Massachusetts Pagan Parenting
Newsletter
Volume 1 March 2001 Issue 5
Letter from the editor
Merry meet! I would like to thank everyone who submitted
articles/recipes/crafts for this issue. With out you, this
newsletter could not exist! With the Ostara on the horizon, there is a sense of excitement in the air as Spring approaches. Already little crocus and daffodils are poking their heads up from the frozen ground, letting everyone know that a new season is on its way. So, read this issue and visualize the gentle warm breezes of spring blow gently across your home as Ostara approaches.
From my family to yours, a Blessed Ostara!
Susan Mort
Spring Goddess Charge
Hear then the words of Diana the Moon, the Bright Virgin.
Changing but unchanging, my mystery is unanswerable, but solve ye that mystery.
My nature is unknowable,
but strive to understand me.
Darkness and light are met within me.
I flee from thee, but lure the
I seek for thee, but hide my face
I speak to thee, but my words are silent.
--Unknown
Ostara Thoughts
At Eostar, the Spring Equinox, (March 20, 21, or 22) day and night are equal and balanced. The Mother steps back, and the Daughter comes forth. She is life itself that has been sleeping in the dark of winter. Now the sun wakes her up, as seeds awaken and growth begins in the warmth and rains of spring. If the Winter Solstice is the birthday of the sun, the Spring Equinox is the birthday of the earth. The Goddess is the Maiden who returns, bringing Spring, and she is the magic hare who lays the egg of life. The God is the waxing sun, and the Green Man, power of growth and renewal.
Seed Eggs
By Pat & family
We poke a tiny hole in both ends of an egg & very gently blow out the "stuffings". We then decorate the egg with symbols or write our hopes, etc on them.( A listing of colors and their meanings can be found in "The Sabbats" by Edain McCoy if you wish to use it.) We make one of the holes a little bigger & into it we place herb seeds. Along with the seeds we place our intentions of what we would like to see grow in our lives. We then go outside, cast a circle, dig a hole & place our eggs
into the hole. Hence we have planted the seeds of growth!
Another brief little ceremony we have done in the past is to place a candle in each room & as a family go from room to room
chanting "banish winter, welcome spring" & each family member takes a turn lighting a candle to welcome back the light of spring.
Spring Equinox Herbal Lore
Celandine: Good spirits, joy
Cinquefoil: Ritual bath; eloquence, protection and purification
Dandelion: Divination, wishes, psychic ability
Dogwood: 4 petals symbolize the 4 sacred directions
Iris: Purity, wisdom, faith; baby blessing; symbol of life and
resurrection
Honeysuckle: Rebirth, renewal, spiritual sight; agile or versatile mind
Jasmine: Lunar, for psychic opening; spiritual love; use oil to
anoint candles; ritual cup
Lily: strong associations with fertility goddesses; white: purity, rebirth.
Rose: Represents true love and joy; use yellow roses on the altar for Ostara
Tansy: Women's mysteries, immortality, health, longevity, love.
These herbs can be utilized in ritual by making an incense, or
anointing candles with essential oil. They can be sewn into a charm bag and consecrated (dedicated to a single purpose), and worn or carried when needed. You can place the flowers on your altar.
Ritual Bath
Cinquefoil, Jasmine flowers, Honeysuckle and Rose petals.
Place any or all herbs in cheesecloth and tie well; run under tap. You can also make a strong tea from the herbs, strain and pour into the bath.
Light silver candles anointed with jasmine oil to represent the
Maiden aspect of the Goddess. Imagine yourself reborn anew, as dewy and fresh as Persephone, flowers blooming wherever she steps.
Bathe yourself in the herbs and the springtime energy, clearing away anything that no longer needs to go with you. After your bath, bring your candles with you to the circle, and place them on or around your altar.
Ostara Recipes
Marinated Tofu
By Judy Leblanc
One block of firm tofu
Half cup soy sauce
2 TBL. honey
1 TBL. grated fresh ginger root
half tsp. black pepper
1 TBL. lemon juice
Rinse block of tofu, and wrap in paper towels. Press till much of the moisture is absorbed. Repeat. Cut up into small cubes or strips, whatever you prefer.
In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Place tofu in medium bowl and pour liquid mixture over it. Make sure all tofu tofu is covered with mixture.
Let sit between 15 minutes and a few hours or even overnite, depending on how much time you have.
Fry in olive oil till golden brown on all sides. Use in stir fry, with rice, or in sandwiches. Delicious!
Clover's Chile
By Clover
2 T. oil
onion, chopped
green pepper, chopped
red pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 lb. ground beef
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, or 2 1/2 c.
