March Magick...

How to Celebrate This Magickal Month

March is a difficult month for me, my father passed away towards the end of this month three years ago, so I approach these few weeks with a sense of sadness but also hope. When he passed it felt strange to be surrounded by blossoms and blooms, and the excitable chatter of birds, when I was intensely grieving… but I’ve found comfort in the March’s that I have experienced since his passing.

March is a statement of life, of renewal, and it shows us that previously dark and cold times are necessary for life to continue. Although I approach the date of his passing with trepidation and reflection, my surroundings act as beacons, as rest points for a weary soul, a little oasis of nature where I can sit and collect my thoughts.

This is also the premise of Ostara, which we will be celebrating at the end of the month, this sabbat is a warm embrace for those who have found the winter tough, and along with the moons this month we can enjoy a brief respite before being thrown into the busy and productive energy that is round the corner with the arrival of Beltane.

So let’s have a little look at what we can do, magick-wise, to celebrate and work with the energy of this month...

MOTHER’S DAY MAGICK

If you are lucky enough to have a wonderful relationship with your Mum, or want to remember her if she has passed, it would be great to honour this relationship with her on Mother’s Day via these witchy ways...

Gratitude: Set up a sacred space with candles, flowers, and any other items that hold significance for you both. Take some time for meditation or reflection to express gratitude for the maternal figures in your life. You can speak words of thanks out loud or write them in a journal.

Herbal Tea Blends: Create herbal infusions or tea blends using herbs associated with nurturing and comfort, such as chamomile, lavender, and rose petals. Brew these teas as a way to connect with the nurturing energy of motherhood.

Nature Walk: Spend time outdoors together connecting with nature. Take a leisurely walk in a natural setting, such as a park or garden, and observe the maternal influences in nature. Consider bringing home a small bouquet of flowers or a plant as a symbolic gift.

Cooking or Baking: Prepare a special meal or treat in honor of Mother's Day. Choose recipes that incorporate seasonal ingredients or foods associated with motherhood, such as berries, chocolate and eggs. As you cook or bake, infuse your creations with intentions of love, nurturing, and gratitude.

Ancestor Altar: Create or add to an ancestor altar dedicated to maternal ancestors and mother figures. Arrange photos, mementos, and offerings such as flowers or food as symbols of remembrance and reverence. Light candles and incense to honour their memory and the legacy they have left behind.

MAD MARCH HARES

The above is a phrase often heard at this time of year, its origins lie in the observations we can make during the mating season of these mysterious rabbit/deer hybrids. Capering, leaping, gambolling, frolicking.

Spring is a time for joy, for love and hope.

Hares have been worshipped over the years by everyone from the Romans to the Celts, and symbolically they are a sign of abundance, luck (bad and good), fertility and the divine feminine. The sight of a Hare and the meaning behind it differs greatly from culture to culture, and indeed region, mentioning Hares in the presence of a Scottish fisherman baiting a line would ensure there would be no supper caught that day. To see a Hare in rural England meant you were blessed with good fortune, alas, seeing a white one meant you were not as lucky. To see four or more Hares capering in a field at night meant a great misfortune would befall you, for this was a coven of witches gathered to plot your downfall. Witches were known to shapeshift and take the form of Hares. Fast and nimble-footed they were able to race across fields to wreak havoc upon the neighbouring villages.

Hares are synonymous with wisdom from the Otherworld. As a Hedgewitch, I do my work both in this world and in the other. On my travels, astrally and in divination, I have encountered Hare spirits who usually have messages from ancestors, these messages fall into the genre of wisdom, particularly on protection and boundary setting, which seems fitting for such a secretive creature.

You may have seen a common image of a Hare looking upwards, the moon in the sky shining a light down onto it. This is called the ‘Moongazing Hare’ and is the sacred symbol of the goddess Eostre., from which we get the words `Ostara' and subsequently 'Easter'.

To see a Hare tilting its head upwards to gaze at the moon is one of the most positive omens and evokes a feeling of peace and calm. This is often why in art the Hare is depicted this way, in its most positive form.

OSTARA IS HERE

The Goddess of Spring. The third spoke on the Wheel of the Year. The Spring Equinox.

There are several debates surrounding who Ostara/Eostre may have been, who worshiped her, or if she was a goddess at all, although there is very little evidence surrounding her, we can still utilise the inspiration behind her in our witchcraft and our spirituality.

Ostara is Spring personified.

The blossoming blackthorn, the chattering of blackbirds and the emergence of early flowers such as daffodils and crocus. This is a time of renewal, fertility and abundance, insects are suddenly more active and their predators too. Birds are building their nests, lambs are being born and we see the return of the sun in our early mornings and lengthening afternoons.

Ostara can be celebrated internally and externally. We can snip small branches off of flowering trees and set them on our altar to enjoy their fleeting beauty. We can decorate eggs, or fill their halves with wax and wick and use them in rituals, there is so much visual magick to be utilised during this time. This is a moment to enjoy baking with corresponding ingredients such as cakes flavoured with orange blossom, egg dishes and homemade bread.

When it comes to magick, we should focus outside of our own self-interests. The energies at this moment are all about fertility, birth and renewal, and about bringing things into the world. Think about what it is that you want to bring to the world to benefit it? Of course, we have dreams and hopes of our own, we can manifest these things any time of the year, Ostara should be used to bring about things that benefit Mother Earth and give back all that she has given us.

Action in magick is a powerful thing. Buying seeds and planting them is a wonderful thing to do, but using them in a ritual for healing, or abundance, and then planting them gives them an extra energetic push.

Money spells for ecological and animal charities are another way to honour this time of year, if you are in a privileged position to cast a money spell think of using the money gained to subscribe to a charity such as the Woodland and Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB, or the Butterfly Conservation Trust.

Nature gives so much to us, so it makes sense to use our magick at this time of year to give back to her.

SPRING CLEANING

We are often bombarded on social media with images of perfectly curated spaces, and I think sometimes we can all be a little guilty of showing our homes or altars when they look perfect and all spick and span with everything in its place.

I've started to show a little bit more of 'behind the scenes, of jars of herbs tipped over, coffee and incense stains, and books warped and wrinkled from where they've been dropped in the bath, but I do like to make a conscious effort to keep my spiritual space, and my home, as cleansed as I can by giving it a good thorough cleaning. Cleansing your space doesn't just consist of waving your incense around or wafting a smoke bundle or clanging some bells, these are important parts of clearing energy... but it is SO useful to physically take the dirt out of the picture.

Cleaning your windows with a herbal infusion and vinegar can ward your home and protect it from outside influences, hoovering up dust can take stagnant energy that is no longer serving you away. Not to mention the uses you can find to certain 'messes' (cobwebs should be collected to use in spells where you want things to 'stick')

Sometimes it is hard to clean, especially if you have a chronic illness (physical, mental or both) so of course only do as much as you can manage or see if you can find friends, family or hire a professional to help.

It feels GOOD to have a clean fresh home after a Spring clean. This time of year is full of renewed energy and the promise of abundance. After hunkering down over winter and hibernating in our blanket forts we feel the urge to fling open windows and let in the fresh air and promise that Ostara brings with it. You can get rid of things that are no longer useful to you in your craft, take an itinerary of what stock you have and see if you need to replenish your apothecary.

You are not a failure as a witch if you have a messy home, but see how you can enhance your magickal space by taking full advantage of this Spring energy!

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So March… with all of this in mind I am ready to tackle the rest of your marvelous month, and I hope you, reader, are too.

Laura x