Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap or a cloth, and let rise for 45 minutes.
Cut dough into 2-3 equal pieces and place into a buttered bread pan, and brush melted butter (or olive oil). Allow to rise in the loaf pans for an additional 10-15 minutes. (🍞 Tip: Use a small knife to make a slit longways across the bread to prevent splitting along the side of the bread.)
Bake bread in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes uncovered, and and additional 10 minutes covered in foil to prevent excess browning.
Makes 2-3 loaves of bread.
Tips for Decorating your Altar for Ostara
The spring equinox is approaching, so here’s some tips on how to get your altar and house ready for the Sabbat!
🌸Decorate with pastel colors like lavender, baby blue, and light yellow
🌸Use a woven basket or nest to place offerings
🌸Decorate with statues of fertility Goddesses
🌸Amethyst, quartz, moonstone, citrine, and aquaramarine crystals
🌸Potted plants
🌸Tealights placed in eggshells
🌸Colored eggs
🌸Seeds to represent new beginnings
🌸 Statues or pictures of bunnies
🌷🐸Ostara🐰🌿
I love this time of year! Spring is one of my favorite seasons. Life if returning to the earth and my birthday is a few days after the equinox. Here’s how I’m celebrating this extra special time of year🌱🥚
Colors🌈
All pastel colors! I like to emphasize yellow for daffodils, blue and green for new life, and pink for the other spring flowers
Altar decorations🐰
🐣Animal figurines/stuffed animals lambs, chicks, deer, frog, and bunnies are great choices for this time of year. You can even make clay figurines of the animals you see around you.
🥚 painted or plastic eggs
💐Flowers/Plants/Seeds/Sprouts
🌷A vision board/representations of things you wish to get done
☀️Solar symbols
Spell themes🐸
🌱 Renewal
💫Cycles
🌳Balance
🍃Getting rid of negative thoughts, cycles and patterns
Plants 🌱
🌼Daffodils (my favorite)
🌷Tulips
🌱Crocuses
🌺Hyacinth
🌿Thyme
💜Lavender
🌳Rododendron
🌸Hellebore
Food 🥘
🍳 Eggs
🥛 Milk
🥐Baked goods
🥖Bread
🍵Peas
🥕Carrots
🍋Lemons
🥦Any in season vegetables where you live
Ways to celebrate 💐
🎨Paint eggs with friends
🌳Go for a walk, taking notice of the new spring plants and animals
🌅Wake up at sunrise and hear the birds chirping
🍰Bake and cook while putting your intentions into the food
🌱Start your garden by filling an eggshell with dirt and planting the seed in the eggshell. Say your intention while planting so it manifests as the seed grows
🖌Make Ostara themed art, doodles, and crafts
🧺Have a picnic or tea party
🎵Sing, dance, and make music
I hope everyone has a wonderful Ostara and let me know if you try any of these🐣
@esoteric-chaos thank you for such great information.
Spring Equinox Masterpost- Spoonie Witch Friendly
Art Credit: Anastasia Catris
The Spring Equinox, also called the Vernal Equinox or Ostara, is usually celebrated between the 21st of March in the Northern Hemisphere (In the Southern Hemisphere around September 20th or 21st)
In 2024, Ostara and the Spring Equinox land in the Northern Hemisphere on Monday, March 19th.
The Spring Equinox celebrates the arrival of spring. Celebrating balance, growth, and new beginnings as Winter has finally ended.