2 tall cans B&M baked Kidney beans
1 can chick peas, drained
2 t. chile powder
1 t. cumin
tabasco to taste
Heat oil in dutch oven over low heat. Add onions, garlic, peppers. Saute gently about 3 minutes, or until soft and slightly browned.
Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours or place in a slow oven (300 deg. F.) and bake about 2 hours. Enjoy!
Shrimp Mozambique
By Susan Mort
1 pound medium shrimp ( 26-30ct ) peeled and deveined
2 packets of Goya seasoning (con azafran)
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup red wine (Lancers works very well)
6 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 of a squeezed lemon (or 2 teaspoons lemon juice)
1/2 cup water
6 Portuguese pops (bread rolls)
a little salt, a little pepper, a little onion powder and
a little fresh chopped parsley. For hot shrimp add crushed red pepper (or red pepper sauce) or cayenne pepper
To cook:
1) Add water and butter in a pot or large skillet and simmer on low until butter melts.
2) Add Goya, garlic, salt , pepper and onion.
3) Stir and simmer on low for 3-4 minutes.
4) Add shrimp and wine, stir, and turn up the heat!
5) When the sauce just begins to boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer on very low heat for 4-5 minutes. Stir it up occasionally.
6) Add lemon juice and parsley. Stir, cover, and simmer on very low for 4-5 minutes.
7) Spoon shrimp and sauce into bowls.
8) Serve with bread on the side for dipping into the sauce.
BIRDS NEST
You will need:
Chow mein noodles,Chocolate chips or brick chocolate, Jelly beans, Candy coated chocolate eggs, Peeps/marshmallow chicks, Peanut butter, Waxed paper, Paper plates (colored plates optional)
Directions:
Place squares of waxed paper onto to individual plates. Put chow mein noodles in a large bowl. If using brick chocolate, break into pieces. Melt chocolate chips or pieces in the microwave, or over low heat on stove, just until melted. Pour melted chocolate over chow mein noodles, mix together to coat. Place mounds of chocolate/chow mein mixture onto several plates (on top of waxed paper).
(Have children) Form the mixture into "nests."
Be sure the chocolate has cooled, but don't wait too long or it will harden! Using peanut butter as an adhesive, "glue" down the jelly beans and candy coated chocolate eggs inside the nest cavity. "Glue" marshmallow chick on the edge of or inside of the nest.
These make fun gifts from kids to their friends, teachers or family members. You can also make these nests at birthday parties as a fun and edible take home party favor.
OSTARA CRAFTS
Wheel of the Year~ Michelle
2 pieces of heavy paper per child
old magazines or catalogs
glue, crayons, markers, glitter, any materials to decorate wheels
Wing Backed push pins (one per child)
To start introducing young children to the Wheel of the Year.
Adultpremake
Cut out two circles (per child) of the same size ( about the size of a dinner plate) on heavy paper (I use manila paper)
Fold one circle into 8 equal size pie pieces
On the outer edge of each pie piece write each Sabbat name in order of occurrence (I started with Samhain on top).
Second Circle, cut one pie piece shape out of the circle
Childready
Give each child the circle with Sabbats written on it along with old magazines, and/or catalogs. Talk about what each holiday means, and let the children pick pictures out of the magazines/catalogs that they feel represent each Sabbat. Cut out the pictures and glue them underneath each Sabbat.
Second circle allow the children to decorate it however they want. When children are done decorating and glue/paint ( or whatever you used to decorate with) is dry. Push winged back push pin through the center with holiday wheel in the back. Spin the wheel.. your all done now.. Enjoy :)
My Notes
We hung ours on the fridge, the children love to spin the wheels to display the next Sabbat. I have found that these wheels, often spark children to ask many questions. They talk about what there picture representation means and it gives them a chance to talk about the Sabbats. I do these once a year with my children, as they grow it's interesting to see how there interpretation of the Sabbats change each year. With my younger sons, we use this as a game wheel, spin the wheel, and what ever Sabbat it lands on, we read a story or poem about it, or just talk about it. There are tons of uses for this :)Enjoy
Egg Candles
Use the bottom half of egg shells to hold mini tapers or other small candles. To anchor the candles in the shell, drop hot wax into the bottom of shell and press candle into wax. Set these candles in and becasue they can get hot!
Decorated Eggs
Here are some ideas for decorating hollowed out eggs to bring out each year for Ostara�
-Paint the eggs with any kind of paint (tempera, acrylic, watercolor,
spray, or nail polish).
-Coat eggs with glue and roll in glitter.
-Cover egg with decoupage and apply small squares of multi-colored tissue paper. Cover with decoupage and let dry between each layer. With each layer come new color combinations and a stronger, more durable egg.
-Make speckled eggs by dipping toothbrush in paint then running your fingers across bristles to spatter the paint on the eggs.
