Ostara /Spring Equinox
March 20-23
Ostara is the halfway point between Yule (Winter Solstice) and Litha (Summer Solstice), where day and night are in perfect balance as the Sun is making it's grand return.
Ostara is recognized as the first day of Spring. The cold winter is over and we look forward to longer, warmer days ahead.
Our seeds and hopes from Imbolc (Candlemas) are beginning to sprout and take effect. This is a time to honor the Goddess of Spring, Eostre, and her beloved Hare, and of course the Egg which is a symbol for nature's rebirth.
Ostara is also time for celebrating the marriage between the Sun God and Maiden Goddess, and their divine conception. In nine months she will again become the Great Mother.
Ostara symbolizes fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.
Traditions and Practices
plant seeds/tend to plants
create a fairy garden
take walks in nature with no intent other than reflecting on nature
spend time outside
color/dye Ostara eggs, then bury them to fulfill wishes
give baskets of candy and treats to loved ones
spring clean/declutter
spellwork focused on manifestation
Correspondences
Symbolism: hare/rabbits, eggs, plants and flowers, young animals, young adults, maidenhood, Spring, hopes and dreams, seeds, Eostre, rebirth and renewal, conception and growth, fairies, flowers, butterflies
Foods: leafy green vegetables, dairy, nuts and seeds, flower dishes, sprouts, egg dishes, honey, fig cakes
Plants + Flowers: daffodil, woodruff, violet, olive, peony, iris, narcissus, all spring flowers
Incense: jasmine, rose, strawberry, any type of floral
Crystals: jasper, carnelian, tiger's eye, apatite, serpentine, angelite, peridot, orange calcite, amethyst
Colors: pastels, light green, blue, pink, purple
Tarot Cards: the Empress and the Eight of Wands
Deities Celebrated at Ostara
Eostre/Eostara/Ostara: the Goddess of Spring, celebrated for thousands of years by the Saxons and Germanic peoples. She is for whom the tradition of dyeing eggs came from and where the symbolism of a rabbit at the Spring Equinox came from.
Eos: Greek Goddess of the Dawn. Eos was a Titaness and older than the Gods of Olympia. She was cursed by Aphrodite with insatiable sexual desire. Many consider her to be the inspiration behind Angels in Christian and Hebrew mythology.
Artemis: Greek Goddess of the hunt and the Moon, protector of childbirth and young girls. She is the twin sister of Apollo. She is known for her hunting dogs and often depicted shooting an arrow. She is associated with deer, cypress tress, and the waxing Moon.
Blodeuwedd: Welsh Goddess of Spring. She was created from flowers to become the wife of Lleu. After cheating on Lleu, she was transformed into an owl.
The Green Man: a God found in many pantheons and cultures, the Green Man is often associated with the Celtic Horned God Cernunnos: God of Nature, Fertility, the Wild, and the Underworld
Diana: Roman Goddess of wild animals and the hunt, childbirth, fertility and the Moon.
Pan: Greek God of mountainous Arcadia, protector of Wild Animals, Shepherds and Flocks. Pan is a son of Hermes and gave Artemis her hunting dogs. Pan is often depicted as playing a flute.
Persephone: Greek Goddess of Spring, Grain and Agriculture, and the Underworld. She is a daughter of the Greek Goddess Demeter, and wife of Hades.