Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring by Edain McCoy

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Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

The not-so-humble egg is inarguably the most pervasive symbol of the world’s spring festivals, Ostara included. Within its shell is contained all the archetypical connections humanity has ever held with life, death, and life renewed. This eternal cycle of rebirth at spring is a major theme in the spring holidays of virtually every one of the world’s religions, from the most ancient Pagan expressions of spirituality to the most modern sects of Christianity.
How did the egg—particularly the chicken egg—get appointed to this lofty position of symbolizing a universe full of new life? Like many of our modern holiday customs, the egg’s place in spring spiritual rites is derived from the way our ancestors observed the natural world around them and honored their deities through these natural occurrences. With modern refrigeration, factory farming, and a fast-moving global marketplace making a variety of food abundant to us year round, it’s hard for us to fully comprehend that food was once a seasonal commodity that was impossible to obtain when the natural conditions allowing it to be produced were unavailable.
The eyes of a laying hen and the amount of light she receives are the components responsible for her ability to produce eggs. A hen lays eggs when the retina, the part of the eye that captures light and images, is stimulated for periods of twelve hours or more by sunlight. When that light stimulation ends, so does her laying cycle. Because fire, the only source of light for our ancestors, was not a strong enough light to fool the hen’s retina, there were no fresh eggs for a full six months out of every year.
Though the scientificconnection between light stimulation and laying cycles would be not known for many more centuries, their laying pattern was still reliable. Hens could be counted on to begin producing fresh eggs at the spring equinox and cease producing them around the autumnal equinox, a holiday period associated with dying and death and imagery opposite that of Ostara. As the world bloomed and greened anew each Ostara, the abundance of fresh eggs made them a natural symbol of new life.
In Asia, red-colored eggs are on occasion offered at funerals and births to symbolize the natural cycles of life, death, and rebirth. In the Ukraine, eggs called krashanka—sometimes dyed in shades of bright yellow—are eaten to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. More elaborate eggs, called pysanky, are decorated to use as talismans of fertility, prosperity, and protection. In places as diverse as west-central Africa and the southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States, eggs are buried near cemeteries to encourage reincarnation.

Rebirthing Spell
Gently place one egg in a pan that is half-filled with boiling water. As you watch the egg boil in the steaming pot, concentrate on something you feel is gone from your life that you wish to have manifest back into it. Conceptualize this desire as living within the egg, a need that will be birthed into being with the egg’s assistance. Visualize this miracle happening with as much clarity and detailas you are able. Do this for at least five minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool.
When the egg is able to be handled, take crayons or felt markers in any color or colors you feel best represents your desire and draw a symbol or some other representation of your wish on the egg.
Bury the egg near your front door, as deep as is reasonable. Each time you walk past the place where the egg is buried, be sure to remind yourself of its purpose by restating to yourself an affirmation of your desire.
In a short time the egg will break down, the shell cracking open and the yolk decomposing. This symbolic life, death, and rebirth of your wishing egg is linked by magick to your life, and it will help your desire to be rebirthed soon.

