Ostara

Clear and release excess energy

MAIDEN PRIESTESS or CHIEF PRIESTESS

Behold, I cleanse thee spirit of Earth, casting out any impurities that may lie within.

I do Bless and Charge you for this work.

Behold, I cleanse thee spirit of Water, casting out any impurities that may lie within.

I do Bless and Charge you for this work.

Behold, the Salt is pure.

 Behold, the Water is pure.

Mix Salt And Water. 

Purity into purity and purity be blessed.

Asperge (counterclockwise)

CADET PRIEST or CHIEF PRIEST

Behold, I cleanse thee spirit of Fire, casting out any impurities that may lie within.

I do Bless and Charge you for this work.
 

Behold, I cleanse thee spirit of Air, casting out any impurities that may lie within.

I do Bless and Charge you for this work.

Behold, the Fire is pure.

Behold, the Air is pure.

Mix Fire And Air. 

Purity into purity and purity be blessed.

Charge the Space (clockwise)

Cast Circle:

“Let us join hands. 

“Become aware of your Heart Chakra.  Imagine a ball of clear white light in your Heart Chakra: beautiful, clear white light.  And in that light feel strength, and love, and peace.  Have this image clear in your mind, feel the energy strongly.  Now let that energy begin to move and expand within you, filling your body.  Let the energy fill you, move within you, filling and suffusing you with beautiful, clear white light.

“Now feel a bit of that energy within you begin to move out from you –see it begin to flow deosil around the Circle.  Feel the energy connect with the energy of the other people present, forming a circle of white light, moving from hand to hand around the circle.  See the circle of white light moving from person to person around the circle, growing stronger and brighter, moving faster and faster.

“Let the circle begin to expand beyond us –see it move out to the edges of our ritual space.  See the circle expand and grow brighter and stronger as it does so, moving deosil around the ritual space: moving faster and faster.  See the white light expand upward, forming a wall or moving light around us –a battery and a focusing barrier to strengthen our working and increase its effect.  See this boundary clearly, feel its energy, and the focusing effect it has upon the energy of the circle. 

“Behold, we do cut apart a place between the realms of humankind and of the Mighty Ones: a Circle of Art to focus and contain the powers we shall raise herein! The Circle is cast! So Mote It Be!”

ALL
”SO MOTE IT BE!”

Call Quarters

East:

The Priestess asperges the Quarter with the Salt and Water.
Priestess: “By the powers of Earth and Water, I do cleanse and purify the Quarter of the East.”

The Priest censes the Quarter with the burning Incense.
Priest: “By the powers of Fire and Air do I charge the Quarter of the East.”

“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the East, Powers of Air and Inspiration! We invoke You, and ask You to be with us this night, to share with us Your love, Your guidance, and Your inspiration.  We pray that You will help us to open our minds and our eyes and strengthen our thoughts as we go forward this night.  We bid You hail and welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

SOUTH

The Priestess asperges the Quarter with the Salt and Water.
Priestess: “By the powers of Earth and Water, I do cleanse and purify the Quarter of the South.”

The Priest censes the Quarter with the burning Incense.
Priest: “By the powers of Fire and Air do I charge the Quarter of the South.”

“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the South, Powers of Fire and Manifestation! We invoke You, and ask You to be with us this night, to share with us Your love, Your guidance, and Your inspiration.  We pray that You will help us to open our courage and passion and strengthen our resolve as we go forward this night.  We bid You hail and welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

WEST

The Priestess asperges the Quarter with the Salt and Water.
Priestess: “By the powers of Earth and Water, I do cleanse and purify the Quarter of the West.”

The Priest censes the Quarter with the burning Incense.
Priest: “By the powers of Fire and Air do I charge the Quarter of the West.”

“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the West, Powers of Water and Compassion! We invoke You, and ask You to be with us this night, to share with us Your love, Your guidance, and Your inspiration.  We pray that You will help us to open our hearts and our emotions and strengthen our sensitivity as we go forward this night.  We bid You hail and welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

NORTH

The Priestess asperges the Quarter with the Salt and Water.
Priestess: “By the powers of Earth and Water, I do cleanse and purify the Quarter of the Northt.”

