Ostara, celebrated around the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere, marks the balance of light and dark as the earth fully awakens from winter’s slumber. As one of the eight Sabbats in the Pagan calendar, this festival symbolizes renewal, fertility, and the blossoming of life, honoring the arrival of warmer days and the stirring energy of spring.
In this article, we’ll delve into the rich history of Ostara, explore its enduring symbols and traditions, and discover meaningful ways—both ancient and modern—to celebrate this season of growth and rebirth. Whether you’re reviving old customs or creating your own, Ostara offers a powerful opportunity to align with nature’s rhythms and embrace the vitality of spring.
What is Ostara?
Ostara, celebrated around the Spring Equinox (March 20th to 21st) in the northern hemisphere (or September 21st to 22nd in the southern hemisphere), is a cherished festival in the Pagan and Wiccan Wheel of the Year.
This Sabbat is symbolized by the word equinox, derived from equi (equal) and nox (night), representing the perfect balance between day and night.. Deeply rooted in ancient traditions, Ostara honors the themes of growth, rebirth, and harmony, as the natural world bursts into life. It’s a time to embrace new beginnings, celebrate abundance, and welcome the changing season with joy. Let’s explore the many ways to celebrate Ostara!
- The Significance of Ostara
- Symbols of Ostara
- Ostara Traditions and Rituals
- Divination Traditions of Ostara
- Conclusion
The Significance of Ostara
The name “Ostara” is believed to be linked to Eostre, a Germanic goddess associated with dawn, fertility, and the renewal of life. Traditional celebrations include honoring the changing season with feasts, decorating eggs as symbols of fertility, and embracing the energies of rebirth through rituals and offerings. Many also celebrate by tending to gardens, setting intentions for personal growth, and welcoming the increasing warmth of the sun.
In Pagan traditions, Ostara is the celebration of balance and renewal as the earth fully awakens from winter’s slumber. At Imbolc, we honored the first stirrings of life and the promise of spring, but now, at Ostara, that promise is fulfilled. The days and nights stand in perfect balance, symbolizing harmony and new beginnings. This is a time to embrace the sun’s growing warmth, the blossoming of nature, and the fertility of the land. Ostara reminds us to trust in the cycles of rebirth, growth, and abundance, as we step fully into the season of renewal.
This festival reminds us of the cyclical nature of life, offering a time to embrace change, celebrate new beginnings, and align with the vibrant energy of the season.
Symbols of Ostara
🖨️ Click the image to download a printable page featuring insights into the diverse symbols associated with Ostara.
These printable PDF pages come with a transparent background so you can print them on any kind of printer-friendly parchment paper.
Get inspiration to start your own magickal grimoire. Find other Pages for your Book of Shadows here.
Animals of Ostara
🐇 Hare: A sacred animal linked to fertility, renewal, and the moon, the hare is strongly associated with Ostara and the goddess Eostre. Its prolific nature makes it a powerful symbol of new beginnings and abundance.
🐣 Egg-Laying Creatures (Chickens, Ducks, Geese): Eggs are one of Ostara’s most enduring symbols, representing fertility, potential, and the cycle of life. Birds that lay eggs in early spring embody the promise of growth and renewal.
🐑 Lamb: As the earth awakens, the fox represents adaptability and cleverness. Seen darting through the newly green fields, it reminds us to embrace change and trust our instincts as we move into this fertile season.
🌿 Butterflies & Bees: These pollinators signal the return of warmth and the blossoming of flowers, symbolizing transformation, joy, and nature’s renewal.
🦢 Birds (Robins, Doves, Swans): Birds returning from migration or building nests represent rebirth, freedom, and the arrival of spring. Doves symbolize peace and harmony, while swans carry themes of transformation and grace.
Colors of Ostara
Ostara’s colors reflect the vibrant energy of the celebration of spring, and can be used for altar decorations, ritual clothing, and candles:
🌸 Pink: Represents love, compassion, and the gentle energy of renewal.
💛 Yellow: Evokes sunshine, happiness, and the growing strength of the sun.
💚 Green: Symbolizes fertility, growth, and the fresh awakening of the earth.
🤍 White: Represents purity, balance, and the harmony of day and night at the equinox.
💜 Purple: A color of spiritual growth, transformation, and the magic of new beginnings.
Crafted Items
Decorated Eggs: A timeless symbol of fertility and new life, eggs can be painted with sacred symbols, bright colors, or affirmations for the season.
Spring Wreaths: Crafted from fresh flowers, vines, and greenery, these represent the cycle of life and the welcoming of new energy.
Woven Baskets: Handwoven baskets are often used to hold eggs, flowers, or other Ostara offerings. They are symbolic of gathering the abundance of spring.
Sun Wheels: Similar to fire wheels, sun wheels or mandalas made of flowers and natural materials celebrate the sun’s growing presence and life-giving energy.