Spring Equinox Correspondances
Colours
Light Green
Lavender
Sunny Yellow
Light Blue
Pastel Pink
White
Herbal
Lemongrass
Daffodils
Tulips
Violets
Apple Tree
Cherry Blossom
Primrose
Birch tree
Hyacinths
Dandelion
Garlic
Ash tree
Jasmine
Edibles
Honey
Salad greens
Spring veggies
Fresh berries
Mead
Herbs
Eggs
Seeds
Bread
Edible flowers
Quiches
Custards
Maple
Animals
Hares
Baby Chicks
Snakes
Robins
Bees
Butterflies
Phoenix
Ram
Crystals
Fluorite
Moonstone
Silver
Aquamarine
Clear Quartz
Amazonite
Symbols
Bonfires
Flowers
Rabbits
Eggs
Seeds
Baskets
Flowering or Tree Buds
Lambs
Birds
Spiritual meanings
Purification
Cleansing (removal of stagnant energy)
Growth
Transition
Motivation
Balance
Birth
Good fortune
Kindness
Joy
Fertility
Scents
Coconut
Citrus
Floral scents (rose, lilac, jasmine, etc)
Herbal scents (rosemary, basil, mint, etc)
Gods / Goddesses / Spirits
Eostre – (Anglo-Saxon)
Aphrodite - (Greek)
Gaia - (Celtic)
Gaea - (Greek)
Venus - (Roman)
Athena - (Greek)
Aurora - (Roman)
Eos - (Greek)
Isis – (Egyptian)
Freya - (Norse)
Persephone - (greek)
Cybele - (Roman)
The Green Man - (Celtic)
Odin – (Norse)
Osiris – (Egyptian)
Pan – (Greek)
Thoth – (Egyptian)
Adonis – (Greek)
Apollon – (Greek)
Apollo - (Roman)
Need some suggestions to celebrate? I've got you covered.
High energy celebrations and ritual
Deep cleaning of the hearth and home
Nature hikes
Visiting farmers markets
Making preserves
Create a fae garden
Create a seasonal altar
Abundance/Prosperity ritual
New beginnings ritual
Low energy celebrations
Wear pastels
Create flower crowns
Light a candle with scent correspondence
No spoon celebrations
Opening a window
Journaling Prompts
Keeping hydrated
Drink floral tea
Rest
How you celebrate the holiday does not matter. You can choose to do any activity that feels right. These are only suggestions and remember that you're enough no matter what.
Also please note some stuff is UPG. A great book is Year of the Witch by Temperance Alden for honouring the celebrations and if you wanted to work more seasonally. It's not Wiccan-based and has plenty of resources for every witch.
Feel free to post how you celebrate in the comments or reblogs!
Want to see more of my posts? Check out my Wheel of the Year Masterpost or my Main Masterpost.
Ostara Altar ‘23
This year’s Ostara altar
OSTARA
Ostara is one of the eight sabbats on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It’s one of the four minor sabbats which fall on the equinoxes and solstices.
The day hangs in perfect balance with equal amounts of light and dark, bringing with it all the hope and promise that spring signifies. It falls between March 19th and March 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not necessarily a one day celebration, you can celebrate all week long.
→ HISTORY
Ostara is an ancient festival of Germanic origin celebrating the Goddess of the dawn. This name came from the Goddess of spring and the dawn, Eostre.
She was traditionally honored and celebrated during the month of April with feasts and celebrations focused on fertility, new beginnings and rebirth.
The first writings we have on Ostara come from the English monk Venerable Bede, who wrote of an ancient festival that has died out, though some of the traditions had been incorporated into the Anglo Saxon Christian customs.
It was a fertility festival in honor of the Goddess and the dawning of the new year.
The biggest influence Ostara traditions have had that we still can see in modern times is the Christian holiday Easter. The name Easter is a derivative of Ostara (Eostre – just change the “o” to an “a” and invert the “er” at the end).
→ SYMBOLS
The hare is strongly associated with the Goddess. A popular myth includes her finding a wounded bird and healing it by turning it into a hare as it could no longer fly. The hare retained its egg-laying abilities and laid colored eggs. It then gave these eggs to the Goddess as gratitude. The hare represents the graciousness of the Goddess and fertility, given how many young ones they have.
Eggs represent both fertility and birth. Worshippers also bring them gifts for the Goddess and eat them at feasts. They also represent abundance and the sun.
Baking is essential during this festivity and hot cross buns are a primary feature. The four cross points represent the four elements of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air.
Springtime also sees flowers emerge, which symbolize the end of winter. They are a symbol of hope and life.
The Ostara period is also the start of the planting season. The seeds have the potential for new life and represent hope in the abundance to come. They are also associated with fertility and nature’s rebirth.