The Priest censes the Quarter with the burning Incense.
Priest: “By the powers of Fire and Air do I charge the Quarter of the Northt.”

“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the North, Powers of Earth and Integration! We invoke You, and ask You to be with us this night, to share with us Your love, Your guidance, and Your inspiration.  We pray that You will help us to open our souls and our Higher Selves and strengthen our understanding as we go forward this night.  We bid You hail and welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

Invoke God

PRIEST
“Hail unto You, O God! We do invoke You in Your form as Hero -Lord of the Rising Sun and of the Waxing Year! Master of Rebirth and New Beginnings! Trailblazer, Who forges ahead where others fear to go! Lead us with You into the future! The Doors of the House of Dawn are opened and Spring is upon us -let us move forward and embrace it! O Hero, with love and with respect we do bid You Hail and Welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

Invoke Goddess

PRIESTESS
“Wise and beautiful Maiden Goddess, we do invoke You! Goddess of creativity, beauty, and all arts -Guide and Guardian of Heros- we pray that You will join us and guide us in our holy rite.  Even as You guided the Heros of old we pray that You will guide us to fully embrace all of our potential, even as now You guide the Earth to rebirth and renewal! We bid You Hail and Welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

Invoke Ancestors

“O Mighty Ancestors, Beloved Ones Who have gone before, We invoke You and ask You to join us and to Bless us! Ancestors of the Correllian Tradition, Priestesses and Priests, Mothers and Uncles of the lineage, Spiritual family which aids and supports us –lend us Your inspiration and Your love, Your guidance and Your aid this night, we pray.  Beloved Ones, we bid You Hail and Welcome!”

ALL
“Hail and Welcome!”

Purpose

"We come together to celebrate the festival of Ostara, to celebrate Spring and renewed life.  The reborn Sun God rises as Hero and the Earth welcomes Him.  The return of the Sun warms the Earth and brings forth the living things: leaves and flowers open, spreading color and scent to delight the senses.  The animals rejoice and become active -many bring forth their young.  It is a time of new beginnings and of limitless potential.  Rejoice then -embrace the spirit of life which moves in the world afresh! Let us, like Hero and Maiden, walk where we have not walked before, embrace the new and brave the unknown! Let us grow and expand even as light and life grow and expand at this time of year. 

Seed Planting

For this Act of Power you will need a packet of seeds and a number of small individual planting cups filled with potting soil.  All of this can be obtained from your local garden center. 

Flower seeds would be a good choice for this, although the seeds can be any kind of common garden plant –but whatever you choose you should make sure it is a plant that is easy to take care of, as not everyone is equally good at or inclined to gardening. 

Before ritual, open the packet of seeds and fill a small bowl with the contents, then place this on the altar.  Fill the planting cups with soil, and place them on the altar as well.  Make sure you have as many planting cups as you need for the number of people likely to attend.  If you are not sure how many people to expect, it is better to have too many planting cups than too few.

When you have cast your Circle, invoked, and spoken a bit about Ostara, take up the bowl of seeds from the altar.  Speak about the nature of seeds, and their relevance to the holiday.  You might say something along these lines:

“At this time of year we turn our thoughts to new beginnings.  The waxing Sun heralds the beginning of the growing season, and new life abounds on all sides.  The plants are greening, the animals are becoming more active –all that has slept through Winter is awakening. 

“What better symbol of this time of year than the seed? For a seed is all about potential.  Planted in the warm and nurturing Earth, gently coaxed by the heat of the Sun, it has every chance to grow and blossom in the garden of life.  But left to lie as it is, without care and guidance, it will remain a seed and never know what could have been.

“It is the same with us and our lives.  Our hopes and dreams are all about potential –but they must be nurtured and shepherded along if they are ever to move from potential into being.  We must set our intent and focus our will, putting our energy behind our goals if we wish to see them blossom.  Only then may the seed of hope fulfill its destiny and become the flower of manifestation.

“Therefore at this time of year we honor the return of life to the land, and seek to imitate it in our lives –blooming in our turn and bearing fruit in our season.  Consider therefore the seed, for all things begin as a seed –the seed of life: the seed of thought: verily the seed of action.  Let us therefore plant our seeds consciously and with care.”