Plants of Ostara
Daffodils: Bright heralds of spring, daffodils symbolize renewal, joy, and the return of warmth.
Crocuses: They symbolize hope, resilience, and the triumph of life over winter’s dormancy. Crocuses. are among the earliest spring flowers to emerge, often pushing through the snow.
Primrose: Associated with love, protection, and the welcoming of new energy, primroses are a classic springtime bloom.
Violets: These delicate flowers represent growth, intuition, and the balance between earth and spirit, making them perfect for Ostara rituals.
Tulips: With their vibrant colors and graceful shapes, Tulips are associated with love, abundance, and the beauty of spring. They are often used in Ostara decorations and rituals.
Deities Associated with Ostara
Eostre/Ostara: The Germanic goddess of dawn and fertility, after whom the festival is named. She is associated with hares, eggs, and the renewal of life.
Persephone: The Greek goddess who emerges from the underworld in spring, symbolizing rebirth and the renewal of nature’s cycles.
Áine: The Irish goddess of the sun, fertility, and prosperity, embodying the warming light of the equinox.
Freyja: The Norse goddess of love, fertility, and beauty. While she is more commonly associated with summer and harvest, her themes of fertility and renewal make her a fitting figure for Ostara celebrations.
Flora: The Roman goddess of flowers and blooming plants, representing fertility, beauty, and the lush energy of spring.
Gaia: The embodiment of Mother Earth, Gaia represents the deep connection between the cycles of nature and life’s continuous renewal.
Cernunnos: The Celtic god of nature, animals, and wild places, representing the untamed fertility of the earth as it awakens, interpreted as The Horned God in Wicca.
Full Moon of Ostara 🌕
Ostara, celebrated at the Spring Equinox, often aligns with powerful full moons that embody renewal, balance, and the flourishing energy of the season. These moons symbolize growth, harmony, and the earth’s awakening from winter’s hold, reinforcing Ostara’s themes of rebirth and fertility.
Worm Moon: The March full moon, often preceding or coinciding with Ostara, is called the Worm Moon. It marks the thawing of the earth, the return of earthworms, and the renewal of soil fertility—perfectly mirroring the emergence of life and the planting season. This moon represents transformation, new beginnings, and the stirring energy of spring.
Pink Moon: The April full moon, following Ostara, is known as the Pink Moon, named after the early spring blooms. It embodies themes of blossoming potential, love, and the full expression of nature’s renewal. As daylight continues to grow stronger, this moon encourages us to embrace creativity, balance, and personal growth.
The full moon celebrations (known as Esbats) of Ostara remind us to align with the cycles of nature, embrace change, and step into the season of expansion with hope and vitality.
Ostara Traditions and Rituals
Many Ostara traditions, such as egg decorating, feasting, and fertility rituals, have echoes in later Christian celebrations like Easter. As a time of balance and renewal, Ostara honors the equilibrium between light and dark, welcoming the fertile energy of spring.
Eostre and the Hare
Ostara is linked to Eostre, a Germanic goddess of dawn, fertility, and new beginnings. She is often associated with the hare, an animal sacred to her, symbolizing renewal, abundance, and the cycles of life.
According to folklore, Eostre transformed a bird into a hare, which then laid brightly colored eggs as an offering to her. This tale is thought to be one of the origins of modern Easter egg traditions. The hare, a creature of both the earth and the moon, embodies the balance of nature that Ostara represents, making it a key symbol of the season.
Lighting the Equinox Fire
Just as fire plays a sacred role in other Pagan festivals, Ostara is a time to light candles or fires to honor the returning sun and the balance of light and dark. Traditionally, fires were kindled on hilltops or within sacred groves, celebrating the growing power of the sun as the days lengthen.
Ritual Practice
To honor this tradition, practitioners may light a candle and speak an invocation such as:
“Golden sun, now shining bright,
Guide us from the winter’s night.
Balance, growth, and light we see,
Ostara’s gifts awaken me.”
🖨️ Download a printable page with a simple chant to say as you light a fire during the night of Ostara. This simple ritual is a simple form of sun magick, welcoming the sun’s growing strength and inviting harmony into one’s life.
Get inspiration to start your own magickal grimoire. Find more spells and other Pages for your Book of Shadows here.
Egg Magic and Fertility Rituals
Eggs are one of the most enduring symbols of Ostara, representing fertility, new beginnings, and the infinite potential of life. Decorating eggs is a sacred practice, with colors and symbols chosen to manifest intentions for the coming season.
Spiritual Fertility Spell
This is a guided Ostara ritual with candles, eggs and Wiccan prayers. We will cast a circle and plant spiritual seeds of fertility and growth for the season that begins.
Ways to Use Eggs in Rituals:
Decorated Eggs: Painted with sacred symbols or affirmations, then buried in the earth to bless the land.
