As the weather begins to warm, plants awaken from dormancy and the first blossoms open—snowdrops, witch hazel, snow crocus, and so forth. These give way to tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths in mid-spring. Later come lilacs and most of the fruit trees, although apricots are very precocious bloomers. These spring flowers appear as vivid spots of color in a landscape that is still largely drab and brown, with few green leaves to hide them. The blossoms represent the return of life and growth, so they are closely associated with Ostara and other spring holidays.
Many Ostara traditions revolve around flowers, and they play a significant role in most Ostara rituals. This holiday celebrates the awakening of the land after winter. Flowers are associated with feminine energy in general, few of them having masculine tone, and with vernal goddesses such as Kore and Eostre. Look closer and you’ll see that spring flowers often correlate to Water, the element of intuition and cycles. Let’s explore some of the favorites.
Ostara Flowers
The flowers most closely associated with Ostara tend to be ones that bloom in spring. Because “spring” arrives at different times based on your location, and some plants have a very wide blooming season, this set spans flowers that open from early to late spring. Tulips and apples, for instance, have a period over a month! A typical bloom order for fruit trees, based on the earliest variety of each, is: apricot, sweet cherry, peach, European plum, tart cherry, pear, apple. Ideally, for your Ostara ritual, you should use whatever is blooming in your area at that time. Choose colors or correspondences to match your ceremonial theme.
Apple blossoms—White to pink. Used for healing. They correspond to the element of Water. Sacred to the Goddess; used by the Bandraoi or woman-druids.
Carnation—White to red. Carnations are also exceptional for dyeing. Cut white carnations on long stems, put them in water with some food coloring, and the tint will show up in the petal veins; so they can be any color. They convey strength, protection, and healing. These are masculine, Fire flowers.
Cherry blossoms—White to pink. Use for love or divination. They correspond to the element of Water. They symbolize feminine energy and the beauty of ephemeral things.
Clover—White to dark pink, also yellow. Correspondences include good luck, love, protection, and success. Clover relates to the element of Air and masculine energy.
Crocus—White to purple, also yellow. Saffron from crocus is an ideal spice for Ostara.
Daffodils—White to yellow. Daffodils apply to fertility and good luck. The narcissus type is associated with self-love. They have masculine energy and a Water correspondence.
Dogwood—White to deep pink. A symbol of sacrifice, also associated with dogs. Good for wish magic.
Eastern redbud—Pink. The small tree bears masses of tiny flowers and heart-shaped leaves. The flowers represent the blood of betrayal, and the leaves a forgiving heart. Excellent for working through shame or guilt.
Forsythia—Yellow. The shrub bears long thin branches festooned with yellow flowers, which may be cut to make wreaths. It symbolizes anticipation.
Hyacinth—Many colors. A symbol of homosexual love in Greek tradition, also associated with happiness.
Iris—All colors. Good for purification and wisdom. Corresponds to Water and feminine energy. Sacred to Iris, the Greek goddess of rainbows.
Lilacs—White to purple, also pale yellow. Useful for protection. Corresponds to Water and feminine energy.
Lily of the Valley—White. Sacred to the Goddess, and a symbol of motherhood.
Pansies—All colors. They represent thoughtfulness and love. Feminine energy.
Peonies—White to deep pink. They stand for prosperity, honor, romance, good fortune, and beauty.
Pussy willow—Silver to pale yellow. Small fuzzy buds open into fluffy flowers. The stems are usually cut at the bud stage and put in a vase for display. They represent feline magic as well as spring, and willows connect to Water.
Tulips—Many colors. They manifest prosperity. They relate to the element of Earth and feminine energy.
Violas—Many colors; the famous Johnny jump-ups are purple-and-yellow. Ironically they correspond both to sex and love (flowers), and to modesty (leaves)! They relate to feminine energy and the Triple Goddess.
Violets—White to purple, also yellow. They bring good luck, healing, love, peace, protection, and wishes. They represent Water and feminine energy.
Witch hazel—Yellow or red. Threadlike flowers appear on bare branches in earliest spring. Associated with witches, with a strong magical connotation.
Making Flower Baskets
Flower baskets appear both in Ostara and Beltane celebrations. The Ostara baskets are customarily lined with grass or tissue, then filled with eggs or candy. Baskets, like other hollow objects, represent feminine power. This is especially true if they are filled with eggs or flowers, which are fertility symbols. You often see Goddess icons holding a basket of flowers for this reason. Several different types of flower baskets may be used, although some are easier to make than others.
One of the simple versions is to take any craft basket and decorate the outside with fresh, dried, or silk flowers. First remove the flower heads. Then put glue on the outside of the basket. A hot glue gun is ideal for this project because its glue sets quickly, but you do have to be careful of the hot tip. Craft glue also works. Press the flowers into the glue, working your way around the basket. After all the glue dries, the basket may be filled. Fresh flowers will only last about a day, but dried or silk ones may be reused year after year.