Place the seeds in the center of the circle –set them upon the floor, or have each person put a hand under the bowl and all hold them jointly.  Bless the seeds.  You might do it like this:

“Behold, in the name of the Goddess and of the God, may these seeds be blessed!”

Imagine the light of Deity coming down upon the seeds, filling them.

Now ask each person to take some seeds. 

Pass out the planting cups.  Explain what is to be done –you might say:

“Now we are going to plant our seeds, so that new life can grow.  Make a little hole with your fingers, and put your seeds into the Earth.  Then gently cover them over.  As we plant these seeds, let us think about the seeds we wish to plant in our lives, to grow in coming months.  What do you wish to do in the next few months? Is there anything you wish to accomplish? Anything you’d like to change.  Think of these things as you plant your seeds.  Focus upon them, so that the seed is imbued with the thought.  As the year moves forward the seeds will grow –and as they grow they will help carry our goals forward.”

Plant your own seed along with everyone else, and think about what you wish to accomplish in coming months.

Now place the cups in the center of the circle.  Have everyone focus energy into them –see them glowing with light and power.  Remind everyone to think about what they want to manifest as the plant grows.

You may wish to chant and dance around the seed cups now, to strengthen the energy you are raising.  If so, a good chant might be:

“Protected by the Earth
Inspired by the Sun
Blessed Be the seeds that grow
Arise and blossom every one!”

Now finish the act: focus all of the energy into the seeds and say something to this effect:

“May these seeds be blessed –may they carry our will forward: Even as these seeds grow, so too shall our wishes be made manifest.  Goddess and God we pray You lend Your strength to ours, as we bless these seeds to their purpose! So Mote It Be!”

Explain to people that they will take the seeds home with them after the ritual, and should take care of them as described on the seed package, transplanting them to a pot or the Earth when appropriate. 

Variation #1

One variation on this Act of Power is to use a packet of mixed flower seeds, so that not everyone gets the same thing.  Then you can do divination by the kind of flower each person gets, although this will be evident only much later when the flowers bloom.  The kinds of flower each person has will indicate the success and outcome of their particular manifestation.  You can divine the flowers by color, or by type as you desire –but as there are likely to be several types together, you will need to consider their meaning as a whole in order to get a good interpretation from them.

Variation #2

A second variation on this Act of Power is to have a number of packets of different types of seeds.  Place them all in a basket and have each person close their eyes and choose a packet at random.  Again you would divine the flower by color or type to shed light upon factors affecting the person’s manifestation.  Unlike variation #1 this allows the flowers to be divined immediately after they are drawn, but requires the purchase of numerous packets of seeds.

Variation #3

Another variation which you might make in this Act of Power is to use a visualization before or instead of the dancing and chanting to focus the energy.  Have everyone place their planting cups in the center of the Circle.  Then have them visualize.  You might lead them like this:

“Imagine your seed –see it there in the dark Earth within the planting cup.  Imagine the seed glowing and shining with light.  See the light shining forth like a Sun within your seed.  Into that light place strength, and love, and peace.  Think now of what you wish to manifest for the coming months.  Imagine it strongly –imprint it upon the seed.

“Now imagine the seed beginning to sprout –sending up a tender shoot.  See the shoot growing upward, poking tentatively out of the dark Earth.  See the Shoot growing upward, growing thicker, stronger, becoming a stem and sending forth leaves.  Now a bud appears –a delicate bud of green.  The bud unfolds, revealing petals: spreading forth as a flower.  So too may our wishes spread out and bloom as the weeks go forward: even as these plants grow, so may we too grow and prosper.”

Variation #4

A final variation on this Act of Power is to keep the plants at the Temple rather than to have people take them home.  This only works of course if you yourself are inclined to gardening.  In such a case one or more special pots might be prepared for the purpose, and used in the ritual in place of individual planting cups.  Or if you are doing ritual outdoors you can plant the seeds directly in the Earth, perhaps around the perimeter of the Circle.

Lady Traci of Holy City Temple did this one year, preparing four special pots; one for each Airt.  People were instructed to plant their seeds in the pot whose Airt best corresponded to the nature of the manifestation.  The pots then adorned the Temple’s outdoor ritual ground throughout the growing season.

This has the benefit of decorating the Temple and is also good for bonding, because as the year goes forward people will see their plants growing in the Temple precincts each time they come.

