Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The not-so-humble egg is inarguably the spring festivals, Ostara included..." (more)
Key Phrases: rebirthing ritual, making magick, waxing sun, More Symbols, Green Man, The Goddess of the Awakening Earth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The vernal equinox has long been regarded as the most earthy of the solar festivals, and McCoy's guide to the pagan celebration of Ostara/Eostre ably instructs readers in the holiday's historical association with fertility and sexuality, as well as its symbolic nature as a harbinger of spring. McCoy includes some useful history, as well as rituals, recipes and spells for the March 22 festival. The writing can be gimmicky ("Eggs-actly Ostara" is a bit much for an opening chapter title), but this is an engaging and helpful guide to Pagan ritual.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Celebrate the Awakening Earth at the Spring Equinox

Embrace Ostara as a point of balance in your life, a moment in time where both dark and light and night and day are in harmony before the light is victorious and carries us on to the bounty of summer pleasures. Ostara is packed with rituals, spells, recipes, crafts, and customs to celebrate the awakening earth.

This delightful guidebook will help you deepen your understanding of the spiritual aspects of this ancient spring holiday, and discover new ideas for expressing that spirituality.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738700827
• ISBN-13: 978-0738700823
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #496,978 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The latest installment in the Llewellyn Sabat Series, January 18, 2002

By	Boudica (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Llewellyn has been compiling a collection of books on the Sabats written by well respected authors within our community.

Their latest offering is Ostara - Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring by well known an respected Edain McCoy. Ms. McCoy is well a well known elder within the community and has authored fifteen books on various subjects dealing with witchcraft and Wicca.

The most interesting parts of this book deals with the origins of many of the myths and lore associated with the Spring Equinox. There are simple spells for this season, symbolism's and associations, rituals and recipes and correlation's with Gods and Goddesses. Ms. McCoy has drawn from many sources some wonderful material and placed it into a well written an attractive package.

While much of this material deals mainly with information that is of the workshop 101 level, it is a good reference book for the basics of this season. It is a lovely beginners book, and is part of a package that will cover all the Sabats.

If you are looking for a good gift for the beginner, or to add to someone's collection of the Sabat books, this is a lovely and informational book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for cabin fever, February 7, 2003

By	"roxx33" (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews

"Ostara" is another book in the Llewellyn series of Pagan holidays. This book is fun and creative, focusing on spells and rituals for the rites of spring. It is more than a book about Easter, it is filled with things we associate with the season, such as spring cleaning, the green man, and the birds and the bees. It takes a historic look at Easter and the origin of associated things like bunnies, eggs, and rebirthing. I enjoy this title because it is fun, informative, and not too heavy. The recipes are great, and you'll want to make "hot cross buns" when you read about their Pagan origin. I think this title is a great one to share with children, as you can make homemade Easter baskets, hunt for eggs, and learn together about the legends of Eostre. Edain McCoy's "Ostara" will make you "think spring!"

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new to see here, folks., March 24, 2002

By	Cynthia M. Caton "minion" (Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I thought this was fairly well written as magick books go, Ostara did not inspire me. Granted, the history of this sabbat may hard topic to write about. What I really found lacking was the ritual / spell aspects. It was just a rehashing of correspondence tables that we have seen many times before. McCoy does not give us a real, solid ritual to work off of. I read through the book once and went through it about half a dozen times looking for something to inspire me but came up short. It is not awful, just not that great.