Snowdrops, growing bulbs, robins, fresh breezes, rain, swelling tree buds, and the first tiny wildflowers: Ostara, the Spring Equinox, is almost here! The equinox occurs on March 19th of this year, specifically at 11:06 p.m. Eastern Time. Like the Autumn Equinox, Ostara is a celebration of balance. Anjou Kiernan, author of The Ultimate Guide to the Witch’s Wheel of the Year, says:
On the Equinox, light and shadow hover over the threshold of spring in perfect balance. This harmony is evident in the flurry of new life that frolics through the forests and fields. Male and female (or yin and yang) energies have come together as one and continue to grow until the winds blow cold once again. The egg, a symbol of the god and goddess working in unison, suspends the yellow yolk (the part of the egg that physically enables the growth of the chick, represents our outer self, and symbolizes the sun) in the white albumen (the part of the egg that cradles the chick, represents our inner self, and symbolizes the moon). With this in mind, as we begin our journey over the threshold into the physical, outer sun, we must be sure that we have not left anything behind with the emotional, inner moon. The ancient Pagans visited sacred wells and springs where they drank and bathed in the water to restore balance to their bodies and renew their bond with nature. What shadows are we still harboring that can be balanced with the light?1
As a way to aid in this cleansing before the seasons change, try preparing a luscious sugar scrub to scour away all the clinging dinginess of winter as you get ready to step into the light.
Spring Shower Ritual “Bath”
Mix 1 cup cane or other larger crystal sugar with 1/2 cup coconut, olive, or almond oil. If you like, grate some fresh lemon or orange zest into the mixture.
On Ostara morning, spend a few moments reflecting on the things you do not wish to carry with you into the new growing season. What habits, health problems, relationships, mindsets, or thought patterns are getting in the way of manifesting your intentions for the New Year? What is causing you to feel anxious, stressed, or unwell?
As you step into the shower, visualize the things you want to scrub away. Take a generous scoop of your cleansing scrub and rub your skin vigorously, avoiding sensitive areas (especially your eyes). Let the warm, streaming water wash away all the things you wish to be rid of, as the spring rain washes the earth2.
Rising before the sun so you can watch it come up is a traditional way to celebrate the Spring Equinox. The Buddhist temple Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the largest temple in the world, “was designed to represent five-peaked Mount Meru, home of the gods and center of the physical and spiritual universes. Because of its east-west construction, the Sun rises directly over the center tower of the temple on the Equinox3.” The Germanic goddess Ostara, for whom the festival is usually named, is associated with the dawn and spring. To channel this goddess’s youthful energy and vitality, anoint yourself with dew and pick a few flowers for your hair before you greet the rising sun. Raising your arms to welcome the sun, singing, chanting, or reciting a poem or verse are all magical ways to start this special day. If the day of the Equinox is overcast, wait until the next clear day for the full effect.
After you have greeted the sun, why not go for a walk? This is the perfect time for a spring scavenger hunt. Try to use all six of your senses: what do you see? (A robin or other migratory bird, a bird’s nest, catkins, an early flower, bulbs growing). What can you hear? (birdsong, the wind, geese returning). What can you smell? (warming earth, something decaying, rain). What can you taste? (spring air, perhaps onion grass if you have any growing, dew from the branch of a tree). What can you feel? (sunlight, rain or damp air, soggy ground underfoot). What else can you experience? (“a sense of lightness, hope, increased energy, excitement,”)4. See how many things you notice when you are trying to notice them. Do you notice more of the world around you when you are using all your senses? Younger children might enjoy a sheet with a list of common things to find and cross off, my girls get a wonderful sense of accomplishment from a completed scavenger hunt.
Of course, egg hunts and scavenger hunts go nicely together, so if you don’t want to wait for Easter (which is a family holiday for us and very busy), now is a good time! Collect all the flaked-off onion skins out of that drawer in the fridge or pantry and boil your eggs with them in enough water to cover the eggs. The amount of skins you use determines the color, from a pale yellow or peach to a deep terra-cotta. Turmeric can also be used for a darker yellow, and coffee grounds make a lovely brown. Beet roots and greens can also be used to make pink, and red cabbage makes a bluish color. Boil your eggs for a good twenty minutes or more, then take them out of the boiling water and cool in cold water. Your kitchen will smell like soup! Finished and dried eggs can be painted with darker dyes or drawn on with nontoxic markers, whatever you’re comfortable with. Not only is this a fun and traditional activity for families and children, but the act of decorating eggs can hold deep spiritual significance. In the Ukraine, beeswax and special dyes are used to create pysanky, specially decorated eggs. This act, which predates Christianity, was thought to be a sacred feminine art, for eggs and beeswax are both symbols of life and the goddess. Many in the Ukraine “believe that each time a woman makes a pysanka, the devil, representing the principle of evil and blight, is pushed further down into captivity and further from humanity5.” Through art, women become spiritual warriors, fighting to protect their loved ones and the world from all negative influences. As you dye your eggs this year, remember the power of art. Even if what you make doesn’t seem worthy of the title, any act of creation is still powerful magic. Get messy, have fun, and let your creative spirit soar!