Blessing of Chalice

The Priestess will face the people and present the Chalice, holding it aloft.  She should say something like:

“Behold –the womb of creation! The cauldron of eternity! The circle of life and death which returns ever unto itself!”

“Behold –the phallus of the God! The axis of the Planes! The line of time and space which moves ever forward!”

Now Priestess and Priest face each other.  The Priestess continues along these lines:

“In the beginning was the Goddess –and She was alone and without form in the void of Chaos.  Within Her were the seeds of all things which would come later, for Hers was infinite potential.  And alone with all possibility She dreamed, and wondered about what possibility could become: Dreams moved to plans, and plans to action: and behold, from within Herself She created the God.”

And the Priest might say:

“And the God burst forth from the Goddess with a Big Bang –an explosion of fire and light which shot out in all directions! This was the first creation, when God was split from Goddess: Son from Mother: Brother from Sister.  And all that was motile, hot, and physical became the God: and all that was stable, cool, and ethereal remained in the Goddess.  And the Goddess looked upon the God and She desired Him with exceeding much desire.”

Let the Priestess continue:

“And the Goddess yearned to be One with God again.  But She was told: ‘To Rise You Must Fall.’ And so She separated the many souls off from Herself and sent them into matter –separate from Her and yet always connected to Her.”

And now the Priest:

“And thus did Goddess unite with God: and thus was the world formed as we know it.  For each of us is both Goddess and God, soul and body, joined together in the mystery of life.”

Now let the Priest light the match or lighter, and place the flame in the fumes of the brandy, so that it is set alight.  Be very careful with this.

This will be a very pale flame, delicate and blue, which will endure for a few minutes as it burns away the alcohol in the Chalice.  Let the Priest and priestess continue thus:

PRIESTESS
“The God is not greater than the Goddess.”

PRIEST
“Nor is the Goddess greater than the God.”

PRIESTESS
“But both are equal.”

PRIEST
“And neither is complete without the Other.”

PRIESTESS
”therefore in the name of the Goddess…”

PRIEST
“And in the name of the God…”

TOGETHER
“May this Chalice be Blessed!”

Let both Priestess and Priest now flood the Chalice with energy, seeing it filled with the bright, shining light of Blessing.

TOGETHER
“So Mote It Be!”

ALL
”So Mote It Be!”

“To the Goddess! To the God! To us!”

ALL
“To the Goddess! To the God! To us!

Thank Ancestors

“Beloved Ancestors, You Who have gone before, Your wisdom and Your example guide us.  We pray that You will be with us and aid us as we go forward, that we may call upon the strength and knowledge of the past, even as we build the future.  We thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times.  May You Blessed be in all things.  We offer You our love and our respect! We bid You Hail and Farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

PRIEST
“O Hero God -Lord of Youth and New Beginnings! Master of the Dawn! We thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times.  We offer You our love, and our respect! We bid You Hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

PRIESTESS
“O gracious Maiden Goddess -Rosy-fingered harbinger of Light and life! We thank You for Your presence and Your aid this night, and at all times.  We offer You our love and our respect! We bid You Hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

Thank Quarters

NORTH
“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the North, Powers of Earth and Integration! We thank You for Your presence here this night.  May there be peace between us, now and always.  Stay if You will, go if You must.  We bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

WEST
“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the West, Powers of Water and Compassion! We thank You for Your presence here this night.  May there be peace between us, now and always.  Stay if You will, go if You must.  We bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

SOUTH
“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the South, Powers of Fire and Manifestation! We thank You for Your presence here this night.  May there be peace between us, now and always.  Stay if You will, go if You must.  We bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

EAST
“Hail unto You, O Guardians of the Watchtower of the East, Powers of Air and Inspiration! We thank You for Your presence here this night.  May there be peace between us, now and always.  Stay if You will, go if You must.  We bid You hail and farewell!”

ALL
“Hail and farewell!”

Release Circle

“Behold: As Above, So Below! As the Universe, So the Soul! As Within, So Without! May the Circle be Open, but never Broken! Merry Meet –Merry Part –and Merry Meet again!”

Now have everyone cleanse and release all excess energy.

(Correllian tradition, reprinted with permission of Rev. Don Lewis)