Ostara happens at the Spring (Vernal) Equinox. The days becomes equal to the night, and the light finally overcomes the darkness of winter. Ostara’s theme is fertility. The God courts the Goddess and their sexual energies of desire flow over the Earth, leading to a burst of new life and growth upon the land by the plants and the animals. Here the courting God and Goddess’s desire to mate drive the Earth and its inhabitants to mate and bring new life to the land.
The Teutonic goddess of spring, Easter brings her symbol of the egg and her patron animal, the rabbit. Wiccans celebrate Easter during the Ostara Sabbat. The Christian Church tried to stamp out celebrations of Easter and her symbols of fertility (the egg and the rabbit), but they had become too deeply embedded in the people’s hearts. Christians got their Easter eggs and rabbits from this Goddess. How many Christians know that when they celebrate Easter, they’re using a term originated by Pagans?
Generally, eggs are a popular representation of fertility and new life. Early Wiccans revered the “cosmic egg,” as many refer to it, for the secrets it held; it contained and produced life. It looked like a stone but held life within.
Wiccan activities on Ostara include coloring eggs and decorating them with fertility symbols, and then hiding them for children to find.
“Fire and water are contrasts. One is hot, the other is cold. One dries out, the other moistens,” I said.
“Could it be that an obsessive focus on ‘being positive’ can cause trouble?” my friend, Alicia, asked.
Now, I was intrigued.
“Yesterday,” she continued. “I took a blow to my heart. I discovered that my friend Susan is someone I cannot rely on. She is really stepping away from me. Like she’s become just an acquaintance.”
I saw the deep sadness on Alicia’s face.
“Then, I talked with you,” Alicia said. “You are a true friend. I am so grateful. So I learned something by contrasts.”
As a witch, do you focus on only having positive experiences?
Or do you flow with life as it goes?
Here is a prayer you can use:
Goddess, Show me the way to clarity in my life. For I cannot know Your light without understanding Your deep shadows. Help me balance Your brilliance with Your darkness for my good and the good of all. So mote it be
“I should take better care of myself,” I told my friend, Alicia. This happened after a gaming night in which I ate too many delicious and sugary foods. (What’s a gaming night for, anyway?) I was disappointed in myself.
Do you relate to this?
I have two insights for you.
1. If you’re disappointed, you’re judging yourself.
Is it really possible to take one parent to a doctor’s appointment, one’s spouse to work, get the grocery shopping done, edit a video for a YouTube channel, and … so on and so forth … in one afternoon?
Are you judging yourself on a standard that is not kind and not even possible?
Instead, imagine you’re thinking about your best friend. Would you cut that person some slack? You’re likely not judging them in such a harsh way.
As a witch, are you disappointed with yourself for not meditating, not doing the right rituals, or meeting with members of your coven?
2. Ask the Goddess to help you release yourself from harsh judgments.
You can use a prayer like this.
Goddess, Help me release my judgments of myself. Raise me up from the disappointment in myself. Show me my Divine Self. So Mote It Be
“I don’t think I take good enough care of my husband and parents,” I shared with my friend, Alicia.
She kept listening.
I had a thought. These guilty ideas strangle me. They keep me away from being present in this current moment. My focus is reduced to pain … instead of the divinity the Goddess placed within me.
I have a particular insight for you.
“One sentence solves guilt: If I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently. … Guilt is in the past, and the one thing you cannot change is the past.” – Dr. Edith Eger
So, divinity is in this present moment.
Now what?
I realize that I can use a twinge from an idea of guilt.
I can ask, “So I didn’t like how what I did in the past turned out. What can I do now? What is a different approach now?”
Here is a prayer you can use:
Goddess, show me my true path. Give me guidance and lead me forward. Release me from guilty thoughts, Replace them with inspiration. So Mote It Be.
Terrified. That was the right word. I stood in front of the audience about to give my first speech at a Toastmasters meeting.
It did not matter that other people would speak after me. They would be nervous, too.
My own fear made me shake.
Speaking aloud in front of an audience had not gone well in my past. I remembered reading a paragraph aloud in a high school English class. My dyslexia made me sound like an idiot.
The teacher said, “Okay that’s enough.”
Fellow student, Joe Jerk-face said, “Yeah! That’s enough!”
And now at Toastmasters, I was about to give a speech. Crap!
I said, “I couldn’t breathe. My brother held me underwater. Why would he torture a little girl? When I coughed up the water, the swimming pool didn’t look like a place to play. How much more of this life could I survive?” A few minutes in, I saw two people nod. (Oh, thank you! Good humans!)
After I finished. Some applause.
All good.
Even better. I was proud of myself. I had walked toward my fear.
Later, I went on to be a guest speaker – over 12 times – at a Comparative Religion college course to introduce people to Wicca. That was new for them. It still was a tough stretch for me to talk to an audience but … again and again … I walked toward the fear.
Here are three insights.
1. Keep yourself safe.
Number one. Keep yourself safe. Can you get physically hurt if you take on a risk? David, someone in my circle, was a movie stuntman over 20 years ago. Would he risk his health or life today? No f***ing way!
Still, he took precautions during his stuntman time. He also refused to do certain stunts. And, he’s alive to tell the tale.
Are you thinking of taking a risk that could hurt you physically? Like walking in a dangerous area? Just after the bars close? Hold up! Stay safe.
