Ostara is the spring equinox. Day and night are of nearly equal length, and from this point the light outlasts the dark. The promise made at Imbolc is now being kept: buds open, birds nest, and the planting season begins.
Ostara at a glance
- Northern Hemisphere
- The spring equinox, between March 19 and 22
- Southern Hemisphere
- The spring equinox, between September 21 and 24
- Pronounced
- oh-STAR-uh
- Also called
- The spring equinox, the vernal equinox
- Kind of festival
- Solar festival
- Themes
- Balance, renewal, fertility, planting, fresh starts
- Colors
- Pale green, yellow, pink, lavender
- Symbols
- Eggs, hares, seeds, spring flowers, budding branches
- Foods
- Eggs, leafy greens, sprouts, honey, seed bread
Where Ostara comes from
The history of this festival is thinner than popular accounts suggest, and it is better to say so. In the eighth century an English monk named Bede wrote that the Anglo-Saxons had once named a spring month after a goddess called Eostre, and had held feasts in her honor. That brief passage is everything that is recorded about her. No myths, images, or rites survive.
Ostara is a German form of her name, suggested by a scholar in the nineteenth century. It was applied to the spring equinox festival of the Wheel of the Year in the 1970s. The stories that are often told about Eostre, in which she has a hare companion who lays eggs, are modern.
None of this makes the festival less worth keeping. The equinox is a real event in the sky. Eggs and hares have been signs of spring in European folk custom for centuries, whatever their origin. People have always celebrated the return of the growing season.
What Ostara means on the Wheel
In the Wiccan story, the Goddess appears as the Maiden and the young God is growing toward maturity. The land is becoming fertile. Everything is in balance for a moment, and then the balance tips toward light.
Balance is the particular teaching of the equinoxes. Ostara is a good time to ask what in your life has too much weight and what has too little.
Ways to celebrate
- Plant seeds. In pots, in a garden, or on a windowsill. Our article on a windowsill witch garden suggests easy herbs.
- Decorate eggs. Dye them with onion skins, beets, or red cabbage, and paint symbols of what you hope will hatch this year.
- Walk and look. Go out and count the signs of spring. Note the first flowers and the first birdsong in your journal.
- Refresh the altar. Clear away winter and bring in flowers and budding twigs.
- Begin a project. Whatever you planned at Imbolc, start it now.
- Weigh things up. List what is taking too much of your time and what is being neglected, and change one thing.
A simple ritual
Planting an intention
You will need
- A pot of soil and a few seeds. Basil, calendula, and nasturtium are easy.
- A slip of paper and a pencil
- Water
What to do
- On the day of the equinox, take your things outside or to an open window.
- Write on the paper one thing that you intend to grow in your life this season. Keep it short and specific.
- Fold the paper and bury it at the bottom of the pot.
- Plant the seeds above it, and say: "As this seed grows, so grows what I have planted."
- Water the pot and put it somewhere bright.
- Each time you water it, do one small thing toward your intention.
Ostara and the spring holidays
Eggs, flowers, and feasting appear in many spring holidays, religious and secular. If your family keeps one of them, the customs are easy to share. You can keep the equinox in your own way and still join in the family egg hunt.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Ostara falls in September. On the March equinox, Southern Hemisphere witches are keeping Mabon.