Spring is spranging! Happy Ostara
Monday March 20th marks Ostara 2023. Here’s how we’ll be celebrating at Suzie K.
What is Ostara?
Ostara marks the Spring Equinox, which takes place between 19th and 23rd March each year (the days and date varies annually). It’s a pagan celebration of Eostre, the German goddess of the dawn. It also marks the beginning of spring in the Northern hemisphere, where the light we rekindled at Yule comes back into balance with the darkness – and what better time to plant seeds for the year, be that literally or metaphorically!
Ostara symbolism
Spring is a time for rebirth, new life, cleansing and refreshing. It’s a time for setting plans in motion for the rest of the year.
Eostre is a fertility goddess, and Ostara is full of fertile energy – be that new buds and growth of plants, or the growth of new ideas.
It’s not a surprise then to learn some common symbols of Ostara:
Eggs – symbols of new life, fertility and luck, springtime being when birds start laying again
Rabbits – rabbits and hares are famous for reproducing quickly and in great numbers! Hares are sacred to several fertility goddesses, including Aphrodite and Freya.
Flowers – this is the season when new growth bursts into bloom.
There are also certain colours associated with Ostara – green, yellow, lavender – and this is reflected in the associated crystals, too. Use aquamarine, peridot, amethyst, moss agate, rose quartz or sunstone on your Ostara altar to honour nature, fertility and the return of the sun.
How you can celebrate Ostara
There are many ways to celebrate this festival. A good way to start is to have a good spring clean of your spaces – from your home to your laptop – declutter and freshen up with the new season!
It’s also the perfect time to set into motion all the plans you made earlier in the year so you can go on to harvest the fruits of your labour later in the year. This could be business, hobby, or a literal planting of seeds in your garden.
Going for a walk in nature and taking the time out to appreciate the new season and all of the new plant growth and animal activity is a lovely Ostara activity.
You could also decorate an altar in Ostara colours, using spring flowers, candles and representations of eggs – you can dye or decorate eggs yourself as a popular Ostara craft - birds or rabbits.
If you enjoy cooking, then an Ostara meal could involve spring produce and greens, or of course, eggs.
How we’ll be celebrating at Suzie K
Each Turn of the Wheel event that we host at Suzie K is special and unique. Our 2023 Ostara celebration is on Sunday March 19th, 2-3.30pm. You can check out Turn of the Wheel dates for 2023 over at our events page – they book up very fast, so be quick if you want to secure a place. Each event is a vibrant celebration of the cycle of the seasons – you can see some highlights from our 2022 Beltane event here.
Shop brand new spring clothing lines, crystals, crafts and more on our website!
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