Ostara Ritual at Moonpath CUUPS

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – March 19, 2011

Moonday:

Umbilical Cord Meditation –

This ritual tonight explores the mysteries of reincarnation, birth and rebirth.

(Heartbeat drumming starts, all cast except for Iasis, CHAHANPI MELISSAE, and the two priestess join in the meditation, the cast members should be at the beginning of the cord so that they can take their places in the circle and help guide everyone into a perfect circle)

Close your eyes, feel the heartbeat of the mother passing through the drum to you, breath deeply and connect physically, emotionally, and spiritually to all that is, connect to the earth, connect to the sky, connect to the trees and plants, connect to each other, feel blood flowing through the umbilical cord you hold in your hands. Blood is life, blood is love, blood connects the child and the mother.

Follow me now to the birthing cannel this cannel will lead us to the womb of the goddess, the womb represents birth and rebirth.

(The heartbeat drummer breaks away and moves ahead to half way between the birthing cannel and the memorial garden, the heart beat drum joins the processing at the very end holding on to the umbilical cord and still drumming the heartbeat.)

(Portals created at the entrance – 2 doors, red cloth create the birthing channel, smudging at the entrance and thou art the god/goddess at the end of the birthing channel each participant is given beads by the priestess.)

(Iasis begins the chant as the first person holding the umbilical cord leaves the memorial garden)

Born of water, cleansing powerful, healing, changing we are… (drumming)

Moonday:

Welcome, welcome to Ostara 2011, I am Moonday and this is my partner Shaper. First and foremost at this Ostara rite let there be light. (Fire is lighted)

(Sweep – Dragon Fly)

Moonday - Let us all focus and lend our magickal assistant to Dragon Fly as she sweeps the circle.

With this besom we sweep all that is unnecessary, all that stops us from communing with the elementals and gods…

Sweep, sweep, sweep away, sweep, sweep, sweep away… (drumming)

(Seal – Spelcaster)

Shaper - Now let us all focus and lend our magickal assistant to Spelcaster as he seals the circle and raises the cone.

By the powers of earth, air, fire water, seal the circle raise the cone, by the powers of earth, air, fire, water, seal the circle, raise the cone… (drumming)

(Quarters)

We call to you powers of the East

Power of Air

As the Breath of Dawn

As the first breath of a new born babe

We call to you and ask that you watch over this rite

Hail and Welcome !!

We call to you Powers of the South

Power of Fire

As the Heat of Noon

As the fiery passions of Youth

We call to you and ask that you watch over this rite

Hail and Welcome !!

We call to you Powers of the West

Power of Water

As the Tranquility of Twilight

As the Love of our Lives

We call to you and ask that you watch over this rite

Hail and Welcome !!

We call to you Powers of the North

Power of Earth

As the Mystery of Midnight

As the Wisdom of Age

We call to you and ask that you watch over this rite

Hail and Welcome !!

(Circle Casting)

Moonday –

Circle of starlight, 


Circle of fire, 


Filled with enchantments bright with desire. 


Turning, turning, beginning to end; 


end to beginning again and again.

Circle of wisdom, Circle of love, 


Silver with moonbeams bright from above. 


Circle of death, Circle of re-birth, 


Circle of the Mother Earth.

Shining, shining, forever and ever. 


Spinning, spinning, ending never. 


Weaving the threads of the midnight hour. 


Weaving the web of Goddess power. (Unknown)

AN YE HARM NONE, LOVE, 
DO WHAT THOU WILT!

The Circle is cast, Blessed Be, so mote it be!

(Invocation to the goddess)

Moonday –

I invoke and call upon thee O Mother Goddess, 


Who shines for all, who flows through all. 


Maiden, Mother and Crone,


I invite you to this Ostara circle;


Touch us, change us, make us whole.

(Invocation to the god)

Shaper –

I invoke and call upon thee O Father God,


Lord of the Sun, Master of all that is wild.


I invite you to this Ostara circle;


Touch us, change us, make us whole.

Reference: http://magickgarden.freehostia.com/ChantsandPrayers.html

Shaper:

Magick has begun, each of you hold in your hands the pulsing umbilical cord of the mother goddess.

Her blood gives life, growth, expansion, development; it represents fertility and the culmination of new ideas and projects.

So as Iasis Kalliolpe leads us in a chant, I want to you visual an aspect of your life that you want to come to fruition, that you want to grow, develop, mature… Put this intent into the cord as you draw upon the energy of the Mother to complete your task…..

In a few moments the Ferryman will collect the cord

Feel the blood, feel the power, feel the flooooowwwww….

Iasis:

We are the flow and we are the ebb, we are the weavers we are the web…. (drumming)

(After a couple of minutes of chanting the Ferryman will slowly, rhythmically collect the cord and hand it to Shaper)

Shaper:

As you have put your Intent into this Cord

So shall we give this cord back into the Mother where, with our work and tending, it shall spring forth as the new born plant does, mature in the golden sparkle of the reborn sun, and come to fruition in its time.

We give to you our Mother our hopes, dreams, and aspirations, May they come back to us as the greatest good.