The Spring Equinox is also the day when Persephone, Roman goddess of spring and the underworld, returns to the realm of her mother, Demeter, the goddess of grain and the harvest. As the story goes, Hades captured the lovely Persephone and tricked her into eating six pomegranate pips (seeds), thereby sealing her to him in the underworld (if you eat any food in the underworld, it is said, you’re stuck there). Demeter was furious, and Hades was forced into a bargain: half the year (from the Autumn Equinox to the Spring Equinox), Persephone would reside with Hades as his queen. The other half of the year she could rejoin her mother. It is Demeter’s sorrow at being parted from her daughter that causes the world to grow cold and the plants to die, and her joy at being reunited is what brings the spring. So the story goes. In honor of the tradition, why not plan a special mother-daughter time? Do each other’s hair, or paint your nails. Buy some fake flowers and ribbon and decorate hats or make flower crowns. Go out for coffee or tea, or make some at home and have a tea party. Dress up in your best—or dress as Persephone and Demeter! Rena draped and pinned an old, pale pink sheet around herself, pinned an Elven crown she got for her birthday in her hair, and held a pomegranate to dress as Persephone for a costume day at co-op last week. She looked lovely, and it was all her own idea.
Light requires shadow, as Persephone’s story reminds us. She was the lovely goddess of spring…and a powerful underworld queen. Persephone took her greatest tragedy and turned it into triumph. If, in this season, you have an urgent need of some kind, try writing a petition in pomegranate juice.
Persephone’s Pomegranate Petition
Cut open a pomegranate and set aside 6 seeds for Persephone in an offering bowl.
In a mortar [or heavy bowl], gently crush the remaining seeds so that they release their juice. Strain the juice through a cheesecloth [or wide-weave dish towel you don’t mind staining] into an ink pot or jar; reserve the pulp for later.
With a quill or dip pen, use the pomegranate “ink” to write a petition or request to Persephone. [Note: choose your petition with care. Pomegranate ink is symbolic of blood magic and therefore highly potent. It “should only be used for purposes that require a high amount of energy, such as turning around addiction, homelessness, hopelessness, despair, or health.”]
Light a candle [preferably black] and begin to burn your petition. Meditate on it. Envision Persephone receiving it in the underworld as she crosses the River Styx, and from there, her bringing it up into the light to grow and blossom.
Continue this meditation as you place the petition into a fireproof vessel and let it reduce to ash.
Bury the ash and pulp in fertile ground, such as a garden, farm field, or plant pot, so that your petition will grow along with the plants in the earthly plane.6
However you choose to cleanse yourself as you move towards the light, remember that Ostara is a languid holiday. Fiona Cook, author of The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide To Nature’s Rhythms, says:
Hope keeps us moving in the direction of light, life, and longer days. Take your time; you don’t need to rush into anything. It’s normal to sometimes feel a little overwhelmed by change, especially since we’re still processing the lessons from Winter. If you feel hyper or pulled in too many directions, slow down. Focus on one thing: one small bud in a tree, or a single bird. The next six weeks until Beltane focus on growth, but also balance. Take them gradually, a little at a time, even if it’s tempting to try to do everything at once.7
Spring is here at last, but not yet in full bloom. You have time to rest and find your balance before the frantic energy of Spring asserts itself. Be well.
Kiernan, Anjou. The Ultimate Guide to the Witch's Wheel of the Year: Rituals, Spells & Practices for Magical Sabbats, Holidays & Celebrations. United States, Fair Winds Press, 2021.
Cook, Fiona. The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature's Rhythms. United States, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2023.
Cook, Fiona. The Wheel of the Year.
Cook, Fiona. The Wheel of the Year.
Illes, Judika. Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World. United States, HarperCollins, 2015.
Kiernan, Anjou. The Ultimate Guide to the Witch's Wheel of the Year.
Cook, Fiona. The Wheel of the Year.