Ostara – Crafty Sunday

Sundays are usually my crafty day to blog about but this one is more about a craft I did for the Holy Day and how we spent it.

Molly came to me and said, “How about we make something for Ostara”. I thought about it and said, “How about some chocolate treats?”. Of course this got an instant yes! And since we were going to ritual last night I figured why not make a basket to take. So I dug up all my moms Easter Candy molds from the closet and went through. I found some eggs, bunnies, lambs, and rose lollipops. I purchased chocolate wafers in blue, yellow, pink, and light & dark green over at AC Moore’s. And we spent about three hours melting chocolates, pouring them into molds, freezing them (it’s a quicker set and imho doesn’t change the flavor or consistency). Hubs and Molly shaved off the edges where I got overzealous with the pouring. Hubs also wrapped the lollipops for me. I then put some fake grass in my knitting basket (which is the prettiest basket I own) and put everything in. As usual I was shocked by how much I made, I always make ALOT!

Later on Molly & I headed to ritual. Claire didn’t seem too interested and Alex isn’t quite ready for ritual just yet, so they stayed home with Daddy. Mother Grove doesn’t have the Temple built as of yet so the rite takes place in the Parish Hall of All Souls Cathedral (an Episcopalian church). It’s a gorgeous church and it has wonderful energy there. When we arrived the High Priestess asked if we wanted to put the basket on the altar, so Molly went inside to get that set up.

Molly has come a long way. She has attended some church services (Baptist and Unitarian Universalist) and she really does not like those services. And she is my private child. She isn’t fond of being the center of attention and she does not like large crowds. I thought that was what bothered her about church ( I still don’t know what it is). But at ritual I see her open up and really be free with herself. She willingly participates and she talks to everyone who talks to her. It’s really amazing and makes the rituals that much more special for me. She has readily identified herself as pagan, even though I have informed her that she doesn’t need to identify as anything as of yet. I always fear that the kids will struggle spiritually like I did. After last night I am just going to shut up and let it go. If they struggle than they struggle and all I can do is be there for them and help them as best as I can. I realized I had been projecting too much old worry onto them. And how did I get off on this tangent? Ok BACK to ritual lol!

Anywho ritual was energetic and lovely as always. At the end we went outside for some dancing. I love dancing, I really do. I think it is one of the BESTEST ways to connect with the divine. So we did this old irish tradition dance. I can’t remember what HP called it but it had to do with waking up the earth. Sorta like the Hokey Pokey. Stomp the right foot in front of you (north), stomp it to the right (east), stomp it to the back (south), and then stomp it back to place (west). Then stomp the left in front (north), stomp it to the left (east), stomp it to the back (south), and then stomp it back to place (west). Then take to steps to the left shouting “Wake up! Wake up!”. We did this in a circle and it was tons of fun as we bumped into people, used the wrong foot, went to the wrong direction, etc etc. Then we sang “We all come from the goddess” and went into a Spiral Dance. That was when I saw her. I didn’t think much of it at first until she came back into my view and I could feel her eyes staring at us intently. She was a small old woman, could clearly see the gray hair. So I wasn’t sure that she was breaking into cars but the city part of me (that never dies) kept an eye on her. As we finished dancing, she left.

We continued on with cleaning up. People grabbed chocolate on their way out. Molly wanted to sign up with helping set up & take down future rituals, I did the same along w/ volunteering for food bank and choir. We finally set out and walked to the car. Got in and we were talking about how the evening went and how hungry we were (we are ALWAYS famished after ritual!) so we headed to Hardee’s. I am in the drive thru when I see this tiny peice of paper on my windshield. I was like “Oh crap, i got a parking ticket!”. I had one once before and they are tiny! Not once did it occur to me that it would be odd considering I parked after 6pm and it’s free AND you don’t have meters in Biltmore Village (where the church is located). Instead I fenagle my fat butt through my window to get to the “ticket”. Instead, I found this:

My initial reaction? I laughed and I laughed hard. I laughed because that little old woman wasn’t breaking into cars but looking for Mother Grove vehicles to preach to. I laughed because this person was THAT disrespectful. I laughed because, well….it’s funny! I have shared this pic with quite a few and some are angry. Rightfully so. But I kinda suspected something like this would happen. You see, Mother Grove was featured in this news article about Spring Equinox. In the comments section is where I see the righties having a field day. I personally think more people in the county read the newspaper in question than us cityfolk. Mostly because the people in the city I run across don’t seem to care too much about who is having ritual and who is going to church. Now, maybe I am wrong. This is of course speculation based on my experiences. Anywho this got me and a few others thinking. What would they (they being the person or persons involved in the post it note debauchery) do if I put “Goddess Loves You” notes on their car on Easter? I mean really, how would they feel? Would they think “OMG, I have been so wrong all this time! Quick, I must find a pagan Priestess and convert NOW!”? Some say they leave notes like this to help bring people to Jesus. I am sorry but a post it note on my windshield is not going to accomplish that! I can only speak for myself, but I would need faith in the Christian tradition in order to “come to Jesus” and that is not something I have.