ostara solitary ritual
Seeds in the Earth
A common feature of many sabbat rituals is the planting of seeds. This is a popular activity at spring rituals, especially because it mimics what’s happening outside our bedroom windows. The only real downside to using seeds in ritual is that the seeds selected for use are often hard to cultivate or aren’t all that useful. This rite calls for the ritual planting of three herbs that are all easy to grow from seed and have a variety of magickal uses.
Not every Witch has a green thumb, but most every Witch I know generally likes the idea of gardening. I realize that in this day and age, gardening can be difficult. It requires time, patience, and often money. (Have you ever heard the story of the sixty-four-dollar tomato?) It also generally requires space, but the plants used in this ritual are easy to grow indoors and don’t require that much room. All that’s really necessary is a window that gets at least a few hours of sunlight a day.
If you’ve never grown plants from seed before, it can be a bit more complicated than you think. Instead of using regular old potting soil, you’ll generally want to start your seedlings in a soil mix designed especially for seedlings. The dirt in your backyard or the average bag of topsoil at a gardening store is often way too dense for seedlings to sprout in. Potting soil designed specifically for seedlings will increase your chances of success with this rite.
In this ritual, I’ve chosen to plant basil, mint, and thyme. I’ve selected these three herbs for several reasons. The first is that they grow easily from seed and are rather hardy. Even someone with a black thumb should be able to cultivate these plants. I’ve also chosen them because they have readily identifiable magickal properties and can be used in cooking. All three can be grown year round indoors too!
In addition to seeds and seedling soil, you’ll need some small containers that drain reasonably well to hold your seeds. Once the seeds sprout, you’ll most likely want to move them to a larger container and put them into regular potting soil. If you want to move the basil and thyme outdoors after Beltane, they should do well there. Just don’t move the mint outside, as it’s quite invasive and will take over your garden, your yard, and the yards of all your neighbors!
I’ve also combined the quarter calls and circle casting into one rite. For this you’ll need four items to represent the elements, or you can simply light four candles and place them around the perimeter of your circle. I like flameless items best because there’s less to worry about. When I create sacred space this way, I tend to use leaves for air (they blow in the wind), chili peppers for fire (hot!), a seashell for water, and a small bowl of rice for earth. Anything will work though, as long as the correspondence makes sense to you.
Materials Needed
• Regular altar setup
• Seed packets of basil, mint, and thyme
• Soil for seedlings, with containers
• An extra cup of water (to pour into your containers)
• A candle (if you don’t normally have one on your altar)
• Four items to represent the elements (earth, air, fire, water)
• Lavender incense
• Cakes and ale
The Ritual: Seeds in the Earth
Start by lighting your lavender incense. Lavender is great for purification, so breathe in its smoke. As you smell the lavender and the smoke enters your body, imagine it cleansing you from the inside out. Allow it to work its magick and remove the stresses of the day, along with anything else inside your mind that might be keeping you from focusing on your rites. Let the incense smoke drift around your ritual space, and as you do so, visualize the smoke removing any negative energy there.
When you feel cleansed and focused, announce the start of your ritual.
I celebrate Ostara this night, the Spring Equinox. I honor the equal day and night and the potential to be found this time of year. Lord and Lady, stand with me in my rites as I honor you and the earth. Blessed be!
Casting the Circle/Calling the Quarters
Begin in the east and set your object representing air down upon the ground and welcome in the air.
I create this sacred space with air. May the winds of spring be a part of my rite and my magick. Hail the spirits of the east!
Move around the circle deosil, placing your remaining items at each of the cardinal points and then greeting each elemental power in turn. As you move around the circle, imagine the four elemental energies linking up to create your circle and sacred space.
I create this sacred space with fire. May the increasing warmth of spring be a part of my rite and my magick. Hail the spirits of the south!
I create this sacred space with water. May the power of the spring rains be a part of my rite and my magick. Hail the spirits of the west!
I create this sacred space with earth. May the power of the reawakening spring be a part of my rite and my magick. Hail the spirits of the north!
After calling to the north, return once more to the east and draw an invoking pentagram and declare your circle complete.
With air, fire, water, and earth, I have cast this circle! I am between the worlds. So mote it be!
Calling the Goddess and the God
I call to the Goddess of the Spring, the Maiden who walks the world anew at this turn of the wheel. Bless my rite and my work with your life-giving powers. Help me to manifest my dreams and desires and to grow closer to you and your mysteries. Hail and welcome!
I call to the God of the Wild Hunt, the lord of the wild spaces who roams the night. Be with me as I work my magick and my will. Lend me your power and energy and help me to realize my place on the wheel this Spring Equinox. Hail and welcome!
Planting Your Seeds
Start by looking at the small pots of soil upon your altar. Pick one up and lightly touch the dirt inside of it. As you touch the soil, think of all that the earth gives us. Remind yourself of its life-giving properties and how at this moment, at Ostara, it is slowly waking up, ready to create new life once more. I often think of the earth as a churning force in the early spring, gearing up to release all of its power in the coming weeks and months.
