Thank you everyone who came to Asphodel's Ostara ritual. It went off beautifully. It was the first Asphodel ritual run by Elizabeth ignited_spark and she did great. (Especially considering she was mildly concussed from a pre-ritual fall - what a trooper! Yeah Elizabeth!)

Ostara is traditionally a rough time of year for people's health, and both Galina and Ruth were unable to attend due to illness. (Galina's own, Ruth's daughter's.) Christine was Ruth's understudy, and Alex was Galina's, and they both did very well. We had a brand new baby lamb who attended the ritual and participated in all the right places. ("Hail Demeter!" "baaah!" "Hail Persephone!" "baah!")

We started with the egg ritual we do every year. Why eggs? At this time of year our chickens are very excited about the longer days and warmer weather, so instead of their winter production levels of a few eggs a day, they are laying more than a dozen. We jump fairly suddenly from having to save up eggs to make a custard, to making omelettes every day and worrying about what we will do with all the extras.

So before the Ostara ritual each year, we take colored blown eggs and write wishes on them for this next segment of the year. They are hung on a tree by the road as messages to the gods. Then, continuing a new tradition started by Ruth and Cassandra, there is a short egg hunt for plastic eggs with messages and candy in them. This gives the gods the chance to send us a message in return.

We went down to the field for the main part of the ritual, where after the invocations were read, people took baskets of bread and eggs and milk to the corners of the field and buried them as offerings to the land. We planted seeds in little cups (to take home) or flats (to leave at the farm) asking that our hopes for the spring grow with these little seedlings.

The choir - despite illness - did one of the best renditions of the Ostara chant ever. (That is the "Breath warms thee"/"We are rising upwards towards the sun" chant.) We rock. Gold stars for all of us.

Potluck was glorious as always. There was much fruit and bread, and a really tasty kamut dish from Nahi. Wil brought mead. Someone brought piles of candy. Alex receives the Thematic Potluck Award for "dirt cake" - with smashed cookies and whipped cream and gummy worms - for being both a childhood favorite and wonderfully seasonal. Lyle melted chocolate which guests liberally applied to nearly every other potluck item. Ken took pictures of many people's eyes. Raven debuted his bardic divination, where people pick a tarot card and he sings them a song off a list. BC Dave sent his regards post-ritual. He wanted to attend with a friend of his, but was unable.


After ritual Elizabeth ran the first Hestia guild planning meeting. This is a group that meets to explore the "domestic arts" - baking, soapmaking, basketweaving, etc. Our first real meeting will be on Sunday April 20th at 2pm. I'll lead folks in making bread (probably a standard yeasted whole wheat bread by the Tasahara method, and perhaps a sweet Finnish coffee bread). While the bread is rising/baking, we'll make some soup and watch "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" or some other food-related movie. Interested people should RVSP to Elizabeth. Wear clothes you don't mind getting flour all over, and bring something to put in the soup. (There is no charge for the meeting.)

After that, I held my "Remedial Astronomy for Pagans" class, which went very well.

Thank you again, everyone who attended, and I look forward to seeing you all at Beltane or sooner!

-- Joshua