Hi all,
Happy Ostara! I wanted to share with you some things that have been part of my family for generations. They happen around this time of year. Ever since I could remembers, we had certain activities that happened on or close to Ostara, Spring Equinox.
At dawn of the Equinox, our German greatgrandmother used to have the family open all the windows till sunset. My grandmother still does this, as does my mom and I. Did you open your windows? Why do we do it? When I asked, the response from my grandmother was so that we can air out the stuffy winter air and all the dark feelings from winter and freshen up the home with new Spring air.
This is followed by several days of thorough spring cleaning. And that spring cleaning must be done in a very specific way! We start at the front door. Everything gets lifted and moved and scrubbed clean into every nook and cranny "so the winter imps can't hide". We work counter clockwise around the home. Garbage goes out the back door. Never out the front. And never have trash coming in through the front door. At the end of the thorough cleaning, the windows are to be taken out of the frames and also cleaned "so you can see the Spring Maiden in all her glory blooming and that joy can come into your home easily."
This was followed by incense to purify the home. My family was Christian and the priest used to come to the home when my Grandmother was young. Today, we do this ourselves. You can use sage or cedar or lavender or rose, or even a frankincense and myrrh blend. I use an herbal resin blend for Ostara that is made at Le Melange Magique.
After purifying the home, it was crutial to purify yourself as well. Each person in the home took a cleansing bath with salt in the water. I use Women's Spiritual Cleansing Bath Salt from Le Melange Magique. There is a Men's Spiritual Cleansing Bath Salt, too. Both have to be requested from the store's Apothecary. Cleansing the spirit also involves the non-physical. Taking some time to meditate and pray, to cleanse the mind and soul of negativity accumulated over the winter.
So the home has been purified and the body and spirit cleansed. What's next? BLESSING!
By tradition, that means bring positve things into the home. Something new and fresh. Something green and alive. We would sprinkly water that has some sweet blessing oil and floating flowers around the home. Sprinkling into each corner clockwise about the home. Then I brought in fresh flowers and new potted plants. Flowers and greenery bless my home in every room!
We also started to rearrange our home for new things to come this year. What do you want to come into your home? Is your home set up to welcome that energy? Are you starting a school project? Do you need to design a study area for that? What about a new business? Time to renovate the home office. We are doing more coven work in my livingroom and the home library needs changing, so we are renovating the Livingroom. Are you expecting new life? A baby? We are making room for that energy in our home as well, so that mean shifting the second office to the basement and designing a baby room! What seeds of hope are you planting? Don't just talk about it. DO IT! Plant those seeds, grow that garden!
We concluded by making the foyer/stairway welcoming by placing a corner shelf and decorating it for the season. Flowers, scented candles, items for each element, an offering bowl filled with chocolate eggs for each passersby to take as they come or go from our home.
Bright blessings!
To recap:
Purify your home by spring cleaning and burning pruification incense.
Purify your body with cleansing bath salts.
Purify the soul with meditation and prayer.
Bless the home with scented water.
Bring in positive energy by bring something new into your home.
Create the space you need to bring in what you hope for.
Plant a garden, start the seeds inside your home.
Make your space feel welcoming for guest, but also welcoming to you.
It is your home, you should feel like you want to be there.
Lastly, you might want to place protections about your home to reduce the negativity from returning. We will use Protection Oil and trace sigils with it on the door and window frames around our home.
Have a very Happy Spring. Share the joy!
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2 comments:
That entry was very useful to me. Thank you!
Very helpful post indeed! Got some few ideas in here that I might try at home. And, you got to love those bath salts, you have to clean the last thing that's dirty ;)
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