The Modern Witches Guide to Ostara: The Spring Equinox

Spring is just around the corner, witches. After spending months in the darkness of winter, the nights are finally getting shorter; the sun is rising a little earlier each day, and the snow is finally starting to melt the closer we get to the Spring Equinox. But did you know that pagans and Wiccans have a holiday that celebrates the Spring Equinox with rabbits and colored eggs? Well, let us introduce you to Ostara: the pagan Easter celebration of re-birth!
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What is Ostara?

Ostara is the pagan holiday celebrating the Spring Equinox, ushering us into a new season as we transition from dark to light. During the Spring Equinox, both day and night are at equal length, creating balance and harmony. This acts as a midway point, as the days grow longer, energies grow stronger. Even though it is typically held on either March 20 or 21, this year, Ostara will be held on March 19, the first day of Aries season and the start of the zodiac cycle.

Ostara is named after the Germanic goddess of spring and dawn (also known as Ēostre). In ancient German calendars, the month of April was called Ōstarmānod, dedicated to Ostara and ancient pagans used to celebrate the goodness with festivals centered around themes of re-birth, fertility, and harmony. With the rise of Christianity, Ōstarmānod was changed to Easter. Still, many modern pagans and Wiccans celebrate the holiday today. If you’re looking to celebrate Ostara this year, we got some tips to help you celebrate—the modern witch way.
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Painting Eggs

If you ever wondered to yourself “why do we paint eggs on Easter?” It’s actually leftover from when people used to celebrate Ostara and other pagan spring holidays that became Easter. Eggs symbolize fertility (rabbits also symbolize fertility, which is why we have the Easter Bunny). Bring back a childhood classic by getting a few eggs and start painting. You could use color magic when painting your eggs or drawn sigils on them to manifest certain things that you desire. Or you can paint them in the traditional Ostara colors: yellows, greens, and pastels.

If you don’t have real eggs, pick up some plastics eggs that open up and write what you wish to manifest this Ostara (new job, new love, new opportunities, etc.) on a slip of paper and place them inside the egg. Ostara is the perfect time of year to focus on manifesting creativity and love. Once you are done, place your eggs on your altar.

Planting Seeds

Ostara represents re-birth and new life. We are making plans to grow something new, so why don’t take the symbolism to another level by planting seeds or starting a garden? Flowers like daffodils, jasmine, honeysuckles, lilac, and tulips are great to plant during Ostara because they represent love and protection. Or plant wildflowers to promote the pollination of honeybees. If you don’t have space for a garden, try a small herb garden that can grow indoors. Herbs like mint, sage, rosemary, and basil are all associated with love, healing, and protection.

Spring Cleaning

Break out your broomstick and start banishing negative energy with some spring cleaning. Now that spring is here, it’s time to bring new life into our homes. Open the windows, do some serious dusting, and scrub off the dark energy you’ve collected over the winter. This is a great time to cleanse your crystals and home and donate items you no longer need. You’ll feel reborn in your nice, tiny space.

Crystal Magic

What’s a witchy holiday without crystals? To celebrate Ostara, use the crystals amethyst, aquamarine, clear quartz, green moss agate, jasper, moonstone, and rose quartz into your magical practice that day, either by placing them in your altar, your spells, jewelry, or just carrying them with you throughout the day. These crystals correspond with healing, peace, strength, health, love, and happiness—all things you’ll need as you start a new season, and a new chapter in life. Having these crystals on hand will give you an extra boost—just make sure to cleanse them first.
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Create a Vision Board

Ostara is about re-birth and new begins and it’s the perfect time to start planning your future goals as it is the most fertile time of the year. Use this opportunity to focus on what you want to achieve in the months ahead and figure out how to make your dreams a reality. One way to do this is to start a vision board with things you would like to achieve or do on it. You can also make a spring version of a vision board by places photos of flowers and nature on your board as well.

Happy Ostara, witches!