She is Germanic fertility goddess, whom we honor on the spring equinox and during the first week of the spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Her holiday signifies a turning point in the solar year, after which daylight will last longer than the night time.
To commune with this fertility goddess, take a trip to a farm where the first crops are beginning to poke their green shoots through the soil. Place your palms on the rich earth and sense the vitality of new life bursting forth. If that’s not possible, visit a garden center and walk among the rows of budding plants.
Dates for Inviting Her
March 19-26
Traits
Hope, new possibilities, radiant with optimism. Ostara inspires you to express your vision, to awaken to the promise and abundance that lie within you, and to begin new projects that will bear fruit in the coming months.
Reasons to Invite Her
Invite Ostara at the start of a new venture – she’ll lend you her exuberance and fertilize your efforts. If you feel frustrated in a creative endeavor, or can’t seem to get an undertaking off the ground, ask Ostara for inspiration and guidance. The goddess will nurture you and revive your self-confidence. You can also call on her for help planting an herb, vegetable or flower garden.
How to Invite Her
You will need:
5 pots of water, large enough to cook the vegetable (1 pot for each color dye);
1 head red cabbage, chopped (for red dye);
1 few beets, sliced (for purple dye);
skins from a yellow onion (for yellow dye);
1 large carrot, chopped (for orange dye);
1 large handful fresh spinach (for green dye);
a colander or large sieve;
5 glass bowls (1 for each dye color);
10 tablespoons white vinegar, divided;
12 large white eggs, hard boiled;
Nontoxic paints or crayons (optional)
1. In each of the pots, add the vegetable matter for one color and cook until the water is brightly colored.
2. Using a colander or sieve, strain the colored liquid into the bowls and add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to each bowl to set the dye.
3. Soak the eggs in the colors of your choice, making sure that the liquid covers the eggs completely. The longer the eggs soak, the deeper color will be.
4. If you like, you can paint or draw images on the eggs that symbolize what you hope to attract: hearts for love, dollar signs for wealth, etc.
5. Later, when you eat the eggs, imagine incorporating their creative potential into your body and materializing whatever you desire.
6. Bury the colorful shells – don’t just dump them in the trash – to continue the cycle of fertility and blessings.
Animal Totems
The popular practice of decorating eggs at Easter derives from a legend told about Ostara. During winter, the the goddess found a half-frozen bird lying on the cold ground. She changed it into a rabbit and thereby saved its life. However, the rabbit retained some of its bird qualities, including the ability to lay eggs. To thank the goddess, the rabbit painted some eggs for her. Ostara liked them so much that she told the rabbit to give themm to everyone in the world. Of course, we associate both eggs and rabbit with fertility.
Back to Your Goddess Year
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