Witches Celebrating the Spring Equinox The spring equinox, also known as Ostara or the vernal equinox, is an important time for witches around the world. This pagan holiday marks the beginning of spring and the rebirth of nature. Witches celebrate this time by honoring the balance between light and dark, and embracing the energy of renewal and growth. During the spring equinox, witches often gather in nature to connect with the earth and its cycles. They may perform rituals, cast spells, or partake in other symbolic practices to harness the magic of the season. This is a time when the veil between the spiritual and physical world is said to be thin, allowing witches to access heightened spiritual energies.
10. Connect with this energy whenever you tend to the plant.
During Passover the egg symbolizes the beginning of life and Passover celebrates the beginning of Jewish national existence and reflects on the precise position of the Jewish people during the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Plant flowers or vegetables depending on what s available at your local nursery during the equinox season they ll need time to adjust before they bloom or bear fruit.
This is a time when the veil between the spiritual and physical world is said to be thin, allowing witches to access heightened spiritual energies. One of the main focuses of spring equinox celebrations is the veneration of life and fertility. Witches often create altars adorned with symbols of renewal, such as flowers, eggs, and baby animals.
Spring Equinox & Ostara
A little history on the celebration of Spring, light and life….
March 20th marks the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and if you still have snow on the ground like I do, you’re probably ready to think about sun, Spring and flowers instead of shoveling, ice and cold. Now is the perfect time to celebrate the tiny buds, later nights and sun that is right around the corner (or if you’re lucky already there). If we welcome Spring, it will come… so how does a witch celebrate?
The short answer is however we want. That’s the best part about Witchcraft, you get to do what you feel called to do so. It’s a craft, a belief system where you create your own rules - not a religion that expects you to follow their rules, without much choice.
Spring (Vernal) Equinox is often called Ostra by Witches. Full disclosure, I choose not to celebrate the Spring Equinox as Ostra because it does not speak to me or my craft. I understand while people do and that is a beautiful choice if it speaks to you! Every year around this time I see a lot of misinformation about the history of Ostra online so I wanted to write a post with some facts about Spring Equinox and Ostara to help us all make educated choices about our practices.
So let’s break it down… The Spring (also called Vernal) Equinox has been celebrated all over the world by different cultures in different ways, by different names since humans gathered together. While each culture had its own customs and celebrations they were and are mostly centered around creativity, fertility and renewal. Some yearly planting rituals would be performed around these times to help ensure successful crops for the season. No matter what your belief, religion or craft was/is this is an important seasonal shift and in ancient times it was even more important as it was the start to the hunting, gathering and/or growing season - if they didn’t have a successful season their people could suffer or even worse die during the long winter season. Many things have changed since ancient times - organized religion, science and our general understanding of how things work are vastly different than how our ancestors experienced life so modern day traditions and rituals for Spring Equinox tend to be centered around celebrating the shift and welcoming in the new energies.
Ostara is a celebration of the Spring Equinox but it is a fairly MODERN celebration created in 1954 by the wiccan religion. In the 1950s the wiccan religion made up the “the wheel of the year” and holidays to celebrate with it. While the wheel of the year and those holidays have been adopted by some Witches, they aren’t necessarily part of the old ways or pagan beliefs. Please also note that Wicca is a religion and is not Witchcraft. It is often confused with Witches and Witchcraft but there are many WItches (like myself) who aren’t wiccan. Just like with christianity or Jewish religions you can practice your religion and be a Witch or not.
During Passover the egg symbolizes the beginning of life and Passover celebrates the beginning of Jewish national existence and reflects on the precise position of the Jewish people during the time of the Exodus from Egypt.
It is said that Ostara is based on the Germanic goddess, Eostre but Eostre is a goddess exclusive to the Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxons were a Germanic tribe that conquered parts of Britain and it’s important to remember that one tribe is not entirely representative of Germanic pre-Christian faith. Eostre is also said to be linked to eggs, rabbits and other eastery type things but this really conjecture because the one documented mention of Eostre in history reads:
"Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated 'Paschal month, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honor feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honored name of the old observance.” Recorded by English monk named Bede in 725 C.E.