Eostre’s Eggs and the
Legend of the Easter Bunny
The Anglo-Saxons hailed Eostre as the Goddess of Spring, the Greening Earth, and Fertility. Her name means “moving with the waxing sun.” Around the time of her festival, on the day when light and dark are equal, the local animals began giving birth or going into their sexually receptive cycles, named “estrus periods” after the goddess. From the fiercest to the most humble, the woodland animals—who also worshipped and loved Eostre—would play in the warmth of spring light and feast on the new vegetation Eostre provided.
One of Eostre’s devotees was a small hare who wished very much to give a gift to his goddess, but he didn’t know what he could possibly offer that would be of any value to her. Then one day while foraging, the hare came across a fresh egg, a very prized commodity indeed. The little hare wanted very badly to eat the egg, as it had been a long time since he’d feasted on anything finer than dry grasses. Before he could take a bite of his prize, he realized this egg might make the perfect gift for Eostre. But, he pondered, Eostre could have all the eggs she wanted, anytime she wanted them. She was a goddess, a creator, the embodiment of Life itself. Giving her just any egg would never do. How, he wondered, could he make this egg a fit offering for his goddess?
The little hare took the egg home and pondered how to make it as beautiful and new as Eostre made the world each spring. He began to decorate the egg. He painted it in the hues of Eostre’s spring woods and placed upon the shell symbols sacred to Eostre. When he felt he could not make the egg any more beautiful, he took it to Eostre and offered it to her.
Eostre was so pleased by the little hare’s sacrifice of his egg to her, and by the manner in which he decorated it for her, that she wanted everyone—especially children, who are themselves symbols of new life—to enjoy these representations of her bounty. Since that Ostara day long ago, the descendants of that hare have taken up the task of delivering decorated eggs to the world’s children at spring. They are called Eostre’s Bunnies or, more commonly, the Easter Bunny.
Decorating Eostre’s Eggs
The egg decorating and gifting custom long ago emerged in the modern West from the Teutonic traditions in which Eostre was first honored. Today, spring egg-decorating kits are numerous and inexpensive, and many adherents of the world’s Christianreligions decorate them in celebration of the resurrection of their savior deity, Jesus.
Many modern Pagans and Witches like to use natural dyes for their Eostre’s eggs, sometimes called Ostara eggs, since Ostara is often cited as a Greek translation of Eostre’s name. Natural dyes rarely produce a color as dark and rich as the commercially prepared dyes, and some finishes tend to scratch or rub off. They are derived from plants just like natural fabric dyes and, like these dyes, require more preparation and dying time than needed when using commercial dye kits. By using the materials nature provides, though, you will be coloring eggs as they were done in the past. Also, the use of natural herbs can be used to help empower specific eggs to assist with specific magickal tasks.
To make your own natural dyes you will need a generous fistful of herbs or plants that produce colored stains, a small- to medium-sized saucepan, and a wooden spoon. Glass saucepans are best, as metal can become irrevocably stained by natural dyes.
Place about three cups of water in the pan and allow it to come to a low boil; add the plant material and stir occasionally so that the water becomes a very deep version of your desired shade. The color the eggs take on will always be significantly paler and you may need to add, boil, strain, and repeat to get the darker shades you desire. When you have the water the shade you want, strain the plant material out of the water, return the water to the pan, and bring the water to a light simmer. Add to it a pinch of salt, a tablespoon or two of vinegar, and a couple tablespoons of cream of tartar. Mix these in well. Remove from heat, and place eggs in the dye until they attain the desired hue.
I have not personally experimented with all the dye sources listed below, but I have had experience with a great deal of them. The others I know of from contact with people who have tried them. But don’t let this list limit you in any way. Playing with natural dyes is fun. Feel free to experiment with any nontoxic plant source to which you have no allergy to see how a dye made from it might turn out. Sometimes the resulting color will be a delightful surprise.

