Ostara: The Spring Equinox

Spring is fast approaching, and with it comes many different “holidays” observed by assorted religions. Many religions have instated a holiday to mark the coming spring, as well as worship to their spring deities. Ostara is one of the many sabbats (holidays) associated with spring.

Ostara is a festival celebrated by Neopagans and Wiccans marking the beginning of Spring. It is conducted from March 19-March 22. The German pagans named the holiday after Ostara, their goddess of spring, fertility, and rebirth. For the Anglo-Saxons, her name was Ēostre (pron. East-ra). A festival was held in her honor every year by the pagans. The Christian equivalent for Ostara is Easter.

There is only one known early recording of the goddess, which was written by a monk named Venerable Bede (673-735). Bede was not only a monk, but an English scholar as well as a linguist and translator. In his treatise De temporum ratione, he mentions only a little of Eostre and the pagan observance of her.

Most of our knowledge of Ostara today comes from Bede, Jacob Grimm, and research of Pagan practices.

• Coloring eggs
• Garden
• Take a walk and explore Mother Earth
• Meditate
• Candle lighting ceremony
• Have a seed blessing ceremony
• Hide eggs for your children to find

• Something new: It is believed that wearing something new during Ostara will bring good luck.
• Egg Bunny: It was believed that a particular rabbit would go around and give colorful eggs to good children.
• Estrus: This word is used to describe an animal in heat, but it was also used to describe Ēostre presumed consort, a rabbit.
• Hare form: Some believe Ēostre could take on the form of a hare, or that she had the head of a hare.

• Hares and rabbits
• Sex
• Fertility
• New life
• Eggs
• White lily (symbol of resurrection)