You may have also heard that Easter gets its name from Ostara. That is correct. The record quoted above was found by the Anglo-Saxons in the 8th century, however they had already converted to christianity in the 6th century meaning the record was found 200 years after they converted to christianity and many of their holidays and traditions had just been recently syncretized. Remember that Anglo-Saxons were a Germanic tribe that conquered parts of Britain - in the process helping create the English language. The name “Easter” came from that language and a celebration that they celebrated (as christians) at that time. There is no record of what Easter traditions came from the Anglo-Saxons however we do know what Easter traditions that christians “borrowed” from the Jewish religion - during Passover the egg symbolizes the beginning of life and Passover celebrates the beginning of Jewish national existence and reflects on the precise position of the Jewish people during the time of the Exodus from Egypt. It is important to highlight that egg symbolism is not unique to pagan beliefs and that many christian traditions come from Jewish traditions, as well as pagan traditions. It is often insinuated that christianity “borrowed” everything from paganism and that is simply not true. It is dangerous not to acknowledge and erases Jewish traditions and their relation with christianity.
Many Germans believed that the new year started on the first full moon after Yule, it seems that in “folk culture” the new year started later on the Spring Equinox in March.
Now that we’ve learned that Ostra coming from pre-christianity Germany is a myth let’s talk about how German pagans likely celebrated the Spring Equinox. The Germanic peoples divided the year into two parts - Summer and Winter. Summer would start when the warm season came and varied upon a tribes location. Many Germans believed that the new year started on the first full moon after Yule, it seems that in “folk culture” the new year started later on the Spring Equinox in March. This day is now known as Todaustragen. Todaustragen traditions would have varied by region and name. So while many Witches celebrate Ostara which was created in 1954 by wiccans, I choose to celebrate Todaustragen like my German ancestors would have. This German folk tradition literally means “carrying out death” and is derived from pre-christian beliefs. It is a ceremony that symbolically drives out winter (death) so that summer can come. It is a pre-christian belief that spring is unable to start until winter has been driven out and I love the symbology of that in modern day life. After the introduction of christianity and their calendar the christian holiday “Laetare” “absorbed” Todaustragen rituals in the Germanic/Slavic regions.
As a Witch it is important for me to learn about my ancestors and their pre-christian beliefs, rituals and traditions. I am and was raised as second generation Cuban, Lebanese (maternal side) and German (paternal side) American and a way of connecting to my cultures, heritage and ancestors is to learn as much as I can about how they would have lived and what they would have believed in pre-christian times. Connecting with my German ancestors by singing with my family, making poppets and pretzels the way my ancestors might have feels right to me, especially during the New England spring. In Western Massachusetts the weather is unpredictable and it is not uncommon to get snow in April so driving out winter in order to welcome in the spring feels like hope at the end of a long winter season.
I wish I could include more knowledge of different celebrations in different cultures but I don’t know very much about them yet. Take some time and research what your ancestors may have done for the Spring Equinox. Start with what you know, even if it’s just an area or country or idea. Each step will narrow it down and just remember - just because you read it on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true. I have spent decades researching, reading and fact checking. I do my best to only write about what I have researched and has been backed up by historians, documents and oral history but even that could turn out inaccurate as we learn more over time. It is important to keep an open mind!
The spring equinox symbolizes the start of a new cycle or season and is a time of renewal and rebirth. It also marks an important point in the annual cycle of day length, with equal hours of day and night for most parts of the world.
They may also participate in activities like planting seeds or decorating eggs as a representation of new beginnings. Another aspect of the spring equinox for witches is the celebration of balance. This holiday occurs when the day and night are of equal length, symbolizing the equilibrium between light and dark. Witches use this time to reflect on the duality of existence and to strive for balance in their own lives. They may perform rituals to honor both the light and dark aspects of themselves and the world around them. Overall, the spring equinox is a significant time for witches to celebrate the arrival of spring, embrace the energy of renewal, and honor the balance between light and dark. Through rituals, spells, and symbolic practices, witches connect with nature and embody the essence of this magical time..
Reviews for "Rediscovering Ancient Celebrations: Witches Reconnect with the Magic of the Spring Equinox"
1. John - 1 star
I found "Witches celebrating the spring equinox" to be a complete waste of time. The plot was shallow and predictable, and the characters felt one-dimensional. The writing style was also lacking, with clunky dialogue and cliched descriptions. Overall, I was extremely disappointed in this book and would not recommend it to anyone.
2. Sarah - 2 stars
While I appreciate the effort to explore a unique topic like witches celebrating the spring equinox, this book fell short in many aspects. The pacing felt uneven, with slow and uneventful sections, and rushed, chaotic sequences that were hard to follow. The characters lacked depth and their motivations were vague at best. Additionally, the writing was filled with grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. Unfortunately, this book failed to captivate me and I wouldn't recommend it.