Ostara Altar and Thoughts

Yesterday was Ostara, the Spring Equinox.

I love decorating my altar for each of the Sabbats (holy days) and esbats (Full Moons), but I don’t really do much ritual and I very rarely follow the mythical cycle of the Wheel of the Year. Mostly because the god plays no role what-so-ever in my faith. *shrugs* Eh, it works for me.

Here’s the altar itself:

Lots of fun, spring themes and colors going on.

Purple altar cloth.
Sekhmet statue of course. The gold one, which is used in the “light” portion of the year. Since Yule (the winter solstice), the light has been steadily growing and thus the golden statue is placed on my altar for that. Garnets around Her feet. A large tumbled garnet beside Her, a carnelian heart, and an authentic (recently purchased) African lion claw – all of these are offerings that stand at her Statue throughout the year.
Fake bird eggs on the left in a crystal bowl given to me by my paternal grandmother.
Eostre (another spelling of Ostara) candle…that glitter and dried flower bombed me a few days back when I opened up the package. *grumbles* Yeah, I was NOT a happy camper.
Zuni carved rabbit (gifted to me years ago by a good friend, Mary).
A vase with a daffodil in it. No other flower embodies JOY and Spring as the daffodil does for me.
Egg candle and Eostre oil purchased from the same witchy shop that the Eostre candle came from. Not sure what I’m going to do with the scented oil just yet.
Plate with Pysanky eggs. The black egg is from my paternal great grandmother and came directly from Ukraine. The red, green, and blue ones, my Mom purchased for me for Christmas one year. Just love them.
And another rabbit in the background to round out the hares and eggs theme of the Sabbat.

Close up shot of the daffodil:

Seriously, I just love these flowers. I will certainly plant some in the fall so I can enjoy them next spring!

And look who was supervising the whole thing:

Lil Beast herself....the ever beautiful and regal (and sometimes goofy as shit), Ms. Leviathan.

So yeah, that’s my Ostara ritual/altar in a nutshell. No deities were invoked nor called upon. No circle cast. No spells made. Just me, taking the time out of my day to pause and reaffirm that I’m connected to Nature – not to be confused with “Earth Mother” or “Mother Nature” or any other deity thing. Just Nature as it exists.

I really should sit down and write out my beliefs and what the sabbats mean to me. More and more, I’m leaving religion and deities behind and embracing the energy and the quiet spirituality of just being connected to something more than myself.