→ COLORS
Colors hold plenty of meaning when associated with sabbats. Each Sabbat has its colors to go with its central themes. For Ostara, you can use the following colors in your decorations and rituals:
green represents all the newly growing plants. It represents the abundance of nature, hope, and new life. It also represents earth, growth, new opportunities, fertility, and forgiveness;
light blue represents healing, fairness and truthfulness, honest communication, trust, and patience. It is a virtuous color that also represents innocence and purity;
lavender is associated with romance, love, and healing;
pink’s soft and tender nature represents romantic love, good relationships at home and with friends, empathy, self-care, and healing the heart;
yellow celebrates the returning sunshine, which keeps getting stronger each day. It represents persuasion, protection, self-control, self-confidence, happiness, abundance, and self-empowerment;
white represents a blank slate to start over. It is the fresh start that spring offers so you can pursue new ideas and opportunities. It also signifies cleansing and purification, peace, and connection to divinity.
→ CELEBRATIONS
A ritual bath to clear away the dark lethargy of winter can be a great idea. Pick soaps with bright citrus or floral smells to wake your mind or remind you of flowering fields. Something with exfoliation to it wakes up the skin while scrubbing away what is no longer vital. Candle meditations embrace the fire and heat of the sun and place it at the tips of your fingers.
Take time to meditate or journal and think about your intentions for the next few weeks as it relates to the goals you want to achieve.
Create an Altar by yourself or with friends and loved ones, decorate an altar for spring. Make it a beautiful, colorful, celebration of life and new beginnings.
Get crafty: decorate eggs with dyes, decoupage or paint. You can purchase plastic or wooden eggs to decorate and use year after year as well (a vegan option).
Plant seeds for a vegetable or flower garden.
Reconnect with animals by taking yourself to the zoo or to a farm. Spend time with the small creatures and gaze into their beautiful, big eyes. Additionally, if there are new babies in your family, spend time with them. Take a picnic, a walk, or do whatever you are drawn to.
Feast with a nice and vibrant meal: have a picnic and try to find a place by water to represent the flowing energy of life and invite everyone to bring a dish that shows the vibrant colors of the season. It is not only a time for new beginnings, but for new friendship, adventures, atmospheres, and traditions. Take a nature walk.
Sources:
blessed ostara ✿
IF I SEE ONE MORE PERSON POSTING ABOUT OSTARA ON THE WITCH TAGS ON TIKTOK WITHOUT MENTIONING THAT ITS SOLELY A WICCAN THING IM GOING TO LOSW MY MARBLES
the wheel of the year is a solely wiccan holiday thing and its based around stealing various traditions from a bunch of other cultures and combining it into what it is
Ostara Tea
since i cant do much for Ostara this year i figured the least i could do is come up with a nice tea recipe in celebration for it, i came up with this from what herbs i have on hand here at school.
Materials
¼th lavender
1part rose
1 part lemon balm
1/2 chamomile
¼th rosemary
a pinch of cinnamon
a healthy splash or two of milk
a good spoonful of honey (preferably local)
boil water, then steep herbs mixture for 5-10 minutes once steeped strain/ remove the herbs. then add the honey and milk. Serve in your favorite mug and enjoy.
Also dont forget to leave some outside as an offering. (i usually pour it onto the roots of one of my favorite trees)
-HoneyCoyote-
ALWAYS research herbs and other ingredients before use to make sure they wont cause any medical complications
Ostara Recipes
Ostara, the Spring Equinox, is approaching. And of course one of a celebration’s must-haves are food and drinks! So of course I just had to come up with a list of recipes!
Crispy roast potatoes with Rosemary 700g Small new potatoes 2 Tablespoons Olive oil ½ teaspoon Salt 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 ½ Tablespoons Fresh rosemary, chopped Cover new potatoes with water and bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes. Drain and toss potatoes in pan over heat until outside of potatoes are dry. Add olive oil, salt, garlic, and fresh rosemary. Place potatoes in a pan, in one layer, and bake in a 180°C oven until crispy and browned, about 15-20 minutes. Serve with roasted and grilled meats or poultry.
