Ostara Awakenings
Celebrating the Spring Equinox
Spring, man. It’s such a relief when the days get longer and warmer. And then nature starts popping out with flowers and it almost feels like you are being reborn, too. (Or perhaps resurrected?)
In this third installment of our Wheel of the Year series, we explore the Pagan festival of Ostara—aka the Spring, or Vernal, Equinox—which falls on March 20 in 2025. And if elation over springtime doesn’t sounds overly on-brand for Grimrose Manor, then you clearly haven’t heard of Pastel Goth… .
According to lore, Ostara is named in honor of the Germanic goddess of dawn and fertility, who is associated with flowers, hares and rabbits (which are distinct but both known for prolific breeding), and eggs. If that symbolism sounds familiar, you may also have heard that the traditions of Ostara were adopted (co-opted) by Christians in the same way Yuletide customs were engulfed by Christmas. But this appears not to be the case. Scholars continue to debate the festival’s age and origins, as well as whether or not Eostre actually existed or was simply mythologized by a Grimm brother. (And did you know that the Easter Bunny was popularized by the Pennsylvania Dutch?)
Regardless, I think most everyone can agree that the miracle of Spring deserves to be marked in some way.
How to Celebrate
Because I personally came from a spiritual tradition that was more authoritative, one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about Paganism is that it’s highly adaptive and you have the freedom to create your own rituals. So if you choose to celebrate the festival of Ostara, what might you do?
Here are some suggestions, but I encourage you to find variations and explore any rituals that make you feel more closely connected to nature and aligned with the season of renewal.
Create a shelf or table altar, incorporating items that symbolize rebirth and inspire you to take a fresh perspective. The more personal the meaning, the better.
Take a solo morning walk seeking signs of new growth and frisky wildlife. You can even turn it into a photo scavenger hunt.
Visit a local nursery for plants or birdseed and welcome spring to your yard. If you planted any bulbs last fall or any seeds at Imbolc, admire how far they (and you!) have come.
Color some eggs using natural dyes. I recently got some butterfly pea flower tea I want to experiment with.
Set aside time for an Ostara tarot reading. You can find a variety of themed spreads online or create your own.
Ostara reminds us that even after the darkest winters, new life will emerge. So however you celebrate, meditate on the fact that we are not frozen in our current existence. Be encouraged to envision the good that is yet to come—and it will likely transform the way walk through the world.
For further reading:
I had a nice walk past some cherry trees this morning that I can't wait to see bloom soon. They were stunning last year.