This ritual was initially read and crafted for the Nightshade Network on March 16, 2019.
-Pen and journal
-Offerings for your deities and/or spirits if you so choose.
-Candles (i like four tea lights. You can use -battery operated ones if you’d like. I also like white coloured ones or pastel colours for Ostara)
-Optional: sage or cleansing incense.
-Tarot cards, runes, etc.
-Representations of the elements (earth, water, fire, air).
Note: the parts that are bolded, speak out loud.
Spirits of this place, ancestors that watch over us,
and deities that assist us in this work.
Today we use this space for our sacred rite
and as we use this land, we acknowledge you.
We share with you. We invite you.
Stay if you will and go if you must.
We’re gathered here on Ostara as the Earth turns from the Winter to the Spring to celebrate the cycle of life and rebirth. On this day, we honour the spirits and deities of rebirth and renewal.
After this step is finished, light your candles on your altar or your ritual space. I like to configure them according to North, East, South, and West. You can now cast your circle if you’d like. This is completely optional since not everyone casts a circle.
Hail to the watchtower in the North. The element of Earth. We call upon you to protect this space.
Hail to the watchtower in the East. The element of Air. We call upon you to protect this space.
Hail to the watchtower in the South. The element of Fire. We call upon you to protect this space.
Hail to the watchtower in the West. The element of Water. We call upon you to protect this space.
As you face the directions and call upon the watchtowers, visualize a protective circle around you and visualize it raising up. Nothing can pass your barrier, nothing that you don’t want in your space.
For grounding and shielding myself, I like to take a moment to cleanse myself and my energy with some sage or any form of cleansing incense (rosemary works well). After I finish this, I take a moment to take a breath and breathe in for a count of 7, hold for 7, and exhale for 7. While I do this, I visualize roots extending out of my body and linking me to the ground as my energy forms a small bubble in my solar plexus. As I become more grounded, I visualize my energy cocooning me and hardening, making this little protective bubble that won’t break.
Today is the time of the Spring equinox.
Ostara is a time of equal parts light and dark.
Spring has arrived and it is a time of rebirth.
The planting season will soon begin and
life will form once more within the Earth.
As the Earth welcomes new life and new beginnings
so can we be reborn in the light and love of the universe.
[Here, sprinkle your earth element over your altar.]
With the blessings of the Earth and life within the soil, we are reborn.
[Here, take your air element and place it on your altar.]
With the blessings of air, may knowledge and wisdom be brought to you on the winds.
[Here, take your fire element and place it on your altar]
May the fire of the spring sun bring growth and harmony into your life.
[Here, place your water element on your altar.]
With the blessings of water, may the chill and darkness of winter be swept away by the warm spring rain.
Now focus on the energy that’s been raised. Allow the elements one by one to wash over you. Sit in their energy. Take the next 5 minutes to breathe in the 7-7-7 pattern and think about the balancing energy of Ostara. Think about the polarity of Spring and how that can be reflected in your own life.
Take your journal and just meditate on what Ostara means to you, how you celebrate it, and what you want to experience throughout this ritual. You can write this however you want (I use full sentences but if shorthand works for you, use it!). I have a ritual journal where I record all of this but if you do it on your phone, that’s perfectly okay as well.
Once you’ve written down your intentions, close your journal, lay a hand on the cover, and close your eyes. Visualize some of the energy going from yourself into your intentions. I visualize the words coming off of the page and disappearing into the air around me. You can visualize how these words go out into the universe however you want. If you want to take the paper and tear it up, go ahead. If you want to burn it, go ahead (just be sure to practice fire safety!).
Once this step is completed, feel free to share your intentions. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.
Take a moment to re-center yourself and your energy. This is where I like to put on a playlist that helps me relax. Once I feel re-centered I focus on the song that’s playing and start doing my 7-7-7 breathing pattern again. I open my mind to my deities and spirits and allow their energy to come and visit me and ask them questions I have or let them teach me something. Allow 5-10 minutes for this. If you need longer, that’s fine.
Once you’ve come back from speaking with your deities and/or spirits, take a moment to just sit in the information you’ve received and write it down in your ritual journal.
Once you’ve written down your final thoughts, set out your offerings for your deities and/or spirits and thank them for their help in your work tonight. If you’d like you can sit in their presence a little longer.
Once you feel like the offering has been received, you can either consume it or dispose of it — whatever you feel is right.
Then I typically like to let my candles burn down but you can extinguish them how you see fit.
A gift calls for a gift. As we have offered our deities and our spirits praises and sacrifices we now ask for their response to us. Open our hearts and give to us of your blessings.
The format for the divination while be a 3 spread: Past, Present, and Future.
Once your cards or runes etc are drawn or cast, take a few minutes to meditate on their meaning. Log them in your journal.
We go now into the world,
our offerings accepted
and our bonds strengthened
Confident that we walk under the gaze
of the Universe and its protection.