Set the pot of soil down and pick up your basil seeds. Not only is basil great on pizza, but it has all sorts of magickal uses too. One of its primary associations is with love and relationships.41 As you hold your seeds, think of the things you care about and the love you have for those things growing in the coming months. Think about your connection to the earth, and how you feel (or don’t feel) each turn of the wheel. Focus on your love of the earth for a moment, and see yourself in your mind’s eye reacting to the change of the seasons and doing things that help the environment and actively put you outside. Place the basil seeds into the soil, and as you do so, push some of your energy into the soil as well.
I plant this basil for my love of the earth. May it draw me closer to those things I care about and keep those things that would do me harm far away. So mote it be!
Next pick up your mint seeds and imagine yourself healthy and strong over the coming months. Visualize yourself doing all the things you wish to do in this lifetime, and doing them successfully. Mint is useful for healing spells and is a practical remedy for an upset stomach and other ailments. It’s also effective in travel and money spells, so don’t hesitate to picture yourself outside and away from home.
I plant this mint for my love of self. May I be healthy, successful, and able to do all that I desire as long as it harms none. As my mint grows, may my ability to work my will grow along with it. So mote it be! (As you say “So mote it be!” the seeds should be in the earth.)
Finally, pick up the thyme seeds and hold them in your dominant hand. Thyme, like mint, is associated with health and healing but was traditionally burned in Greek temples to cleanse them magickally. It can also allow us to see the fair folk when kept on the body and help develop psychic powers. All of these characteristics are useful when making magick.
Plant your seeds as you say these words:
I plant this thyme for my love of the Craft. May it purify my altar, my tools, and this ritual space so that I might grow closer to the Lord and Lady. As my thyme grows, I vow that my abilities as a Witch will grow along with it. So mote it be!
Take your athame and stick the point of it into each of the three pots of soils. As you do so, push some of your own energy into the earth and the seeds you’ve planted. If you don’t have an athame, you can use a wand or even your finger. As your plants grow, the energy you’ve placed in them and the soil will grow too, and anytime you use them magickally (or even just when cooking dinner), you’ll tap into that energy.
Nothing occurs in a vacuum, and that’s even more true when it comes to the creation of new life. To grow a plant, you need seed, soil, warmth, sunlight, water, and a safe environment. In this section of the rite, your seed and soil will be blessed by each of the elements (air/incense, water/water, light/fire, and earth/the warmth of your hand). Take each of your small planters and run them through your incense, hold them up to the candlelight, pour a bit of water into them, and then pick them up one last time, infusing them with the warmth of your hand. When you’re done, recite this blessing upon them:
Seeds and magick grow,
My true will shall flow.
This Ostara night,
I chant by candlelight.
Seed and soil, light and rain,
So may it be ardane! 42
At the conclusion of your ritual, place your potted plants in a sunny spot, and occasionally infuse them with energy if you feel the need. Because you grew, planted, and infused them with your energy, they should work even more powerfully for you when using them in magickal work.
Cakes and Ale
Take your chalice and raise it up toward the Goddess, thanking her for the drink you are about to consume.
Gracious Goddess, it is your abundance that is poured out upon the earth. At Ostara, I feel your rising power and thank you for your gifts. Blessed be!
Take a deep drink from the cup and set it upon your altar. Pick up a cake (or whatever it is that you’re eating) and hold it aloft for the God.
Giving God, it is your sacrifice that turns the wheel and sustains us in winter. Reborn, we thank you for your emerging gifts once again. Blessed be!
Be sure to put some of your food and drink in your libation bowl to give to the Goddess and God at the conclusion of your ritual. As you eat and drink, reflect for a moment on the balance of Ostara and the magick that’s created when two things come together. Seed and soil, Goddess and God, night and day, spring and fall, cakes and ale … there are always at least two sides of everything worth exploring.
Thanks to the Goddess and God
Lord and Lady, you have blessed my rites and touched me with your magick. I thank you for joining me upon this Ostara night. May I feel your presence in the longer, warmer days ahead. Watch over my seedlings, and as they grow, may I be reminded of your blessings. Blessed be!
Releasing the Circle/Thanking the Elements
Starting in the east and walking widdershins, pick up each of the four items you originally placed on the ground. As you pick up each one, visualize that section of the circle drifting out and away. If you like, you can thank each element as you pick up their symbol, but no words are truly necessary. Walk the entire perimeter of the circle, returning to the east. Once there, announce the release of your circle and the end of your rite.
With air, fire, water, and earth, I cast this circle, and now I release that energy out from whence it came. In this space I have celebrated the Spring Equinox and joined with my Lord and Lady. Spring lies ahead and winter behind. May the gods ever preserve the Craft!
FIN