Whether you be a goddess worshipper, a secular witch – or somebody who considers themselves neither but wants to acknowledge the changing of the seasons – this simple Ostara ritual adapted from Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance is a starting-off point for acknowledging the beginning of spring.
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A fire is lit in the circle (this can be done anywhere – outdoors with a fire pit or indoors with a small candle – remember to work with fire responsibly and always have an anti-flammable close to hand) with appropriate words calling up the energy of the season: rebirth, new beginnings, and fertility
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Make an altar with spring flowers. Place the appropriate element at each of the four points
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Now light and dark are equal: it’s a time of balance, when the elements within us must be brought into a new harmony
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Think about what binds you. What causes you guilt, anger or resentment.
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Where must you go to be free? East: mind, South: spirit, West: emotions, North: body
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Meditate on the quality you chose
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Write where you need to break free from the above on a piece of paper
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Safely burn it in the fire, feeling that which binds you slide from you and twist off in the embers and smoke
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Break the binding joyfully!
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If it can be supervised, allow the fire to burn down or send thanks and extinguish it safely
Merry Ostara, and here’s to the re-emergence of spring at last!