New Growth Awaits
The Spring Equinox (or Ostara) is a Pagan holiday that celebrates the first day of Spring. It marks the moment when the Earth comes back to life again after a long, cold and dark winter. Themes for the Spring Equinox include fertility, renewal, rebirth and new beginnings.
As you dive deeper into the celebrations and traditions for this holiday, you’ll notice some similarities between it and the Christian holiday, Easter. This is because when the church was trying to bring more people into it’s fold, they attempted to create familiar holidays that would help draw people in. Skewing them more to the church’s teachings of course. For the Ostara and Easter, you’ll see the symbol of the rabbit and eggs prominently featured in both holidays.
If you’re confused as to how rabbits and eggs made its way into the Spring Equinox, it all starts with the goddess, Eostre. There are many different versions of this story, so I’ll share one with you here. While Eostre was out one day she saw an injured bird. In order to save its life, she ended up having to turn it into a rabbit. Something about the transformation didn’t completely take, but the rabbit still survived. As a gift of gratitude, the rabbit laid eggs and presented them to the goddess for her kindness. If it’s a little too farfetched for you to picture a rabbit laying eggs; an alternative ending is that the rabbit went out and collected eggs to present as a gift to Eostre.
There are many different ways to celebrate this holiday. It doesn’t matter whether you are already witchy or are just looking to try something new to acknowledge the changing of the seasons. I’ve come up with a list of some fun and easy ideas below to get you started. I hope you find something that speaks to you. And remember, you can always tweak or adjust anything to suit your own style or type of magick.
Spring Equinox Celebration Activities:
Plant a garden
The Spring Equinox is all about new growth. What better place to celebrate this than in your garden? If you don’t have a designated growing area, you can create one by purchasing some cheap pots or repurposing other materials. Try to use seeds or young plants that need time to grow. Half the fun is watching what you planted, blossom into something beautiful.
Egg Hunts
Eggs are a sign of fertility and renewal in this holiday. You can incorporate them fairly easily into your celebrations by painting or dying them in festive colors. Once they are colored to perfection, use them to have egg hunts with your family and friends.
Balance an egg
Eggs are also a symbol of fertility and rebirth. Attempting to stand one upright and on the Spring Equinox is a long-standing tradition. This strange activity correlates to the hours of day and night becoming more balanced again. While some say you can only balance an egg on this one day, it’s not actually true. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun and give it a go!
Drink Some Herbs
Drinking a concoction of Dandelion and Burdock was a traditional ritual for individuals celebrating this Sabbat. As an herbalist I can tell you that dandelion is pretty neutral but Burdock has a heck of a punch. It’s quite bitter so please be prepared if you’re going to attempt this. This herbal cocktail was said to revitalize your body after the long stagnation of the winter months. Additionally, it was also considered to be a blood purifier. (Make sure to check with your PCP to make sure these herbs won’t interfere with other medications or issues.)
Spring Cleaning
There’s never been a more perfect time to get rid of your old junk and clean out your closets. Getting rid of stuff you no longer use is a great way to switch up the energy and to make space for things that you actually need. Your home will enjoy getting a good deep clean during this time as well. Just don’t forget to give your living space a good energetic cleansing while you’re at it! Sometimes we forget that removing stagnant or unwanted energy is just as important as tasks like emptying the dishwasher and mopping the floors.
Sunrise Ceremony
This one doesn’t have to be complicated. Remember it’s the intention behind your magick and rituals that actually counts. Get up before sunrise and greet the sun as it makes its first appearance of the day. Celebrate the sun for its ability to help plants and humans grow and thrive. For all of the work it will be doing to prepare the Earth as we move into Spring. And for the growing hours of daylight that come with this Turn of the Wheel. Toast to the beautiful rays of light as they come up over the horizon! You can use a fancy glass of champagne, some soothing herbal tea or even some fruit infused sparkly water. Raise your glass in gratitude and feel the sun’s rays warm your face and body.