In the northern hemisphere, we celebrate Ostara at the spring equinox, around the 21st of March. The spring equinox is one of two balance points in the year when the day equals the night, the other one being Mabon, autumn equinox. From this moment in time, the days start getting longer than the nights and light becomes more prevalent than darkness. The spring equinox is a feast of light, which goes by the name of "Alban Eiler" in Druid tradition, which means "light of the earth". The energy of renewal is in the air and really takes hold after the full moon before the equinox.
Ostara received its name from the goddess Eostre, the Pagan goddess of fertility who announces spring and who equally gave her name to the female hormone oestrogen.
Ostara announces the long awaited blossoming and flowering of nature. At Imbolc the flame of Brigid melts the snow and allows the saps to come alive and this flame is now transformed into a flamboyant and joyful bonfire that awakens the entire natural world. Birds start playing and singing again, the sun shines stronger, an abundance of flowers covers our forests and lawns in a colourful cloak of spring flowers and tiny bright green leaves timidly show themselves on the trees, which gives our countryside a fresh and delicate glow.
This same movement is also taking place inside of us. Everything that has been stirring and moving on the inside during the last couple of months is now wanting to be expressed, wants to bubble up to the surface and find an output in our actions and projects. The exuberance of the natural world is echoed in our hearts and fills us with joy. Ostara is the feast of fertility, but also of optimism and a newfound joyfulness. We feel relieved at the approach of Ostara, ready to get out of winter and eager to leave the trials and tribulations of the darkest months behind us. We know that from now on life will be gentler, kinder, simpler.
Ostara is the perfect moment to do a spring clean because our efforts will be supported by the energy of the season. We can invite new energy into our homes by clearing out any stuff that is gathering dust and just keeping the items that we actually use, because all the space we free up in this way will allow new things to come into our lives. We can clean the house, renew the paint word, fix what needs fixing to get a new dynamic going and revitalise the energy of our living space. It's the right time to detox our bodies and eat lighter meals, let go of toxic food such as coffee, alcohol or sugar, which can be accompanied by a mono-diet, birch sap or complements like zeolite or chlorella to evacuate any toxins that could have been built up during the winter months.
The return of the sun activates our solar chakra and it's for this reason that we feel butterflies in our belly and that our optimism and good mood is triumphant. We move forward courageously towards a bright and promising future.
The energy of Ostara revitalises our whole being, its powerful energy creating sparks in our creative centre and moving upwards into our headspace to birth new and fresh ideas. For this reason Ostara is also strongly associated with kundalini energy, the cosmic serpent that is awakening and that shakes all the parts of our being. In Mexico we can see this phenomenon on the pyramid of Chitzen Itza where the serpent appears on its flanks each spring equinox, just like in other parts of the world the awakening of this potent energy is celebrated with dragon parades.
Symbols of Ostara
- The goddess Eostre, the god Osiris - Egyptian god of rebirth and renewal, the goddess Hathor - Egyptian solar and fertility goddess
- Eggs and rabbits
- Daffodils or other seasonal flowers
- the colour yellow
- the sun
- dragons & snakes
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Photo Adobe Stock by Konstiantyn
