Ostara: A Festival of Balance and Spring

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The Spring Equinox is celebrated in many modern pagan groups as a holiday known as Ostara. It is the time of year when the Earth is waking up, the days are getting longer, and the weather is starting to get warmer. Ostara often falls near the Christian holiday of Easter and shares many of the same symbols.

It is believed that the name of the holiday comes from the Germanic/Saxon goddess known as Eostra.. There is very little known about this goddess. She is believed to be the Goddess of the Dawn or of Spring. The earliest written reference we have of her is from Bede in the early 600s CE. Later the Brothers Grim looked into her and translated her name to Ostara and that spelling stuck into modern times. She became the symbol of the holiday in modern paganism and the name for the Christian holiday in modern German and English.

Ostara falls on the Vernal (Spring Equinox), date wise, this is around March 20-21 each year (in the Northern Hemisphere). It is one of two times of the year that the time it is daylight equals the time that it is dark. It is now six weeks from Imbolc (or Groundhog’s Day) and officially Spring. In many areas, Spring flowers are beginning to bloom, and the migrating birds are making their journeys North.

If you raise chickens, or know someone that does, you will also notice that your chickens have begun laying more eggs. Chickens raised in natural environments need approximately 12 hours of daylight in order to lay eggs. It has to do with the idea that during the cold winter food is hard to find and chickens are more worried about surviving that starting the next generation. When the daylight gets to about 12 hours a day, their brains feel like resources are coming back and they can start to lay eggs again in order to replenish the population. Our ancestors would have noticed this egg-laying pattern and it became associated with the Spring and fertility. Ostara is an egg holiday. Many of the traditional foods and activities for the day are egg based. From decorating eggs and egg hunts during the celebrations to quiche and custards feeding everyone at the feast, eggs are a very important part of modern Ostara celebrations.

Many farm animals give birth to their young in the Springtime. There is nothing cuter that baby goats and fluffy little lambs frolicking around fields of young grass and spring flowers. New life is all around and you can’t help but feel the energy of growth in everything. Lambs and chicks have become the symbols of that abundant new life and the fertility of the Earth. After Winter’s long, cold slumber, the youthful exuberance and joy of Spring’s new life is welcome. Lambs and chicks are common decorations of the season and some Ostara feasts also include that addition of fresh lamb in the meal.

New life isn’t the only thing celebrated at Ostara, balance is also major theme in some people’s celebrations. For many modern practitioners of the Craft, this is a time to take steps to bring balance into their lives. Too much of any one thing is not good and finding balance leads to a fulfilling life. It has been observed many times in nature that things are best when they are balanced, and this carries through into a person’s life. Too much work and you don’t get enough sleep and your personal relationships suffer. It is good for a person’s physical, spiritual, and mental health to find a way to find a balance between work, loved ones, and rest. Ostara is a great time to do spells and set intentions to bring that balance into your life.

There are many ways to celebrate this holiday. From a simple walk in the woods to rituals that bless the land and all who exist there. Personally, I’m a fan of outdoor picnics with friends in the Spring sunshine. Other things that can be done to honor the holiday include decorating eggs (you can be as simple as using food coloring to paint on hardboiled eggs to as elaborate as learning pysanky), preparing your garden to plant or just cleaning up the debris in your garden left behind from winter, plant seeds in hollowed egg shells, do divination, tell Spring related fairy tales around a bonfire, or collect rainwater to make moon water with later.

Food always makes every holiday better. Ostara feasts are all about eggs, seasonal vegetables, and fresh flavors. Many traditional Easter foods are also Ostara foods. Ham baked with honey glaze with a spring greens salad and new potatoes is a perfectly acceptable meal. If you are vegetarian, maybe an asparagus quiche with ginger carrots on the side. For the daring palates out there, lamb with mint is a popular meat dish. Desserts can consist of foods made from honey, mint, strawberry, chocolate, and seeds.

There is no right or wrong way to celebrate Ostara as long as it celebrates the coming Spring and the new hope that comes with Spring.