Natural Dye Sources and Colors
Source Color
White Grapes Pale Yellow
Carrot Tops Yellow
Turmeric Yellow
Vanilla Extract Yellow Orange
Daffodil Blossoms Yellow Green
Dandelions Orange
Onions Orange
Orris Root Rusty Orange
Paprika Orange Brown
Heather Pink
Madder Root Red
Blackberries Red Violet
Bracken Green
Red Cabbage Robin’s Egg Blue
Iris Blossoms Pinkish Blue
Blueberries Blue
Black Raspberries Blue
Beets Blue Violet
Mulberries Blue Violet
Cayenne Rust
The symbolic image of the egg is almost as important as its organic aspect, so don’t overlook using “eggs” crafted from wood, foam, or plastic. All can be painted with nontoxic watercolor or acrylic paints or covered with seasonal decals. You may decorate eggs with faces, symbols, or any other idea that captures your fancy. With a few trinkets or decorative items found in craft stores, and some school glue, you can add sequins, beads, fake gemstones, glitter, or feathering to make Ostara eggs say just how you feel about the season, your goddess and god, or about the person to whom you will be offering them.
Above all else, bear in mind that there is no wrong way to decorate your Ostara eggs. If they appeal to you as symbols of the season, that’s all that matters. However, you may want to keep in mind as you decorate that the colors you choose have meaning in both the archetypical and magickal sense.
Yellow • This is the color of creativity, mind power, intellectual pursuits, communication, and the solar plexus region of the body. It is also associated with the sun and with egg yolks.
Orange • Orange is another solar color. It is used in spells for attraction and friendship. Spells for willpower often use orange, as this is the color of the navel-area energy center, called a chakra, the area in the body governing personal desire and drive.
Red • Red is the color of blood, and this fact links it symbolically with the cycles of life, death, and rebirth. In the Greek Orthodox Church, eggs dyed deep red are used to decorate altars in homes and churches, and are given away as gifts after the traditional Easter Eve church service. The Druid priests of the Celtic tribes were reputed to have used red eggs in a similar manner. Red is also the color of desire, courage, lust, sexuality, war, and strength, and represents the womb blood of the Mother Goddess from which all things are born.
Green • This is the color of the Earth Mother in spring and summer. It represents abundance, prosperity, personal appearance, and fertility. Spells to neutralize difficult situations or induce calm often employ green. Green is linked to the energy center around the heart, so it’s a natural that spells for love of all types work well under green’s influence.
Blue • Blue represents sleep and dreams, peace and healing, and fidelity and unity, and is frequently employed in spells for dream magick and astral projection. Its paler shades are often associated with the coming of spring and with virgin goddesses.
Violet • This is the color of intense spirituality, metaphysical mysteries, deep sleep, the healing of serious illnesses, the uncovering of past lives, and of communicating with higher-level beings. This is also the color of the crown chakra of the body, which is activated when we seek a connection with the divine.
White • White is used in healing and purification spells and rituals. It is always perfect as an all-purpose color substitute when no other color feels quite right.
Brown • Brown represents the Earth and its animals, and is often used in connection with stone magick to help the inner self connect to the rhythms and energies of the Earth.
Black • Contrary to its reputation, black is not a color of evil or negativity. It represents mysteries, voids, and the Crone Goddess, and is used in spells to absorb and dispel negative influences. Though not a popular Ostara color, black should never be summarily dismissed as a magickal color choice when decorating eggs for spells or ritual. Even though it is associated with death in the West, it is symbolic of life in many parts of the East—and it should be remembered at Ostara that new life may only come from death, be it physical or metaphoric.
Pink • Like all pastels, pink is associated with spring. It is used primarily in spells and rituals for household peace and romantic love.
Silver • Silver represents the moon, the Goddess, psychicism, and the inner self.
Gold • Gold can represent the solar deities, both male and female. It is also used in summer festivals, in rituals to honor the sun, and in spells for wealth and employment.
Making Cascarones
Did being hit over the head ever seem like a blessing to you? It would if you lived in the American Southwest, where the Latino people have adapted a lovely Easter egg custom with Pagan origins into their spring celebrations. They bless you by knocking you in the head with special eggs known as cascarones. Cascarones (pronounced cahs-cah-ROE-nays) are eggshells that have been collected for many weeks prior to Easter and carefully hollowed out. They are then decorated and filled with a variety of substances that will shower over their recipients when cracked over their heads. Common cascarone fillers include confetti, lavender, sage, perfumed herbs, and flour or cornmeal. Though the idea now is more one of playfulness, it was once a very real tool for making magick and offering the blessings of the equinox to others.
Items you will need to make your own cascarones include eggs and some clear carton-sealing tape. You will also need bowls to catch the inside of the eggs as you hollow out the shells; colorful items with which to decorate your eggs, such as paints and decals; and some herbs or confetti with which to fill out the empty shells. A small kitchen funnel can also be useful to have on hand.
Start by emptying the eggs. Make a small hole in both ends of the egg (I use a fork tine) and, with the narrow end down, gently blow the contents into the waiting bowl. Wash out the empty shells with cold water and let dry. Paint and decorate the shells before filling them. The filling is done by taping up the smallest hole and using a small funnel in the larger hole to channel your desired contents into the egg. Be careful not to fill the shell more than three-quarters full or it will not break well and could be solid enough to hurt the recipient of your attention. When full, seal the other end with clear tape and store in a cool, dry place until Ostara morning.

