Ostara: a simple home ritual with balance, coloured eggs and seeds

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The idea behind the ritual

At the March equinox, day and night are almost equal (see Ostara: history and symbolism). This ritual plays on three images: balance (two bowls), renewal (seeds) and colour (eggs). The origin of Easter eggs is Christian and linked to Lent; their use here is simply a pretty seasonal decoration.

What you need

• A few hard-boiled eggs (cooked for ten minutes in boiling water).
• Colourings: shop-bought food colouring, or natural ones: yellow onion skins (brown-orange tint), red cabbage (purple to blue), turmeric (yellow). A tablespoon of white vinegar helps fix the colour.
• Two bowls (one light, one dark) and two small objects of the same weight, such as two pebbles.
• Seeds (basil, edible flowers, lentils), a pot, potting compost.
• A few seasonal flowers in a vase (avoid daffodils if animals are around).

Step by step

1. Open the windows and air the room for five minutes: renewal begins with fresh air.
2. The gesture of balance. Place the two bowls side by side. In one, put a pebble for what takes up too much room in your week; in the other, a pebble for what you would like to encourage. Look at them and move one if you wish. Say in a single sentence what you would like to rebalance.
3. Prepare the colour baths. Heat water with the onion skins or the turmeric, or dilute the colouring, and add the vinegar. Let it cool a little: hot water burns.
4. Dip the eggs for fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the intensity you want. Take them out and dry them.
5. Sow. Fill a pot with compost, place the seeds and water them. Think of one habit you want to “sow”.
6. Arrange the flowers and the eggs on the table.
7. Name three things that come back with spring (the light, the birds, going outdoors) or three things you are happy about.
8. Share a meal with the eggs, a salad of young shoots and a lemon cake.

Variations

• With children. Decorate the eggs with a wax crayon before the colour bath: the drawing stays white. Watch the hot water.
• To avoid waste. Paint wooden, cardboard or papier-mâché eggs.
• With animals. Keep the coloured eggs out of reach of your dog or cat; daffodils and narcissi are toxic: choose primroses or daisies.
• In the southern hemisphere. Do the same ritual at the September equinox.

Safety

Cooked eggs must not stay for more than two hours out of the fridge if you plan to eat them; if you use them only as decoration, do not eat them. Check for allergies (eggs, colourings). When cooking, use oven gloves and keep children away from boiling water. Food colourings stain: protect the table.

If you light a candle to open or close the ritual:

• Never leave a lit candle unattended, and blow it out before leaving the room or going to bed.
• Place it on a stable, non-flammable surface, at least 30 cm from anything that can burn (curtains, paper, branches, fabric), with nothing above the flame.
• Keep it out of reach of children and animals, who may knock it over.
• Extinguish it with a snuffer or by blowing gently; never use water on burning wax.
• If in doubt, replace the flame with a battery candle: the ritual keeps its full meaning.

Common mistakes

• Using non-food colourings (paints, inks) on eggs meant to be eaten.
• Putting cracked eggs in the bath: they fill with dye and leak.
• Leaving decorative eggs at room temperature for several days, then eating them.

To go further

Note the sowing date in a seasonal journal and place the pot in a seasonal corner. Some people add a rose quartz or a green aventurine as a colour marker. The Beltane ritual naturally continues this one.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The Wheel of the Year.