Egg Divination: As we will see in the Ostara divinations section, you can, for example, crack an egg into water and interpreting the shapes as messages for the season ahead.
Egg Offerings: Left at sacred trees, buried in gardens, or given as gifts to spread fertility and abundance.
In addition to eggs, fertility rites honoring the land’s awakening can include planting seeds with intentions, dancing in circles to raise energy, or performing handfasting ceremonies to celebrate love and union.
Ostara Foods and Recipes from the Coven
- Magical Egg Salad
- Springtime Risotto with Leeks, Snap Peas, & Roasted Asparagus
- Ostara Avocado Egg Salad
- Cheesy Garlic Herb Quick Bread
- The Best Lemon Bars
Explore some other ways to celebrate Ostara here!
Divination Traditions of Ostara
Ostara, the festival of balance and renewal, is a powerful time for divination, as it falls at a moment when the veil between darkness and light is at its thinnest, marking the equilibrium between day and night. With the earth stirring to life, it offers a unique opportunity to seek guidance for new beginnings, growth, and transformation. Many divination practices at Ostara focus on fertility, prosperity, and the cycles of nature, reflecting the themes of the season.
Egg Divination (Oomancy)
Eggs, one of the most sacred symbols of Ostara, have long been used for divination. Known as oomancy, this practice involves interpreting the shapes formed by an egg’s contents or shell.
Methods of Egg Divination:
🥚 Water Scrying with an Egg: Crack a raw egg into a bowl of water and observe the patterns formed by the whites and yolk. These shapes formed during an egg cleanse can be interpreted with an egg reading and may reveal omens of love, prosperity, or upcoming challenges.
🥚 Egg Rolling: Write different outcomes or choices on pieces of paper, place them on the ground, and roll an egg toward them. The paper the egg lands closest to holds your answer.
🥚 Shell Divination: After dying or cracking open an egg, interpret the cracks or color patterns to gain insights about your future.
This practice is often done at sunrise, reinforcing the connection between the egg, the sun’s return, and the potential of the coming season.
Flower and Seed Divination
With Ostara being a time of planting and renewal, flowers and seeds can be used to gain insight into the path ahead.
🌸 Flower Petal Reading: Plucking the petals of a flower while asking a question can reveal answers about love, success, or personal growth. This is the origin of the “loves me, loves me not” tradition.
🌱 Seed Sowing Ritual: Write different possibilities or desires on seeds and plant them. The first to sprout is believed to indicate the path that will flourish in your life. Alternatively, toss a handful of seeds onto the earth and interpret the pattern in which they land.
See also: Plant Magick & Spells: A Simple Guide For Green Witches
Weather Divination
As an equinox festival, Ostara is closely tied to natural cycles, making weather observation an important form of divination. Many ancient cultures believed the conditions on Ostara could predict the season ahead.
☀️ A bright, sunny Ostara foretells a warm and fruitful growing season.
🌧 Rain or clouds suggest a need for patience before full abundance arrives.
🍃 Strong winds can indicate major changes or transitions ahead.
Watching how the first flowers bloom or how animals behave on Ostara can also provide signs about personal or collective energy for the coming months.
Resources in the Coven
Fire and Candle Divination
Since Ostara celebrates the balance between light and dark, fire divination (pyromancy) is a popular practice for seeking guidance.
🔥 Candle Flame Reading: Light a candle with an intention and observe the flame:
- A tall, strong flame indicates success and abundance.
- A flickering or struggling flame suggests obstacles that need attention.
- A flame that suddenly extinguishes can be a sign to reconsider plans or wait for better timing.
🕯 Wax Dripping Divination: There are two ways to practice wax divination (ceromancy) during Ostara:
1️⃣ Observing the Candle Wax as it Melts – By closely watching how the wax drips and pools while the candle burns, you can interpret its shapes and patterns. A detailed guide on this method can be found here.
2️⃣ Pouring Wax into Water for Interpretation – Melted wax is carefully poured into a cauldron or bowl of cool water, where it solidifies into symbolic shapes that can be read for insight. A step-by-step explanation of this technique is available here.
Both methods offer guidance and messages for the season ahead, helping to align with Ostara’s themes of balance, renewal, and transformation. 🕯✨
Ostara Cleansing Music
Conclusion
Ostara is a deeply meaningful celebration, especially within Pagan and Wiccan traditions. Its themes of balance, renewal, and fertility mirror the earth’s awakening, reminding us of the harmony between darkness and light as winter gives way to spring’s vibrant energy.
This festival invites us to embrace new beginnings, set intentions for growth, and honor the natural cycles of transformation. It is a time to celebrate abundance, creativity, and the interconnectedness of all living things.
May this Ostara bring you joy, clarity, and a renewed sense of purpose as you welcome the balance of the equinox and step into the flourishing energy of the season. 🌿✨