A Cascarone Love Spell
Following the instructions given above, make a cascarone and fill it with magickal herbs associated with attracting romantic love. These include lavender, yarrow, apple blossom, rose petals, daisies, lemon verbena, willow, or rosemary. Copal can be added too—this is a popular herb in Mexican folk magick. You may also want to toss in some herbs that help create a lusty atmosphere, such as cloves, cinnamon, dill, or damiana.
As you create the cascarone, visualize the contents as catalysts that will allow your desired lover to notice you more intently without impinging on his or her free will to choose a lover. On Ostara you can either shower the object of your desire with the cascarone or break it open in a flowing river while visualizing your goal being carried to the heart of your loved one.

Ostara Egg Recipes
And what do you do with all those egg innards you collected from making your cascarones? You bake, of course. Food items made with eggs, honey, and milk are liberally consumed at both Ostara and at Beltane, the other spring sabbat, which falls on May 1. These are traditional foods due to their availability to our ancestors in the spring and summer months.
Baked creations with lots of eggs are popular in French cooking, which is generally thought of as a hard cuisine to master. There are, however, many simplified versions of these difficult creations, and the first recipe is one of them. It can be used either for a family or coven meal, or as a brunch offering.

Baked Sandwiches
12 slices of bread, crusts removed
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups diced ham (vegetarians may substitute alfalfa sprouts)
Line the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch greased pan with 6 slices of bread. On top of that place the ham and H cup each of the grated Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Cover this with the other 6 slices of bread and sprinkle the remaining cheese over it.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and milk well, and pour over the sandwiches.
Bake for 1 hour, or until top is golden, in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees.
In Pagan practice egg nog is not just for the Yule season. Egg drinks are popular in the spring as well. The word nog is Old English and has nothing to do with December or winter. It simply means “a strong ale.” This recipe does not contain alcohol, but it can always be added if you like your nog that way. Please consider the needs of those you will be sharing it with before making that decision.
Note that this recipe uses uncooked eggs, which is more and more creating health issues. Incidences of food poisoning, particularly salmonella, have been on the rise. If you can find pasteurized eggs or eggs that have not been factory farmed, you increase your chances of avoiding a serious illness. You may also choose to gently heat the eggs and milk, stirring constantly, to kill any bacteria.

Egg Nog
12 eggs, separated
H pound confectioners’ sugar
2 quarts cream or rich milk
116 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
J teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat the egg yolks until smooth, then mix them together with the sugar, cream, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until just stiff, folding in the remaining ingredients. Pour this into the egg yolk mixture and mix them well. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving chilled. Makes about a half gallon.
Egg pies are often known as quiches, another French name for a dish thought of as hard to concoct. This one is a bit less elaborate and can be made just as tastily with egg substitutes if you’re looking to cut calories and cholesterol.

Egg and Artichoke Pie
6 eggs,well beaten
H cup milk
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
H cup fresh, sliced mushrooms
J cup diced onions
G teaspoon salt
J teaspoon pepper
1 deep pie shell
Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the pie shell. Bake for about 40 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 325 degrees. If the outer edges begin to bake too fast, remove from oven and cover with foil. Test for doneness by sticking a knife in the center and seeing if it comes out clean. Allow the pie to sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
This next recipe is a Southwestern breakfast treat that will give new zip to your morning meal.

Eye Poppin’ Chili Eggs
1 (8–12) ounce can green chili peppers, drained
4–5 ounces cubed Monterey Jack cheese
4–5 ounces cubed Cheddar cheese
8 ounces salsa plus 4 ounces salsa (hot, medium, or mild)
6–8 large eggs, well beaten
H cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Grease the inside of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line bottom of pan with chili peppers. On top of that place the cubed cheese and 8 ounces of salsa. Pour the beaten eggs over this. Top with a mixture of 4 ounces of salsa and the shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake about 20 minutes, or until top starts to turn gold and a knife comes clean from the center of the eggs.


