Spring Equinox Holiday of Revival & Renewal
The Spring Equinox is here! For 2022 and 2023, it falls on March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere and September 23 in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2024, it will fall on March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere and September 22 in the Southern Hemisphere. Ostara is a holiday that recognizes and celebrates the Spring Equinox and the arrival of Spring. It is a time where you are encouraged to “plant the seeds” of your goals or inspirations that you want to grow and harvest in the year. Of course, this time of year is celebrated worldwide amongst Pagans, Wiccans, and others, including the non-religious! Let’s learn more about this holiday and how we can celebrate!
What is Ostara?
The Spring Equinox is one of two times in the year (the other being the Autumn Equinox) when there are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness in the 24-hour day. Ostara, as a result, recognizes this perfect balance of the day and the night. This holiday is sacred to Eostre (pronounced EHS-truh), who is the Lunar Goddess of Fertility and the Dawn. Eostre’s name even means East, which is where the sun rises and, thus, representing a new day or beginning. Her name is also the root of the world estrogen, which is the hormone that allows women to be curvier than men and plays a role in menstrual cycles and pregnancy. She is literally the personification of fertile energy, which can be found in Spring’s new flower buds and blossoms.
There is actually another deity celebrated on Ostara. For Modern Pagans and Wiccans traditions, Ostara is when Eostre greets her consort that was reborn. The Green Man (who can appear as a Horned God, Greek Pan, or a male God covered in plants/greenery) also can be found for Ostara celebrations. For modern Pagans, the Green Man is a reminder for the revival of a season and general ecological awareness. He is mysterious by nature, represents the seasons, and dies/rebirths every year, just like the seasons. He symbolizes the rebirth of nature and experiences that we have every year with the arrival of Spring. While the Green Man is recognized, Eostre is most influential for the Ostara Holiday.
From Ostara to Easter
This holiday contains notions and traditions that date back before Christianity. In fact, there is some evidence to suggest that the Church placed important Christian holidays purposely on the same day/time frame of Pagan and other popular holidays to encourage conversion and celebration of Christian holidays. But it’s not quite so clear. Nevertheless, in 325 A.D., the first major Church Council of Necea commanded that Easter would take place on the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. So in the very early years of Christianity, the holidays were celebrated hand-in-hand with Pagan holidays. (Which is probably why you see an overlap in symbolism in both!) But as Christianity developed over time, it became more focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and less connected with the Ostara holiday themes/practices. Overall, I think it makes sense why the Church wanted Easter to fall on Ostara, in particular… In Christianity, Easter celebrates the revival/resurrection of Jesus Christ and brings forth a message of renewal and hope. These notions can relate to the Ostara holiday, which carries similar messages of the rebirth of nature and life found in Spring.
Symbolism
When you think of the Christian holiday of Easter, the idea of the Easter bunny delivering chocolate eggs for children to find probably comes to mind. But did you know that rabbits and eggs were actually symbols of Ostara before the advent Easter? Eostre, the Goddess of Fertility, is strongly referenced through symbolism, with the most common symbols being rabbits and eggs. Why rabbits? Well, you may know that rabbits are known for the ability to reproduce rapidly. In fact, does (female rabbits) can reach sexual maturity at 5-6 months and can have young for 4 years. A pregnancy term only lasts roughly 31 days with 1-12 babies per pregnancy. On top of that, a doe can get pregnant again only a few days after giving birth. As you can imagine, rabbits are sacred to many Goddesses of Fertility, including Ancient Greek’s Aphrodite, Norse Paganism’s Freya, and more! Why eggs? They literally symbolize fertility and reproduction (they can hold a fetus after all!). For your convenience, I made a little chart below to highlight the symbolism that comes with the holiday:
How to Celebrate
There are many ways you can celebrate Ostara! See if any of these seem enjoyable and give a few a try, if you wish.
- Have a feast and general merriment! It represents the new life energy that comes with Spring. So eat some of your favorite foods or do some cooking! It’s recommended to cook some dishes that involves early spring produce (such as rhubarb, lettuce, peas, asparagus, etc.), herbs, and/or eggs.
- Drink some dandelion tea!
- Spring cleaning! There’s a reason why it’s a thing! By cleaning up, you are expressing renewal energy and “brushing” aside old ways to make room for a fresh start or a “clean slate.”
- Color eggs, especially in green, yellow, purple, or red dye! Yes, it may seem more related to Easter, but Ostara came first along with the imagery of eggs, so many people still do it.
- Walk in nature! Take a hike in the woods or a simple walk outside to take in the nature surrounding you. Take note of the evidence of Spring being here, such as the changes in the leaves or grass and animals being more active.
- Meditate! You can meditate outdoors in nature. Or you can meditate indoors but contemplate about Spring and the messages the season brings along with nature’s beauty that comes this time of year.
- Plant seeds! Spend the day in the garden (or volunteer at one). Plant seeds that will grow into plants/flowers that will eventually attract and support pollinators (such as bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies).
- Do some arts and crafts involving rabbits, eggs, and Ostara-themed flowers (like violets and daffodils).
- Make and wear a crown of flowers!
- Make/decorate an altar to celebrate Ostara! You can add spring-themed plants/flowers and have representations of rabbits and eggs along with yellow and green candles.
- Make a Green Man. For example, you can make a mask of his image by getting a foam- or straw-based mask and cover it with leaves, grasses, plants, and other spring vegetation.
- Write down your intentions goals for renewal and growth for the year. Do you have any intentions that you wish to accomplish that involve personal growth or starting afresh? Write them down and internalize them. You can accomplish them!
So what do you think? Do you celebrate Ostara and, if so, how do you celebrate? If you haven’t celebrated it before, would you be interested? What are some ways you would be open to trying out to celebrate the Spring Equinox? Are there similar holidays that you celebrate that brings awareness to the arrival of Spring? Thank you very much, my friends, for reading this post and I look forward to learning and sharing more with you! Have a Blessed Ostara!
“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”
– Tom Bodett
- Image Captions (in order of appearance):
- Symbols of the Celtic calendar, names in Celtic of the solstices. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user robin.ph; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.
- White goddess of european culture. Symbol of femininity, motherhood birth and death. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user antonpix; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.
- Green Man English Pagan Symbol. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user Ianrward; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.
- Colored Eggs In A Basket Beside A Bunny. Image courtesy of Pexels user ROMAN ODINTSOV; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Pexels GmbH.
- Portrait of Pet Rabbit. Image courtesy of Pexels user Anna Shvets; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Pexels GmbH.
- Snaking across Daffodils. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Subhasish Dutta; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
- References (in alphabetical order):
- The pagan grimoire. The Pagan Grimoire. (2021). Retrieved 2022, from https://www.pagangrimoire.com/
- Van de Car, Nikki. Practical Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to Crystals, Horoscopes, Psychics, and Spells. Running Press, 2017.