Ostara Chicks
Supplies: 2 Cotton Balls, Orange and Black Construction Paper
Dry, Yellow tempera Paint, Glue, Empty, Clean Egg Shell.
Put some of the paint in a Ziploc Bag, put in the 2 cotton balls and shake until they are yellow. Feet, eyes, and beaks can be cut from orange and black construction paper and glued on. Then you can glue the chick into half of the egg shell.
A protective egg Charm
Take an egg and, by poking small holes at each end of it, empty it out. Fill the egg with Cinquefoil leaf and Dogwood, then tape the holes shut. You can decorate the egg with Runes or symbols of protection, or you can leave it natural. Your home and property will be protected.
Growing Ostara/Easter Baskets
Supplies:
Empty 1/2 gal. Milk Cartons
Potting Soil
Grass Seed (fast growing if you have it)
Stuff to Decorate Carton
Take empty milk cartons, cut down to 4-5" high. You can cover this with contact paper or construction paper and decorate. Fill 2/3 full with potting soil, the generously cover with grass seed. Have children water daily; grass should grow in about 4-7 days. With remaining carton, cut a handle to staple to the basket. Fill with decorated eggs.
Ostara Craft Web sites
Here are some wonderful sites I found that have child friendly crafts:
http://sabbats.solsticemoon.com/ostara/ostaracrafts.html
http://members.tripod.com/~RavenSilverwing/sabbats/ostcrafts.html
http://users.internorth.com/~wiccan/seasons/ostara.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/sherwood/504/ostlist.html
http://www.cauldrons-broomsticks.net/2000ostaramain.htm
http://members.spree.com/sip/oakdancer/parenting/eggceptional.htm
Ostara Songs
I'm a little Black Seed (to the tune of I'm a little teapot)
I'm a little black seed, plant me in a row
Water me & feed me, watch me grow
From little seed to seedling, flower to fruit
I'm a happy little plant from tip to root.
Nature is a Wheel (sung to Row, Row, Row your boat)
Nature is a Wheel
Life has no end
When the cycle is complete
We begin again.
Hoe, Hoe, Hoe Your Row (sung to Row, Row, Row your boat)
Hoe, hoe, hoe your row
weeding as we go
Till it in, Plant the seed
This is how we grow
The Story of Demeter and Persephone
Demeter was the goddess of corn, grain and the harvest. She is said to be responsible for making the crops grow. Her daughter, Core (by Zeus), grew up on Mt. Olympus and Demeter loved her so much she could hardly bear to have her out of sight. Core was so beautiful that even cold Hades in the underworld noticed her and fell in love. But Hades also know that Demeter would never consent to let Core go off to the underworld and leave her.
One day as Core and her mother with all their attendant nymphs were picking flowers in a meadow, Hades saw Core stray away from the others. He took the oppurtunity to split the ground open and carry her off in his chariot to the underworld. The earth closed again as the chariot travelled back underround.
Demeter
looked frantically for her daughter but could find no trace of her. Core was taken to Hades' gloomy and dark palace and given many jewels of gold, silver and gems. But the jewels brought her no joy. The palace had a large garden too, with willows and populars. But there were no flowers or sunshine and Core's heart turned cold as she stayed in the underworld.
Meanwhile, Demeter was still searching for her beloved daughter. As she grieved, all of nature grieved with her. Trees lost their
leaaves, flowers wilted and fields were barren. Nothing grew while Demeter wept. She wandered all over the earth looking for someone who knew where Core had vanished to. Finallly she went to Helios, the sun god, because he rode in an arc over the earth all day and saw every thing that happened on earth during the day.
It was he that told Demeter that her daughter had been abducted by Hades. "But her name is not Core any longer, Demeter," Helios said. "It is Persephone, for she is no longer a maiden but the bride of Hades." Demeter went to Zeus in a rage but he could do nothing against Hades. "You know how Hades is," Zeus explained. So Demeter vowed to let nothing grow until Persephone was returned to her. A year of famine followed. Animals and people perished. Finally, Zeus had to do
something-the situation was growing desperate. Hermes was sent down to Hades and he persuaded the cold-hearted king to let Persephone go.
The reunion of Demeter and Persephone was joyful indeed and nature rejoiced with them. The flowers bloomed again and the crops grew. But there was a damper on their joy because Persephone had to admit that she had eaten a few kernals of a pomegrante from Hades' palace garden, that the gardener had given her. She had eaten food of the dead which meant Persephone had to return to the land of the dead. However, fearing another famine, Zeus decided she only had to return for a few months, for the few seeds that she had eaten.
Other Ostara ideas
Get out in Nature. Take a walk around your neighborhood or favorite park. See which plants are sprouting, which budding, which blooming, which still are in the grips of winter. Feel the air; smell the scents of Ostara.