Hunting the Wild Egg
Easter egg hunts were first popularized in the United States in the spring of 1862, when America was in the middle of its hideous Civil War in which young men were dying daily of injuries and disease, and famine was starting to appear in many areas of the ravaged South. First Lady Dolly Madison was the first dignitary to host an “egg roll” on the lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812 in an attempt to garner public support for her unpopular husband. But it was President Abraham Lincoln who tapped into the archetypical importance of the egg as a symbol of hope and new life. He ordered decorated eggs and other popular treats to be hidden on the White House lawn. He then issued a public invitation to the children of Washington, D.C., to come and search for them on Easter morning. With few exceptions, American presidents have kept up the practice, and it has since become a cherished national Easter custom mimicked around the nation.
Many people are unaware that the egg-hunting custom predates President Lincoln by at least two thousand years. In Asia and India, the practice of hunting hidden eggs in spring was symbolic of the belief that we are fully responsible for our actions and reactions, and that we must each find our own way to life renewed. Because this incorporated reincarnation themes, the egg hunt was a time to reflect on the balance of rights and wrongs and how to improve one’s position in the next life.
In German and Scandinavian lands, the tradition of offering eggs to the Goddess in exchange for blessings or wishes was a common spring practice. With the rise of Christianity in Europe making Pagan practices a capital offense, those offerings had to be hidden where only the Goddess could find them. Thus the “egg hunt” by the authorities ensued, and was eventually made into a game for children.
The search for eggs also has a deeper metaphysical meaning in many cultures, in particular in the East. The hunt represents the soul’s eternal quest for life renewed so that it may have the opportunity to perfect itself and reach a union with the deities.
The Teutons buried eggs under barns and animal dwellings to increase the fecundity of livestock, or placed eggs beneath beds to encourage human fertility. Eggs were also buried by the Teutons and Anglo-Saxons in spring to make gardens and fields fertile. They were believed to bless gardens and farmland with fertility and abundance. This is a practice still used by many modern Pagans who enjoy planting and tending magickal gardens.

The “How Does My Garden Grow” Egg Blessing
After you have prepared your garden for planting, take a hard-boiled egg and mark upon it symbols of the earth, growth, and fertility. Browns and greens work especially well here. With your bare hands, dig a small hole in the middle of the planting area while murmuring a prayer to the Goddess of the Earth. Speak from the heart to honor her and ask for her blessings on the garden. Place the egg in the hole and cover it while still repeating your prayer. Walk clockwise three times around the entire perimeter of the garden and chant:

Egg of the Goddess, giver of all things,
grow my garden abundant this spring.
Strong and sacred this place must be,
springing forth its bounty, so blessed be.
Return to the center of the garden and cover the egg to bury its magickal energy at the heart of your garden.

The Eggshell Fertility Talisman
For this talisman you will need a small green circle of cloth, a needle and thread, a piece of paper with a picture of your goal, eggshells, and some fertility herbs such as bistort, carrot (root and tail), nuts of all kinds, wheat, myrtle, rice, rye, barley, pine cones, acorns, juniper, pine, cedar, lemongrass, honeysuckle, and turnips. You may also include stones associated with fertility such as holey stones or geodes. Handle all of the ingredients, infusing them with your desire to have a baby. Then place them together in the green cloth and sew them shut. Holding the talisman between your hands and your belly, say:

Charm of egg and life to be,
power of fertility, come to me.
Like the Goddess whose blood mingles with mine,
so shall I give birth in nine months’ time.
Wear the talisman over your belly area as much as possible, renewing your intent by chanting the above quatrain when you can to assist you in becoming pregnant.

Other Egg Magick
• Use a broom to sweep hard-boiled eggs from outside your home to the inside to bring in abundance and fertility.
• Use brown eggs in magick to assist in animal husbandry or to ease a pet through giving birth.
• Brown eggshells can be added to protective or healing magick for pets or livestock.
• Bury rotten eggs near a crossroad to cause abundance to be taken away from an enemy.
• Paint half of a hard-boiled egg in a traditional god color such asred or gold, and the other half in a goddess color such as silver or blue, to represent the whole of creation. Let your own feelings about colors guide your final choices.
• To ensure that there will be no shortage of food at your home during winter, and to help keep those living there safe, bury one egg at each of the four cardinal points of your property: east, south, west, and north.
• Add well-washed eggshells to talismans for protection.
• To assist a couple who is having trouble conceiving, decorate a plastic or wooden egg to give as a fertility talisman.
• Decorated eggshells hanging from bushes and trees shed blessings of abundance on the land they surround.
• Bury eggs in your garden before doing your spring planting.