CST Ostara Ritual








Come on come all to Church of the Spiral Tree's annual Ostara Celebration.


Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010
Time: 5:00pm - 10:00pm EST
Ostara egg hunt will start at 2 pm.
Potluck will be at 5 pm.
Ritual will be at 7 pm.
Location: Cathy & David's Home
Ritual Leader:
City/Town: Manchester, GA

in case of rain please check Tree Talk or call Cathy to confirm if ritual will still be held that day. If you have questions or need directions, call Cathy at 706-570-1017, or email Cathy at president@spiraltree.org.



To make sure that adequate numbers of people will be present at the ritual to make it fun for everyone, our policy is that we must have 5 RSVPs by the Wednesday night before the ritual (72 hours before), AND someone must volunteer to write and run the ritual, or the ritual will be cancelled. To make it easy for you to RSVP and to see if the ritual will take place or not, we have an RSVP page at http://pub6.bravenet.com/guestbook/474176209/ for you to leave your RSVP and check to see who else is going. You can also let everyone know who is coming with you and what you are bringing for the potluck.

Children:
Children are welcome to participate in the main ritual. However, participants, including children, are expected to be attentive and respectful during the ritual. It is very distracting as well as disrespectful to the god/goddess, to the ritual leader, and to those who are participating in a spiritual state of mind to have people leaving the circle.

Activities such as singing, puppet shows, and crafts relating to paganism will be presented and supervised by volunteer adults who have a great deal of experience working with children. If there is an emergency, one of the adults will get the parent(s) from the main ritual. Children will not be allowed to leave the supervised activities until the ritual is over for their safety and for the sanity of all the main ritual participants.

Parents please remember that our children are a representation of ourselves also please advise them to act accordingly. Please do your part in making the ritual time and the potluck a spiritually uplifting positive experience for everyone.



Brigid healing rituals will be held after the main ritual if there are enough people interested.



For these rituals to be a success, we ask that someone volunteer to write and run each ritual. There are a few reasons for this:
1) This is a chance for people to experience rituals of another tradition;
2) It promotes understanding within the Pagan community;
3) If you are a beginner, this is a great chance to try your hand at rituals with a small crowd in a safe, friendly environment;
4)if no one volunteers, then one of the staff members has to do it along with their other duties. So please, if you like our rituals enough to show up for them, then please consider helping out by doing a ritual!
5)These rituals are sponsored by CST for the enjoyment and betterment of the Pagan community.



Potluck Dinner:

A potluck dinner will follow immediately after the ritual at the same location. PLEASE SEE GUIDELINES BELOW!

Guidelines for Potluck
1. If you can't bring something to contribute, please wait till everyone else has gotten a plate before getting food.

2. BRING A DISH (general rule is to bring enough to feed 8 people) for the pot-luck, plus whatever you want to drink. You may heat your food when you get there; we have a kitchen with microwave and stove, and you may also bring crock-pots. PLEASE BRING REAL FOOD, not just bread, cookies, raw veggies, or sweets! 3. Please remember to take your dish home with you once the evening is completed.


If you last name starts with:
4. If you or your family have special dietary need please make sure to brings something that you know your family will be able to eat.
A thru F: Bring a vegetable dish
G thru L:Bring a meat dish or casserole
M thru R:Bring a dessert
S thru Z:Bring an appetizer type dish (veggie tray, fruit tray, salad, finger foods, etc.)
If you would like to bring two types of dishes, please feel free to do so! I have never known anyone to turn down food!



General Info: We will have a ritual, by one of our community volunteers. You don't need to know anything to participate, just please don't go into ritual under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Children are welcome! There will be a pot-luck immediately following the ritual. BRING A DISH (see guidelines above) for the pot-luck.




You do not need to be a member of CST to participate! All in the community are welcome to our rituals, including beginners, solitaries, and children, whether pagan or pagan-friendly. OUR RULES: Please show respect; keep your language clean (we have children here!); no chatting or talking during ritual; please come to ritual sober - anyone under the influence will not be admitted; ritual robes or street wear is fine, but note that WE DO NOT WORK SKYCLAD!

Please invite your like-minded friends - all are invited!



Membership in Church of the Spiral Tree is not required to participate in our rituals; however, if you like us enough to come to several rituals and gatherings, we encourage you to join as a PAID MEMBER of CST. Your membership fee helps pay for the ritual supplies, supplies for the gatherings, postage for mailings, and helps support the web page. You also get that warm fuzzy feeling that comes from knowing you're supporting a worthwhile group that you yourself like, appreciate, and patronize! Also, there is never a charge for our rituals; however, Church of the Spiral Tree welcomes and greatly appreciates tax deductible donations of $1, $5 or even $10 to help with our expenses.




Ostara Lore:



The Goddess Ostara, Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, the East, Resurrection, and Rebirth, is also the Maiden aspect of the Three-fold Goddess.

Ostara was an important Goddess of spring to the ancient Saxons, but we know little else of her other than this. Some have suggested that Ostara is merely an alternate name for Frigg or Freya, but neither of these Goddesses seem to have quite the same fertility function as Ostara does. Frigg, goddess of the home, wouldn't seem to be associated with such an earthy festival and Freya's form of fertility is more based on eroticism than reproduction.

However, Ostara is associated, almost interchangebly, with many different goddesses. She is essentially identical to Freya, for she is the goddess of the fertile spring, the resurrection of life after winter. She was equated with the goddess Idunna, who bore the Apples of Eternal Youth to the Aesir, and many believe that Ostara and Idunna are the same, or represent the same principle. She is almost certainly the same as the Greek Goddess Eos, Goddess of the Dawn. (Again, following the threefold theme -- Eos is the Maiden aspect of the three goddesses Eos /Dawn, Hemera /Day and Nyx/Night.) As Ostara is Goddess of the Dawn, we can understand why sunrise services have always been an important aspect of the spring resurrection/rebirth observances of other cultures.

Pagan Anglo-Saxons made offerings of colored eggs to her at the Vernal Equinox. They placed them at graves especially, probably as a charm of rebirth. (Egyptians and Greeks were also known to place eggs at gravesites). The Goddess of Fertility was also the Goddess of Grain, so offerings of bread and cakes were also made to her. Rabbits are sacred to Ostara, especially white rabbits, and she was said to be able to take the form of a rabbit.

One myth says Ostara found a bird dying from the cold. She changed it to a rabbit so it could keep warm. Maybe this is why the Easter Bunny brings eggs to children on Easter. Traditionally German children are told that it is the Easter hare that lays all the Easter eggs.

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