Clear a space for a garden, or start flowers, herbs or vegetables indoors. clear weeds, grass and rubbish from the spot where you plan a garden, or you can start seeds indoors. Check with your favorite garden store what flowers and vegetables might best be started now.
Pick up litter at your favorite park or beach. Help the earth
rejuvenate by getting rid of the mess. Even an hour of cleanup can make a big difference.
Ritually color hard-boiled or blown eggs. For your own rituals, you can draw in crayon or white wax on hard-boiled eggs symbols that represent things you want in the coming sun-year, or write on the eggs these things' names, or both. You can then use Easter-egg or natural dyes to color the eggs; your wax symbols and writing will stand out against the dye-color. Next, raise energy in ritual for your goals, charge the eggs with that energy, then peel and eat the eggs, taking in the things you want to manifest. Alternatively, you can mark and dye unboiled eggs, then crack tiny holes in both ends with a pin and blow out the matter inside, keeping the eggshell on your altar.
Perform oomancy (divination by eggs).
To perform the most common form of egg-divination, separate egg whites and yolks. You then drop the white into hot water and divine from the shapes it assumes.
Perform love or other divination with apples. Apples are a Northern European pagan symbol of spring and of love. You may recall from childhood two forms of love-divination by apple, using the seeds and
the stem.
To divine whether someone loves you by apple seeds, choose and eat an apple thinking of your loved one. Next, split the core and count the seeds chanting this rhyme: One I love, two I love, three I love I say, four I love with all my heart, five I cast away; six she loves, seven he loves, eight they both love; nine s/he comes, ten s/he tarries, eleven s/he courts, twelve s/he marries.
To divine the first letter of your spouse-to-be's name, twist an apple's stem while chanting the letters of the alphabet. The letter at which the stem breaks is his or her initial.
Both these love-divination techniques can be adapted to other uses. To adapt the former, alter the rhyme with words suiting your situation. To adapt the latter, you can simply chant yes and no while twisting till the apple stem breaks; you can also chant "yes, no, maybe" or use words more specific to your situation.
Meditate on the imagery of the seed. Consider a seed and how it
relates to the earth, how it falls from its mother plant into a rich loam made from the breakdown of other dead plants. Consider how the seed is influenced by sun and rain, by the energy from sky and earth. Or contemplate as a seed an idea or situation in your life, then imagine the seed breaking open and sending out roots and sprouts. Study what these roots and sprouts look like, where they find barriers and where they grow most strongly.
Perform magick by planting a seed to grow with your spell. A
traditional love-spell runs as follows. (Of course, you shouldn't perform this spell to draw a particular person, but rather to draw the right person toward you.)
Just after the New Moon, plant the seed of some sturdy plant in a pot. Water thoroughly, and charge your spell by raising energy and saying over the plant: As this root grows, and this blossom blows, may my true love be inclined toward me. You can adapt this spell to any purpose naturally achieved over time, such as the success of a business.
Perform magick to give back to the earth. Raise and send energy to return to the Earth, our mother, some of the bounteous energy and fertility She gives to us.
Light around your house pairs of white and black candles, symbolizing dark and light. Each time you pass a pair of candles, you can honor the balance of light and dark we find this time of year, and the balance of light and dark within yourself.
Light a bonfire at dawn on the Equinox to honor the light half of the year. Not only did ancient Northern Europeans burn such fires, but also the Mayans. This is also a good way to clean up your yard of all that dead wood lying around.
Meditate or perform ritual at dawn or sunset. These liminal times are particularly significant now when we balance between dark and light.
Meditate or perform ritual for balance in your life and in the earth's life. Meditate on that ancient Eastern emblem of balance, the Yin-Yang symbol. Consider what is dark and hidden, rightly or wrongly, in your life, and what is daylit. Consider how you best can create balance, honoring both sides of yourself. Likewise, contemplate what you see as dark and light in the world around you.
Meditate upon what this year will bring, dark and light, and how best you can take right action in the world. You can also use these symbols actively, raising energy and asking that balance come to your life.
Do a ritual denoting the passing of the year's dark half. create an effigy of the dark half of the year and imbue it with the things of winter you'd like to leave behind. You can then either burn it in a bonfire or drop it in the nearest watercourse. (In the former case, you'll want to make the effigy's components flammable, in the latter biodegradable.) To return with the spring, bring back to your home greenery cut with respect or water from the stream.
Use the energy of the time of year as you would the first quarter of the moon. You can use the energy of this time of year to fuel any new project or goal.
Meditate on beginnings, on the East, on air, on dawn. This station of the year reflects these traditional associations. In meditation, note how these symbols connect organically and how you relate personally to them.
Sign our Guestbook
View Guestbook
Return to the Top
Back to Main Page