Hot Cross Buns Frosting: 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon milk 1 cup orange juice Dough: 3 cups unsifted flour ¾ cups granulated sugar 1 cup evaporated or whole milk ¼ cup butter or margarine, softened 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 and ½ teaspoons cinnamon ¼ teaspoon allspice 1 cup raisins (optional) 1 cup walnuts (optional) 1 package dry yeast ¼ cup hot water (for dissolving the yeast) 1 large, well-beaten egg. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. While the oven is warming, combine all ingredients except yeast, hot water, the egg, and the frosting ingredients and mix well. Dissolve the yeast in the hot water, then add it and the egg to the rest of the mixture. Combine well. Shape into a ball, and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover the mixture with a cloth and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for about an hour, until it has about doubled in size. Shape the dough into round balls about 3 inches across and place them at least 3 inches apart on a lightly greased and floured baking sheet. Place the sheet into the preheated oven. After 5 to 8 minutes of baking, open the oven and use a sharp knife to slash one equal-armed cross into each bun about ¾ of an inch deep. Allow the knife to pry open the slashes slightly so they will be less likely to bake themselves closed again. Return the buns to the oven and allow them to bake another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the buns are a nice brownish gold. While the buns are baking, combine the frosting ingredients and beat them to a smooth, even consistency. When the buns are done, take them out of the oven and, while they’re still hot, drizzle the frosting onto them.
Ostara Buns 4 cups pastry flour 2 cups sugar ½ cup vegetable shortening 1 tube almond paste ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 5 eggs, slightly beaten Icing 1 cup confectionary sugar ¼ teaspoon almost extract 1 tablespoon soft butter 4 teaspoons water Preheat oven to 375*F. Combine bun ingredients in large bowl until a medium-soft dough forms. Add a little flour as needed for consistency. With your hands, shape biscuit-size balls. Slightly flatten the balls when you place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Cool. Beat icing ingredients together until smooth. Frost buns with large cross (+) with icing. Great for an Ostara breakfast.
Vareneky Dough: 2 cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon oil
Filling: ½ pound sharp cheese, shredded 2 cups mashed potatoes Heat 3 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt in large pan. Mix flour, egg, salt, milk, and oil until sticky dough emerges. Roll out dough on floured board ¼ inch thick. Cut into circles. Combine cheese, mashed potatoes. Fill centers of dough circles with filling, 1-2 tablespoons. Wet edges of dough, fold in half. Pinch together to seal. Drop into simmering water; cook for 10 minutes. Remove and drain, then fry in butter until brown. Yield: 6-8 servings
Green beans with Rosemary vinaigrette 3 Tablespoons Raspberry vinegar 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon Garlic, minced 1/3 cup Olive oil 8 cups green beans Combine first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place beans in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat and serve. Ostara Bread ¾ cup soy milk 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast 3 ¼ - 3 ½ cups flour 1/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup vegan margarine ¼ cup warm water 1 cup quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked 2 ½ teaspoon flax meal mixed with 3 Tablespoons water 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 ½ cups vegan powdered sugar 2 tablespoons soy milk Mix flax meal and water and let sit while moving on to the next step. Heat soy milk and margarine in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until margarine is melted; cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup water. In large bowl combine margarine/milk mixture, dissolved yeast, 1 cup flour, oats, sweetener, flax mixture, salt and cinnamon; mix well. Add enough additional flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface 8-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Shape to form ball. Place in greased large bowl, turning once to coat surface of dough. Cover; let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until double in size. Punch dough down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. For bunny body, shape ½ to form a 36" long rope. Loosely roll up rope spiral fashion; pinch dough to seal end tightly. Place about 3" from bottom of greased large cookie sheet; press down slightly. Divide remaining dough in half. For bunny head, shape one half to form a 25" rope. Loosely roll up rope spiral fashion; seal end tightly. Attach to top of body on cooked sheet by pinching dough together. Divide remaining dough into thirds. For tail, shape on third to form a 15" long rope. Loosely roll up like others; pinch to seal end. Attach to side of body on cookie sheet by pinching dough together. Shape remaining dough to form two 3 ½ long bunny ears. Attach to head by pinching dough together. Let rise about 1 hour or until nearly double in size. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire cooling rack. For icing, remaining soy milk and powdered sugar, mix until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bread. Serves: 1 bunny shaped loaf Ostara Honey Cakes recipe ½ cup Riesling wine (German white wine) 1 egg 2/3 cup flour 1 cup honey 2 tbs sugar 1/8 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg Dash of salt Beat the egg together with the wine. In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Stir until blended through. Let sit for 30 minutes. In another small bowl, mix the honey and nutmeg. In a skillet, heat up about a ½ inch of oil. Drop a tablespoon of batter into the oil and fry until golden brown. Drain off the oil, and dip into the honey mixture.
Source/credit: http://recipesforapagansoul.weebly.com/ostara-mar-20-23.html
This is longer then I expected. Oh well. - Mara