“May all things grow, May all things flow, Blessings of the Turning Wheel.”

Source: http://celticawitch.wordpress.com/the-wheel-of-the-year/ostara/

AS WE WILL IT, SO MOTE IT BE !!

(Shaper puts the cord into the hole. Shaper and the Ferryman fill the hole)

IT IS DONE !!

Moonday:

Ostara is the second of three spring festivals, it is many things to many people, a time of balance, during the Spring Equinox, day and night are equal, spring in northern states means coming out of hibernation, Ostara occurs on March 21^st or 22^nd, depending on where you reside in the world.

Ostara brings images of bunnies, chicks, puppies, kittens, butterflies, dragonflies, and faries. The Christians borrowed this festival and rename it Easter. Their stories are reshaped, but the re-born solar sun remains in the retelling of the tail of Jesus the “Son” of God resurrected. Yes, the Sun is Reborn, reawaked in spring, after this festival the days of the sun grow longer, until the full maturity at the Summer Solstice, also known as Litha or Mid-summer.

Painted eggs, baskets of flowers and the like are generally used to decorate the house. “The egg (and all seeds) contains ‘all potential’, full of promise and new life.  It symbolizes the rebirth of nature, the fertility of the Earth and all creation.  In many traditions the egg is a symbol for the whole universe.  The ‘cosmic’ egg contains a balance of male and female, light and dark, in the egg yolk and egg white.  The golden orb of the yolk represents the Sun God enfolded by the White Goddess, perfect balance, so it is particularly appropriate to Ostara and the Spring Equinox when all is in balance for just a moment, although the underlying energy is one of growth and expansion.”

http://celticawitch.wordpress.com/the-wheel-of-the-year/ostara/

Traditional colors for this holiday are light green, lemon yellow and pale pink.

This is a good time to perform self-banishings and also perform workings to gain things we have lost, or to gain we wish to grow within us.

A little known occurrence happens at Ostara as with Samhain, the veil is thin, souls can cross easily back and forth from Summerland. So tonight, let us welcome the new souls and say farewell to those that chose to leave.

Turn with me to the West…. Ground, breath and know that you are protected in this sacred rite.

With a rushing, pulsating waves of energy let us welcome the new and reborn souls…. Feel them pass through you around you, surround you…. Welcome and Blessed be.

Ground, breath and once again feel the rushing, pulsating waves of energy but this time we say farewell to those that choose to cross or just come close to the veil. Blessed be.

Many Ostara rituals will retell the tale of Kore ascending from Hades. Tonight we will hear a story much older than that, we will see and hear a playlet from the Babylonian time about Ishtar and Tammuz.

Our narrator for the evening is Marilyn Stephan.

Marilyn:

Happy Ostara everyone!

Let me first introduce our cast of characters:

Aphrodite as Ishtar

Ash the Silent as Queen Irkalla

Moon Dragon as Nadu ,The Watchman

Sky Bear as Ud-dushu-nāmir

? as The Warrior husband

(Story and playlet, adapted from the following source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/omw/omw26.htm)

Shaper:

(Cookies and juice is passed out.)

We will now share cakes and ale.

(as the cakes and ale are passed out, Iasis chants, We all Come from the Goddess)

Shaper: (holds the cake above his head)

The food, which we are about to eat

Is Earth, Water, and Sun, compounded through the alchemy Of many plants.

Therefore Earth, Water and Sun will become part of us.

This food is also the fruit of the labor of many beings and creatures

We are grateful for it.

May it give us strength, health, joy.

And may it increase our love.

(**UU prayer)

Moonday: (holds the juice above her head)

Today we drink water, it is our most precious resource, We honor the mother

as we drink,

Blessed Be, So Mote it Be.

Shaper:

And, like a whirlwind the rite, comes to a close…

Shaper:

Farewell Father God,


Lord of the Sun, Master of all that is wild.


We are eternally grateful for your presence in this rite tonight.

Moonday:

Farewell Mother Goddess, 


Who shines for all, who flows through all. 


Maiden, Mother and Crone,

We are eternally grateful for your presence in this rite tonight.

Shaper:

Let us dismiss the quarters starting in the north (one person representing the quarters is already standing at the mic ready to read their line and fall back into place as the others are read)

Powers of the North

We thank you for your wisdom and presence at this rite

Go if you must, Stay if you will,

Hail and Farewell !!

Powers of the West

We thank you for your love and presence at this rite

Go if you must, Stay if you will,

Hail and Farewell !!

Powers of the South

We thank you for your passion and presence at this rite

Go if you must, Stay if you will,

Hail and Farewell !!

Powers of the East

We thank you for your insight and presence at this rite

Go if you must, Stay if you will,

Hail and Farewell !!

Moonday:

We want to thank the many cast of characters and elementals for their energies and efforts in helping put together and performing this rite, we must also thank our firetender, drummers, and soundman.

Moonday and Shaper:

This rite is done, Merry Meet and Merry Part and Merry Meet Again!

Iasis:

(chant and drumming)

The circle is open, but unbroken, may the love the of the goddess be ever in your heart, Merry Meet and Merry Part, and Merry Meet Again. (3 times total)