Ostara High Day Recap/Reflection

I was back at Cedarlight Grove for this one, and it was another cold one. Not as frigid as Yule, thankfully, but I wished I'd gone ahead and put on another layer under my jeans and sweatshirt. I really need to get sturdier wet/cold weather shoes, a warm rain-proof coat, and a long winter cloak.

Deities of the Occasion were Grainne, Sadv, and Aengus. Brigit and the Dadga were also called, I'm not sure in what respect. One, or perhaps both, served as the Gatekeeper. I need to follow up on that... as I said, it was cold. I spent a lot of time hunched up in my hoodie trying not to focus on how chilled I was.

Many different Cedarlight folks took parts in the ritual, including some of the children, which I enjoyed. It's always nice to see a group where a lot of different people are involved in projects instead of the same old faces all the time.

We did a bit of group dancing and singing. It was a little tentative, both because many of us didn't know the songs until an hour before ritual, and because they'd done some work to replace/upgrade some of the stones within the sanctuary, so we were all careful not to trip over a stone or slip in the mud. Rain had been forecast and had fallen earlier in the afternoon, but it (thankfully) cleared off prior to ritual.

My offerings (well, our... my husband shared the offerings) were sunflower seeds to Grainne, the winter sun. Sadv got edamame (soybeans) as a treat for the deer (I did a little research to see what deer like to eat), and Aengus got an offering of romantic love -- a kiss between myself and my husband. Everyone thought that was cute, judging by the loud "Awwwwww!" we got for that one.

We had yet another police helicopter incursion. I've now joined the Grove, so we'll see whether this happens during every rite or not. So far I'm 3 for 3 on noisy flyovers. While the Grove is in Baltimore, the neighborhood is really not that bad, so I don't get the air traffic.

I'm not sure what the message is from the omen just yet. We're discussing that on Sunday at the weekly Rites of Caffeina, which I plan to attend unless I'm just too miserable from having a couple teeth pulled tomorrow. Our Seer used a method of dropping raw egg into a boiling cauldron (which was boiled during the ritual over the fire) and interpreting the pictures. I've also heard of people doing this with hot candle wax into cold water.

Egg was appropriate given the Ostara season, though I'm sure neither person working the omen expected the egg to splatter everywhere when it was squeezed. It probably would have been better to crack the egg into a hand, then drip the egg through the fingers, but whatever. I wasn't the one that got splattered. :)

The Grove has had some nice improvements since Yule. There are a couple new stone walkways joining the concrete pavilion with the sanctuary area and another altar area further back. There's also been work on a drainage ditch at the rear of the property, and the gardens have been weeded and such. I can't wait to get my hands into the gardens. I need to start working on my garden at home, before the weeds get even more established. But I digress.

There's a clootie tree on the property now, and I tied a clootie after ritual and offered up some of the Earl Gray tea I was drinking. Brigit is my Patroness, and I figured that asking for boons in Ireland worked so well, I'd try it this time. We'll see how that works out.

All in all, I thought it was a fun ritual. We don't often do enough singing and dancing in Pagan rites. The feast was yummy, though all the Dublin Coddle disappeared too quickly for me to get seconds. I'll be happy when it's warm enough to eat outside, as there really aren't enough seats indoors for a large crowd, and while I don't mind eating on the floor, it does get to my back after a bit.

I'll also admit that now that I've done a few rituals outdoors, I can say that I feel a much keener bond to nature. You really feel close to the winter when you're standing out in it for a couple hours huddled around a fire. Likewise, you appreciate the chill rains of March and how that contrasts with other seasons when you're squishing around in the mud.