Use Natural Dyes to Color Your Ostara Eggs

Ostara is a time of fertility and rebirth, and few things symbolize this as well as the egg. By coloring them with bright pinks, blues and yellows, we’re welcoming the colors of spring back into our lives, and saying farewell to winter. However, a lot of commercially available egg-dying products are made from chemicals. They may not be toxic, but on the other hand, you might not have a clue what the ingredients are. Why not try using natural sources to get a variety of shades, and REALLY celebrate the colors of the season? It’s fun, and allows you to tap into your creative juices while you’re welcoming spring.

First of all, plan on only doing about 3 – 4 eggs at a time. You’ll need them to have room to bob around in the pan, and not be piled on top of one another. Before starting, poke a small hole with a pin or needle in the end of each egg. This will help keep them from cracking while they boil. You’ll really want to have at least a dozen eggs, just because it’s a lot of fun to experiment with different colors.

Start your water boiling. Use enough to cover about an inch over the tops of the eggs, but don’t put them in the pan yet. Add 2 tsp of white vinegar, and bring the water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, add 3 – 4 eggs using a slotted spoon (helpful hint: do NOT let your kids drop them in the water. Trust me on this one). Next, add your coloring material. Here’s where it gets really fun!

To color your eggs, add one of the following items. You’ll have to experiment a little to see how much to add, but try different amounts to get different shades of each color. Once you’ve added your coloring, allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

• Red/pink: paprika
• Purple: concentrated grape juice (Welch’s works nicely, about half a can)
• Yellow: Skins (only) of a half dozen yellow onions
• Gold: Curry powder or tumeric
• Beige: coffee grounds
• Light green: frozen chopped spinach (1/3 to 1/2 package)
• Blue: 1 Cup frozen blueberries (with juice)

After they’ve boiled, carefully remove the eggs from the pot with your slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to dry. If you’d like them darker, you can allow them to sit over night in the pot of dye, but the vinegar can weaken the eggs’ shells. When the eggs have dried completely, dab a little bit of vegetable oil on a paper towel and “polish” the eggs to give them some shine.

Keep your eggs refrigerated until it’s time to hide them, eat them, or show them off to your friends. Remember to never eat eggs that have been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours.

Tips:

1. If your kids are more into the coloring than the eating of Ostara eggs, consider brushing your colored eggs with a thin layer of glue, and then sprinkling some glitter on top.
2. Eggs can take on the flavor of whatever you use to dye them, so unless you enjoy coffee-flavored eggs, put some thought into using dyed eggs in recipes.
3. Use a wax crayon to make designs and sigils on the eggs before dying — the waxed area will appear as white once you’ve finished.

By Patti Wigington,  Paganism/Wicca Expert 

Article published on & owned by About.com

Setting Up Your Ostara Altar

It’s Ostara, and it’s a time of year in which many Pagans to choose celebrate the balance of light and dark that heralds the beginning of spring. It’s a time to celebrate new life and rebirth — not only the physical embodiment of renewal, but the spiritual as well. Try some — or all — of these ideas to ready your altar for Ostara.

Colors

To get an idea of what colors are appropriate for spring, all you really have to do is look outside. Notice the yellows of the forsythia blooming behind your house, the pale purples of lilacs, the green of new leaves appearing in the melting snow. Pastels are often considered spring colors as well, so feel free to add some pinks and blues into the mix if the idea strikes you. Decorate your altar in any of these colors — try a pale green altar cloth with some purples and blues draped across it, and add some yellow or pink candles to carry the color up.

The Balance of the Equinox

Altar decor can reflect the theme of the Sabbat.

Ostara is a time of balance between light and dark, so symbols of this polarity can be used. Use a god and goddess statue, a white candle and a black one, a sun and moon, even a yin/yang symbol.

New Life

Ostara is also a time of new growth and life — add potted plants such as new crocuses, daffodils, lilies, and other magical spring flowers. This is the time of year when animals are bringing forth new life too — put a basket of eggs on your altar, or figures of new lambs, rabbits, calves, etc. Add a chalice of milk or honey — milk represents the lactating animals who have just given birth, and honey is long known as a symbol of abundance.

