As winter softens and the earth begins to stir, the turning of the seasons offers a powerful invitation to awaken alongside the natural world. Ostara, or the Spring Equinox, is one of the eight solar holidays that make up the Wheel of the Year, honouring this moment of emergence, balance, and reawakening after winter’s depths.

In this blogpost, we'll explore:

🍃 What the Wheel of the Year is and how it helps you connect with seasonal cycles

🌷 The origins and meaning of Ostara and the Spring Equinox

🪴 Symbols, colours, herbs, and crystals associated with this time of year

✨ Simple ways to celebrate Ostara and welcome the energy of spring into your life

 

So What is the Wheel of the Year?

Separated into 8 main holidays, the Wheel of the Year is a representation of seasonal cycles that focuses on the 4 Solar Holidays of the year (also known as the quarter days). This stems from the Anglo-Saxon cultural observations of the solstices and equinoxes, with the addition of the 4 Gaelic, agrarian, seasonal celebrations (the mid-points between the solar holidays known as the lunar cross-quarter days or fire festivals). These 8 holidays are:

• Yule (Winter Solstice) – around December 20–23
• Imbolc – February 1–2
• Ostara (Spring Equinox) – around March 19–22
• Beltane – April 30–May 1
• Litha (Summer Solstice) – around June 20–23
• Lughnasadh / Lammas – August 1
• Mabon (Autumn Equinox) – around September 20–23
• Samhain – October 31–November 1

 

Why tune into the Wheel of the Year?

The Wheel of the Year can help you tune into natural cycles (similar to the Lunar Phases, but on an annual scale rather than just monthly), allowing you to internalize these outward changes in nature as reflections of the growth and evolution experienced in personal life. Living in harmony with the seasons and the ebb and flow of nature helps cultivate a more soulful life and a deeper understanding of the self on a soul level. The Wheel of the Year helps us recognize identity and purpose within the world around us.

An Introduction to Ostara: 

Ostara, or the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, is the first of the quarter days, which marks the second of the spring holidays (the mid-point between Imbolc and Beltane). Ostara is traditionally celebrated on the day of the Vernal Equinox, determined by when the Sun is directly over the earth's equator (this date may range from March 19th through March 22nd each year depending on the Sun's position).

Modern Ostara celebrations stem from the contemporary Wheel of the Year, where Ostara is associated with the Spring Equinox and is celebrated as a time of new beginnings and the re-emergence of life after the depth of winter.

 

 

Ostara Signifies the Time for:

• Abundance
• Renewal
• Fertility
• Growth
• Balance
• Joy
• New beginnings & change
• Taking action
• Blessings
• Light
• Celebrating the return of all things green
• The coming of Spring
• Rebirth

Why Celebrate Ostara?

Ostara welcomes in the Spring, the return of longer days, and the renewal of the land. At this time, plants and animals are beginning to wake up from their winter slumber, and nature seems to come alive as the earth begins to warm. As the land thaws from its winter freeze, seeds can be sown, new crops can be planted, birds and bees return to the sky, and livestock born at Imbolc are growing and being reared by their mothers.

Ostara is celebrated at the Vernal Equinox, when light and darkness are equal, which means that from this day forward, the days will continue to lengthen until the time of the Summer Solstice. For this reason, Ostara is a celebration of the Sun, of the dawn, and of the return of radiant light.

Ostara and the Goddess Eostra:

Eostra is a Germanic Goddess (also known as Eostre, Eastre, or Ostara) for whom Ostara is named. The only recorded account of this Goddess comes from the Venerable Bede's "The Reckoning of Time." Bede claimed that Anglo-Saxon Pagans held feasts in Eostra's honor during Ostarmanoth (the equivalent of the month of April).

Though the authenticity of Bede's account is hotly contested, some historical linguists connected the Goddess Eostra to the Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn, Hewsos/Hausos/Heusos. Historical connections between the goddess Eostra and Germanic Easter customs and connections with hares and eggs are also debated among scholars, though they are widely celebrated by modern Pagans.

 

Other Ostara Goddesses, Gods, or Deities:

• Eostra/Eostre/Eastre/Ostara/Austro/Austra
• Blodeuwedd/Flower Face
• Artha
• Morgen Cliton of Avalon
• Eos (Greek Goddess of Dawn that Eostra may be attributed to)
• Ushas (Vedic Goddess of Dawn that Eostra may be attributed to)
• Aurora (Roman Goddess of Dawn that Eostra may be attributed to)
• Frig/Frige
• Freya
• Libera
• Persephone (Goddess of Spring)

• Demeter
• Thor
• Erce (Mother of the Earth)
• Rheda/Hretha/Hrethe/Hrede/Hruada/Hrouda
• Mother Mary (Lady Day/Feast of the Annunciation)
• Jesus (Easter)
• Mary Magdalene (Easter)
• The Maiden form of the Triple Goddess (Maiden Day)
• Cybele (Hilaria)
• Attis (Hilaria)
• Dísir (Dísablót)
• Valkyries (Dísablót)
• Gaia Goddess of Earth

Simple Ways to Celebrate Ostara:

• Set up an Ostara altar with crystals, symbols, herbs and other items aligned with Spring Equinox energy (full suggested supplies list below!)
• Feasts are a common way to celebrate Ostara
• Dye or paint eggs and use them for an egg hunt or an egg-rolling race (you can use hard-boiled or wooden eggs)
• Create a bouquet of Spring flowers and place it on your altar or in your home (gather them only from places where you have permission, take only what you need and leave much more than you take)
• Perform an Ostara or Spring-themed Card Reading

• Bake fresh bread or hot cross buns
• Prepare a salad with early spring greens (grown yourself or carefully foraged)
• Go on a walk or hike in nature and take some photos that capture the return of spring (you can even print these and put them on your altar or create some Ostara-themed Grimoire pages)
• Be intentional with your shadow work during this time of balanced light and darkness
• Plan your garden or start vegetable seeds
• Spring cleaning & home blessing
• Enjoy the delicious treat of some honey or honeycomb

Setting up an Ostara Altar to Honor Goddess Eostra and Spring Equinox Energies

Creating an Ostara altar is a beautiful way to honour the Goddess Eostra and attune to the balanced, blossoming energies of the Spring Equinox. An altar acts as a sacred focal point – a place where intention meets symbolism, and where the subtle shifts of the season can be acknowledged with reverence and presence. By thoughtfully choosing objects that represent renewal, fertility, light, and growth, the altar becomes a living reflection of spring’s awakening energy, inviting clarity, inspiration, and new beginnings into both spiritual practice and daily life.

Here are our recommended crystals, symbols, herbs, and spiritual supplies for your Spring Equinox altar:

Ostara Crystals:

Some of our favorite crystals to work with on and around the Spring Equinox are:

1. Pink Calcite - a stone that represents the energy of spring blossoms unfurling and their qualities of expansion and sweetness.
2. Golden Calcite - a crystal that represents the radiant light of the sun and its qualities of energizing and renewal.
3. Aqua Calcite - a stone to represent the energy of new shoots emerging and their qualities of growth and healing.

Other Suggested Crystals for the Spring Equinox:

• Amethyst
• Angel Aura Quartz
• Aquamarine
• Green Aventurine
• Bloodstone
• Citrine
• Heliodor
• Eclipse Jasper
• Rainforest Jasper
• Tree Agate

• Yellow Jasper
• Lepidolite
• Moonstone
• Morganite
• Pink Opal
• Golden Quartz
• Rose Quartz
• Rhodonite

Ostara Symbols:

• Hares & Rabbits
• Eggs
• Baskets
• Chicks
• Butterflies
• Tulips
• Daffodils
• Pansy Flowers
• Violet Flowers

• Lilac Flowers
• Strawberry Plants
• Honey & Honeycomb
• Bees
• Snakes and Serpents
• Lambs & Other Baby Animals
• Robins & Other Birds
• Grass
• Seeds
• Rain
• Asparagus
• Radiant Light

Ostara Herbs:

• Alder
• Apple Blossom
• Broom
• Catnip
• Cleavers
• Cornflower
• Dill
• Hawthorn
• Irish Moss
• Lavender
• Lemongrass
• Meadowsweet
• Spearmint
• Sweet Woodruff

Ostara Colors:

• Pink
• Yellow
• Lavender
• Green

Ostara is also known as (or is related to):

• Spring Equinox/Vernal Equinox (Determined by when the sun is directly over the Earth's equator - sometime between March 19th-22nd each year)
• Eostra's Day (Observed on the Spring Equinox)
• Easter (Observed on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the Spring Equinox)
• Rites of Spring (Observed on the day of the Spring Equinox)
• Lady Day/Feast of the Annunciation (March 25th)
• Maiden Day (Observed on the Spring Equinox)
• Alban Eilir/The Light of the Earth (Observed on the Spring Equinox)
• Hilaria (March 15th-28th, but March 25th was the most significant)
• Dísablót (Likely observed on the Spring Equinox)

*If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you'll be celebrating the festival of Mabon today instead of Ostara to keep with the seasonal cycles. In the Southern Hemisphere, Ostara is usually celebrated during the time of the Northern Hemisphere's Autumnal Equinox.

Suggested Reading:

• Ostara: Rituals, Recipes, & Lore for the Spring Equinox (Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials Series)
• Ostara Tarot
• Ostara: Customs, Spells, & Rituals for the Rites of Spring
• Eostre Ostara Eostar: Facts, Assumptions, Conjectures, Speculations, Guesses, and Nonsense

 

🌷 Shop the Spring Awakening Collection 

As the equinox approaches, the world begins to soften, brighten, and bloom. This season is an invitation to refresh spaces, reconnect with nature, and gently awaken creativity, intention, and ritual.

To celebrate this turning of the wheel, we've released a curated Spring Awakening collection  – filled with ritual tools, crystals, and sacred objects inspired by renewal, growth, light, and the quiet magic of the season.

From floral ceramics and nature-inspired decor to ritual tools, oracle decks, crystals, and cosy seasonal companions, each piece is designed to help welcome spring with intention and beauty.