2. Decide what you value most. Drop the distractions.
Other risks may mean temporary pain. So, high school kids laughed at my reading a paragraph. I still adapt to having dyslexia.
But, you know what? Who cares about high school kids’ laughter?!
I have to value your opinion in order to let it control me.
What do you value most? Is it growing as a person? Pushing beyond some artificial limits?
When do you feel most alive?
3. Ask Goddess for support.
When I have walked toward fear, I was answering the call of divinity that Goddess placed within me.
Here is a prayer you can use:
Goddess, help me answer the call, Help me know the true call from the false call. Show me how to walk into the unknown with Your strength. So Mote It Be.
“What? Medicare is threatened?” my friend, Sharon, in her 60’s said. “Why is life so hard? Why are they making trouble?”
I thought about this.
The God and Goddess have a perspective that is beyond our perception.
Here are 3 insights.
1. Hard situations can be an opportunity to grow.
“In truly understanding the Goddess and God, one comes to understand life, for the two are inextricably entwined. Live your earthly life fully, but try to see the spiritual aspects of your activities as well. Remember—the physical and spiritual are but reflections of each other.” – Scott Cunningham
Ask yourself, “How can I grow from this tough situation?” Where is the lesson? The Gods put challenges in our path to help make us stronger. These hard times build our resilience.
Also, consider: “What can I learn from this?”
You can consider new choices. Perhaps, you might make changes to your lifestyle. Or maybe get better at money spells.
Learn to shift.
“Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices.” – The Goddess, in The Charge of the Goddess, as written by Doreen Valiente
When things are hard, it is easy to stay in a dark place. One might ruminate over how hard things have become.
However, when you conduct ritual and worship the Gods, you are invited to do the “hard thing” and make a SHIFT to the gifts they can bestow upon you.
One powerful shift is: I have resources within me—the divinity within—I have not tapped before.
“For if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without.” – The Goddess, in The Charge of the Goddess, as written by Doreen Valiente
“Witches and folk magicians, through timeless rituals, are only drawing upon natural energies found within the earth and our bodies to create positive, life-affirming change.” – Scott Cunningham
2. Ask the Goddess for insight into the lessons.
Here is a prayer you can use.
Precious Lady and Mighty God, Open my eyes to the lessons I must learn Guide my path to growth and peace. So Mote It Be
My father is facing a surgical procedure. Something is wrong inside his bladder. I am also helping my elderly parents move to another living facility. Lots of pressure for us all.
What more can go wrong?
If you face these kinds of worries—often called “being afraid of the other shoe dropping” … I have one particular insight for you.
Use a chant to focus your mind and release you from worry.
Here is a chant you can use.
“Goddess knows. And Goddess protects me.”
Say this at least 3 times. As you likely know, 3 is a sacred number.
Goddess knows everything that there is to know, and She will surround you with protection.
Tuning into this reality can be a “breath of fresh air.”
Consider trying this.
Recently, I held hands with my husband, and we said this chant aloud together.
“People talk about new beginnings, but they don’t talk about the slog through mud to get there,” my friend, Alicia, said.
She was referring to the transitions that we endure.
I earned one degree at a community college. Then, I went to a “polytechnical” college. The other students had more money than I did. They bought the apps. They were ahead of me. I had to “live at the computer lab.” Worse. Some instructors did not teach. I was behind others. What a lousy transition.
Fortunately, I have a knack for video editing (for example), and I have edited some good work.
In this New Year, let’s talk about beginnings, endings, and transitions.
I have three insights for you.
1. Shift from inner resistance to change.
“Magic is natural. It is a harmonious movement of energies to create needed change.” – Scott Cunningham
Have you ever hesitated to do a ritual to create the change you need in your life? I’ve noticed that many of us do not want something enough to endure the change that would be required.
Authors Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy wrote about how you can transform your life. There is just one hiccup. To have a big positive new chapter in life, you might have to let go of 80% of your usual habits. That’s right. It’s dropping one’s comfort zone.
I suggest that we look at doing something that is at least in the helpful direction. For example, tonight, it was tremendously cold. My husband and I went for a 12-minute walk. That was better than nothing.
We got over our inner resistance by promising ourselves “It’s just 10 minutes…”
What resistance do you need to let go of?
2. Shift from “Need” to “Want.”
Author Dan Sullivan wrote down in a log what he really wanted every day for 25 years. At that point, he had manifested a loving relationship and created prosperity with work that truly served others.
What do you really want?
What if you could have it…even if it might take three years in real-time?
When you focus only on “what you need,” your canvas is too small. The universe is vast. The God and Goddess want you to have more prosperity and happiness.
How do you define happiness?
If you had all the money you wanted, would you be happy?
I have been talking with friends about “practicing being happy.” What does that require? Being grateful right now for what you got.
Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am the Mother of all things and My love is poured out upon the earth.” – The Goddess in The Charge of the Goddess, as written by Doreen Valiente
The shift from “need” to “want” is NOT about sacrifice. It’s about a shift in energy and perspective. When you have enough energy, change is a flowing experience.
What rituals will you do to uplevel your energy?
Are you interested in using energy to make a transition from where you are to where you really want to be?
3. Ask the God and Goddess to elevate your energy.
You can use a prayer like this.
Light Goddess, Dark Goddess, Goddess make me whole. Jannis God of doorways, Jannis God of Beginnings, Endings, and Transitions, Usher me into my New Year safely. Help my spirit and body rise in the names of the Gods. So Mote It Be.
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