Other Symbols of the Season

• Seeds and bulbs
• Caterpillars, ladybugs, bumblebees
• Symbols of nature deities — Herne, Flora, Gaia, Attis, etc.
• Gemstones and crystals such as aquamarine, rose quartz, and moonstone
• Ritual fires in a cauldron or brazier

By Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert

Article published on & owned by About.com

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Chocolate Rabbit

Sure, Ostara is a time to celebrate spirituality and the turning of the earth, but there’s no reason we can’t have a good time with it as well. If you’ve got kids — or even if you don’t — this simple rite is a great way to welcome the season using some things that are readily available in the discount stores at this time of year!

Bear in mind, this is meant to be fun and a little bit silly. If you think the Universe has no sense of humor, click the Back button on your browser immediately to exit this page.

Arrange your ritual supplies on your altar so they look pretty. Kids can do this — typically the chocolate rabbits end up in the center, surrounded by an army of Peeps and several rings of jellybeans. A quick note — you might want to perform this ritual well in advance of mealtime, or all the kids will be too full of candy to eat a real dinner.

• A bag of jellybeans
• Marshmallow Peeps — chicks, bunnies, etc.
• A chocolate rabbit for each participant
• A glass of milk for each participant

First, give everyone present a handful of jellybeans. Point out the different colors in the jellybeans, and what they can represent. As you call out each one, eat the jellybeans in that color. Feel free to be a bit goofy. Say something like:

Behold, little jelly eggs, small symbols of the season,
How we adore you!
Green is for the grass that springs from the land! (eat all the green jellybeans)
Yellow is for the sun shining above our heads! (eat all your yellow jellybeans)
Red is for the tulips that grow in our garden! (eat your red jellybeans)
Pink is for Aunt Martha’s new Easter hat! (eat your pink jellybeans)
Purple is for the crocuses that sprout along our driveway! (eat the purple ones)

Continue this until all the colors are gone — if you really want to have some fun, make the kids take turns naming off the colors and what they mean to them. When they’re all gone, call out:

Hail! Hail! to the mighty jelly bean of Spring!

Next, hand out the marshmallow Peeps. As you do, say:

Behold the Peep! The Peep is life, brought back in the spring!
Little Peep chickens, we honor you! (bite the Peep chicks)
Little Peep bunnies, we honor you! (bite the Peep bunnies)…

Continue this until the Peeps are all gone — it’s probably a good idea to limit each kid to just two or three Peeps at the most. When the Peeps have all vanished, call out:

Hail! Hail! to the mighty Peeps of Spring!

Finally, distribute the chocolate rabbits. Say:

Behold the great chocolate rabbit!
As he hops through the land, he spreads joy and happiness!
O, how we adore the chocolate rabbit and his great big chocolate ears! (eat the rabbit’s ears)
Praise the chocolate rabbit, and his delicious chocolate tail! (eat the rabbit’s tail)
Honor this chocolate rabbit, and his chocolate hoppity legs! (eat the rabbit’s legs)
He is a wonderful rabbit, and he is special indeed! (eat the rest of the rabbit)

When the rabbits are all gone, say:

Hail! Hail! to the mighty chocolate rabbit of Spring!

Give everyone a glass of milk, and raise your drinks in a toast to these three symbols of the season.

To the jelly beans!
To the Peeps!
To the chocolate rabbit!
We drink in your honor!

Drink your milk, and sit back to enjoy the sensation of being stuffed with ritual candy.

By Patti Wigington, Paganism/Wicca Expert

Ostara

Winter’s barrenness has subsided,
From the death of Winter
Springs new life!
Spring is coming to the land.
The days grow longer,
Warm breezes begin to stir,
All around us we see signs ~~~
The growing things are beginning anew.
It is a resurrection of the dance of life.
The dance of the stems and stalks
As they push forth from the Earth.
It is the season of creation.
Growth has turned outward,
The land has become fertile again.
The Earth is caressed by
The loving touch of the Mother.
Where her hand passes:
Atoms twine together to create growth.
Buds burst open,
Leaves and vines unfurl.
She creates a vision of green beauty.
Beauty so breath-taking after
The dark solitude of Winter.
It is this vision that we celebrate
On her day of Ostara
The world recreating itself ~~~
Returning from the death of Winter,
Into the new life of Spring
Through the love of the Goddess.

—by Aurora

Ostara

God and Goddess unite as one,
Sow your seeds in Springtime sun,
As you grow through Warmer days,
Your beauty shows in many ways.

Youth, vitality, young to old,
Your journey is forever told,
The earth will sleep when Winter comes,
But awake with you in the warm March sun.

So banish darkness with your light,
Let all things grow as well they might,
And we shall look in adoration,
At the God and Goddesses creations.

—Alan Faraway, Pagan Ways