To make a basket for displaying fresh cut flowers, first line a sturdy basket with plastic so it can’t leak. Trim a piece of florist’s foam to fit inside the basket. Soak the foam in water. Put it into the basket. Trim your flower stems to the desired length. Carefully push them into the foam to make your arrangement. Pack the flowers as densely as you can so the foam doesn’t show through. If necessary, you can fill a few gaps with fern leaves or florist’s moss. This should keep about as long as flowers in a vase.
More ambitious is weaving your own basket, although it’s still pretty easy if you are at all good with crafts. This option allows you to use either flowers with long tough stems (such as carnations or daisies) or any of the twig flowers (apple, dogwood, forsythia, pussy willow, witch hazel, etc.). Cut three long twigs and cross them to make a star shape. Tie them together in the center. Tie another twig across them and carefully begin weaving it over and under the others to make a woven circle. When your current twig gets short, add a new one alongside it and keep weaving. Once the base is as big as you want, bend the six main twig ends upward to begin making the sides of the basket. When it’s as tall as you want, bend down four of the main twig ends and weave them around the rim, so that there are two opposite ends of the same twig left. Bend those toward each other and twist them together to make the handles. You can tie the loose end of each to the opposite base if necessary, or push it between the other twigs, to secure it. If there are fresh flowers on the twigs, they’ll last about a day, but the twigs should dry and keep indefinitely.
Making Candied Flowers
Candied flowers are an Ostara tradition that goes back to the days when greenhouses didn’t exist. With very few plants in bloom, flowers were often made of sugar frosting or tinted white chocolate in lieu of adding a candy coating to candy real flower petals. Today, there are many edible flowers spanning the rainbow, which include apple blossoms (white to pink), calendula (yellow to orange), carnations (white to red), chives (pink to lavender), clover (white to dark pink), garden peas (white to pastels), lilacs (white to purple), roses (many colors), peonies (white to red), scarlet runner beans (red), tulips (many colors), violas and pansies (any color), and violets (white to purple, or yellow). You can use the different shades for color magic, elemental correspondences, or other magical purposes.
Flowers or their petals may be candied in multiple ways. The old-fashioned method is to brush them with egg white and then sprinkle with sugar; no heat is required but you have to deal with the raw egg whites. It’s also possible to make a sugar syrup, which avoids the egg whites, but then you’ve got the hot sugar to handle.
First pick clean, perfect flowers. Rinse them and let them air-dry. Mix together 1½ cups water and 1 cup white sugar. If you’re using unflavored sugar for the sprinkling later, add ¼ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of flavoring to the syrup (vanilla, mint extract, rosewater, etc.) at the cooking stage. Heat the sugar and water until all the sugar dissolves. Dip each flower into the liquid sugar, then set it on wax paper. Sprinkle with fine sugar until fully coated, and allow to dry. This is where you can use a flavored sugar such as cinnamon sugar or vanilla sugar for the coating.
Flower Divination
The art of divination with blossoms is called floromancy, a popular form of magic in spring celebrations such as Ostara. The type of flower found sends a message about what is relevant to you now or what may happen in the future. When working in a group, it helps to have a list of correspondences so that people can look up the meaning of their flower(s). There are various methods for practicing floromancy.
One method is walking, and it relies on potent timing as well as chance encounters. Either you count the first flower you see in spring, or you go out on Ostara morning and look for the first flower. If you’re heading home and see a new flower you didn’t spot on the way out, then that one counts as a second omen, which may enhance or ameliorate the first.
A very pretty method that requires some preparation involves flowers and water. Fill a large basin or a wading pool with water. Choose some flowers that float well; flat or cup-shaped ones work best, although you can float other shapes on cork if necessary. For any method that involves selecting a set of divinatory flowers, make sure to include a variety of positive and negative ones along with diverse messages. Carefully cut the stems off the blossoms. Float the flower heads on the water at one edge of the bowl. A light breeze will set them drifting. If you are indoors, you may need to use a fan to move them. The flower that reaches the far edge first is the answer; if two arrive together, their meanings are related. You can ask a question this way, or just look for general omens.
Flowers may also be drawn like any other divinatory item. You’ll need to cut the stems off and put the blossoms into a large bag, basket, or other container. You may wish to enclose each flower head in a little box, twist of paper or cloth, etc., so they’ll all feel the same. Then have people draw out a flower one at a time.
Here are some flowers and their divinatory meanings:
Apricot blossom—long life, durability, the body
Carnation—strength, protection, masculine energy, the God
Cherry blossom—mortality, loss, fleeting joys, “no”
Clover—happy marriage, prosperity
Daffodil—sincerity, masculine energy, the God
Daisy—happiness, the Sun
Heather—good luck, magic, “yes”
Lily—strength, innocence, memory, feminine energy, the Moon
Pansy—thoughts, intellect
Pear blossom—good fortune, “yes”
Plum blossom—sickness, take extra care with health, “no”
Primrose—new love blossoming, courage in adversity
Rose—love, healing, feminine energy, the Goddess
Snowdrop—purity, new beginnings
Violet—kindness, faith, advancement
Making flower baskets, candying flower petals, and floromancy are just a few of the activities you can do with spring blossoms. You’ll see these later, incorporated into the Ostara ritual at the end of this chapter. You can also mix and match them to design your own celebrations, or use the information about the flowers to think up whole new projects. Use your imagination!