One of my favorite Sabbats to celebrate (after Imbolc) is Ostara or the Spring Equinox. It it as this time that we mark the days getting longer, fertility of the earth, planting season, coming out of hibernating winter, and over all the birth of Spring. The Spring Equinox falls in March (in the northern hemisphere) around the 19th through the 21st and marks when both light and dark are equal. After the Spring Equinox, we'll start got longer days and shorter nights! At Imbolc we've celebrated the midwinter mark and at the Spring Equinox we're celebrating bursting forth from winter just as plants are bursting from the earth. Livestock are being born, eggs are being laid, and for our spiritual selves we can start to lay the foundations for things we'd like to grow and cultivate this year.
What better way to celebrate new beginnings and fertility than with the symbol of the egg. There are a couple of symbols to work with around Ostara but I find that the egg is the easiest to use and the easiest to start with especially if you're new to celebrating. The egg represents potential, it represents the womb, it represents the nurturing of mother earth, it represents the seed of life. All of the things we can celebrate during this time. The egg is a perfect representation of what we'd like to align our minds with during this season - to plant, to nurture, and to grow. Here are a few ways to use eggs to celebrate Ostara:
Make Candles
Because we're now coming out of winter, the days are growing longer and the light is coming back. There is no better way to represent light returning than with a candle. You can either gently crack the eggs to create two halves or blow the contents of the egg out to create these small candles. Blowing out the contents of the egg can add a bit of a personal touch - you're using your breath to make space for you intention to grow! Simply poke a decent size hole in either end of the egg and blow. Once the egg is empty, open the top hole up just a little more so that you'll have room for the wax and a wick. Tape up the bottom of the egg so the wax wont escape and add your wick and a little wax. You can color the eggs and/or color the wax to align with your intentions. You can also write on the outside of your egg in wax or in marker the goal or intention you're making this candle for. Have your family all make one (or two!) and put them in a ceramic egg holder to light at Ostara dinner. Be sure to save those egg insides to cook with!
Write your Goals
Speaking of writing on your eggs, you can outline your goals, wishes, and dreams on the outside of eggs. Writing in white or clear wax crayon and then dying the eggs will reveal your goals just as you'd like to manifest them into your life. Or keep them secret by dying the eggs first then writing in wax. Decorate your eggs with sigils you've created or spellwork you'd like to see to fruition. You can even anoint them with essential oils corresponding to your goals or diffuse some that work perfect for the season. Decorate your altar with these eggs and then bury them with a seed (either outside or in a pot!) that you can nurture as you move through your goals.
Seed Starters
The little shells of eggs are the perfect vessel to start seeds for your garden! Carefully cracking eggs a little off center will create the perfect little cup to start your seed. You can incorporate the activity above and label you seed starters with the goal you'd like to accomplish. Consider growing an herb that corresponds to your goal or intention - like mint for prosperity, lavender for tranquility, rosemary for protection. Once you're seeds are big enough to transplant either move them to your garden or into a pot on a windowsill. This would be perfect for children to learn about growth and to give them a little responsibility to help their little plant grow.
Egg Hunt
This is an oldie but a goodie, everyone loves an good egg hunt! This is a good, solid family activity to involve everyone. You can fill the eggs with candy or even with different wishes for others. Perhaps the eggs are filled with some wishes or hopes for others in your family - have everyone sit down and write these things and then stuff the eggs. Then when they are all found have each person read off the wishes or hopes they'd like to cultivate this year. Add this wish to the bottom of your seed starter and plant an herb corresponding to the wish. This is a great way to involve extended family in a tradition that could align with an Easter celebration as well. It's not too out there if perhaps parents or grandparents don't celebrate the Wheel of the Year.
Bake or Cook with Eggs
This is my favorite. I love to celebrate the Sabbats by cooking. Saving the insides of your eggs means you can make a yummy breakfast, quiche, or cake. My favorite way to use eggs is in Deviled Eggs. This speaks to me because my mother makes the best Deviled Eggs ever so using eggs this way carries on the tradition. Bake sweet cakes or breads. Make egg salad sandwiches and head out for a picnic if it's nice out! A picnic is a great activity to count the ways the earth is blooming and to listen for new little animals.
Ostara celebrates growth. The Goddess is transitioning into her Maiden form. We're celebrating fertility, protection, purification, and the nurturing nature of the earth. Eggs are a great way to celebrate through the season and keep growth as your mindset as we move through Spring. The easiest way for me to keep the reason for the season in my mind is to have a physical representation. We keep eggs and hares/rabbits on our family altar and I keep a willow wreath decorated with eggs, lavender, and greenery on my personal altar. (Check out that super easy and affordable DIY here) Seeing these symbols everyday reminds me of what I'm working towards. Having a physical representation of the things I'm looking to embody helps me to move through the seasons with purpose!
I also want to leave you with a last little tip: easy home made egg dye! Of course you can use natural dyes but this works with quite a few things we've already got in all of our cabinets:
You can learn more about the Spring or Vernal Equinox in this post. I share info about essential oils, how I align this Sabbat with the moon phases, and give you three oil blends to work with this season!
Blessed Ostara my friends!
What do you do to celebrate the turning of the wheel at the Spring Equinox?
xoxo, Moe
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