Ostara Blessings to all. Today is the Spring Equinox, when night and day are both at equal length. If you go out in late afternoon, you might just catch the rising Moon in the sky at exactly the same time as the Sun is about to set. Early the next morning you can also see the Moon in daylight, just as the Sun is rising. In between these two events is a period of complete balance between day and night, Sun and Moon, male and female, light and dark, God and Goddess.

This is a special point of balance. On this day, light and dark are equal, but the light is now surpassing the dark as days will grow longer and nights shorter. Warmth is taking over cold, life is taking over death, and today we truly say goodbye to winter.

This is a time of major transformation for the earth. The great wheel has turned as we pass into a new season. We notice buds forming on branches, the birds will start returning, animals will come out of hibernation, flowers will start to shoot up, and fields and grass will become lush and green.

The young horned God is growing stronger and the Goddess is in her maiden form. The young Sun God takes notice of the Maiden Goddess and the stirrings within them seem to be felt in all living creatures. All the world seems renewed, refreshed, and bursting with possibilities.

Ostara is an Anglo-Saxon and Celtic fertility festival, worshiping the the Goddess Ostara or Eostre, as she is also known. Eggs and rabbits are her fertility symbols. The egg resembles new life and birth, and the rabbit signifies fertility.

The Horned Sun God also known as The Oak King or the Lord of Light, the Gods Pan, Cernunnos, and the Sun Gods such as Sol, Apollo, Attis, Ra, and Horus are also worshiped on this day.

Eostre, the Saxon version of the Goddess Ostara. Her feast day was held on the first Full Moon following the Spring equinox, the identical time as the Christian Easter when Jesus was said to be resurrected from death. The Sun God Attis who was born via a virgin birth, is resurrected each year during the time on the Spring Equinox. The Goddesses Ishtar and Persephone were also both resurrected from death on Ostara.

Ostara is a time of newness and rebirth. It is a time to clean up and clear out all our old junk, this is where we get the term “spring cleaning” from. But it isn’t just clearing out our homes, it is also clearing out the junk and negative energy that we carry around with us. Let the new energies of the Sun and the Spring rejuvenate us. Welcome in the new, breathe new life into yourself, and look to the future with hope and optimism.

On your altar add anything to represent and to honor the season, such as budding flowers like crocuses, daffodils, lilies, daisies, acorns, and seeds. Ostara is a time of balance between light and dark, so symbols of this polarity can also be used. Use a God and Goddess statue, a white and a black candle, a sun and moon etc.

This is the time of year when animals are bringing forth new life too, so put a basket of eggs on your altar. It is customary and fun to paint them bright colors before adding them. You may want to include figures or pictures of lambs, chicks, rabbits, calves, etc. Add a chalice of milk or honey, as milk represents the lactating animals who have just given birth, and honey is long known as a symbol of abundance. Offer these as a libation to the God and Goddess.

The Spring Equinox is a time of balance. It is a time to look within ourselves and balance our thoughts and emotions and to find balance in our lives. To embrace our dark and our light equally, as one cannot exist without the other. This is a time to stop, relax, and enjoy our personal achievements, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. What we put into life is what we will get out of it, what we plant now can grow into something amazing.

May your Ostara be memorable and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing.

Written & photo credit goes to Wicca Teachings.

Edited by Lisa Marino