How To Celebrate Ostara

Ostara is not my favorite festival of the year, but it carries some really interesting energies so I figure it deserves its own blog post 🙂 When I was a child growing up in a Polish family in New York in the 80s, I only knew it as Easter. My family wasn’t religious, so for us it was really just another school vacation, though we did eat plenty of eggs and chocolate bunnies (I remember a particular one with an orange carrot - I think it was Peter Rabbit?). In any case, I was thrilled to discover, many years later, that all the eggs and rabbits meant something - fertility, new beginnings, creative energy. These themes most definitely deserve our attention, so let’s look at how to celebrate Ostara together.

Where does the name ‘Ostara’ come from?

Ostara comes from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring. She’s the one whose symbols included eggs and rabbits - she was a goddess of fertility. So what we’re celebrating at this time of year is life itself - the beginning of new life, the fertility of Mother Nature, the process of creation. In other words, Spring.

Is Ostara the same as the Spring Equinox?

In the northern hemipshere, Ostara is the name of the festival that celebrates the March Equinox, which is an astronomical event on which the day and night are of equal lengths. It marks the beginning of Spring; in the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of Autumn. So they’re not exactly the same thing, but the terms are used interchanegably in the parts of the world where it makes sense to do so. The equinox falls somewhere between March 19 and 23. In 2025, it’s on Thursday, March 20.

If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, you’re celebrating the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, at this time; click here to read about Autumn Equinox ritual ideas.

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere like me, read on!

How to celebrate Ostara

How you mark this time of year is largely up to you. The point is to tap into seasonal energies, make space for reflection, and notice the turning of the seasons. To this end, I think it's important to think about the themes that correlate to Ostara, and how those themes show up in our lives.

I go through the themes that stand out to me below. Remember though that my list isn't exhaustive, nor is it prescriptive. If one of the themes I discuss appeals to you right now, go with it. If you're curious to explore a different one, go with that. There's no right or wrong way to celebrate Ostara, or any other festival for that matter. Seasonal celebration is highly personal.

I will say that my celebrations always involve seasonal activities, journalling and tarot. If you're into these as well then you'll like the ideas I go through in the rest of this post.

Here are some themes that I feel are important at this time of year. Play with one or more of these, or choose one of your own.

New beginning

Some ancient cultures considered this time to be when the solar year stopped and re-started - so essentially a New Year. Which makes sense when you think about all the things starting to grow right now, it’s definitely a beginning! In fact, ancient Romans celebrated their new year around the time of the Spring Equinox - and apparently much of Europe continued to consider March the start of the year until the Middle Ages!

Even in modern astrology, the wheel of the zodiac starts with Aries, which correlates to March (the Sun enters Aries around the Equinox).

This means that you can think of March as a new beginning, too. If your year hasn’t started on the right footing, if you feel like you’re already behind, if you need some of that New Year energy again, here it is for you. Take it!

Questions to ask yourself:
- what can I start at this time?
- what do I want to start at this time?
- what do I choose to start at this time?

Spring cleaning

The start of Spring is a good time to spring clean your spaces, outer AND inner. Traditionally, people get the urge to spring clean their homes - there’s a lot of decluttering going on, and a lot of sprucing things up. Things outside feel fresh, and we want things inside to feel fresh too.

Decluttering your physical spaces is great, but don’t forget your inner spaces. Ostara is a great time to look at old beliefs, patterns and behaviors, the ones that are no longer serving you, that don’t align with whatever you’d like to grow in the coming season.

Questions to ask yourself:
- which of your physical spaces feel dusty and cluttered and could use a refresh or clean-out?
- what old beliefs or patterns of behavior are you ready to let go of?
- what would make your life, your world, your body feel refreshed?

Balance

An equinox is the perfect opportunity to think about balance, within yourself and in your life. You can think of balance in so many ways, but I like to think of it in terms of what I have too much of and too little of in my life.

For example, as I write this, I’m going through an identity transition and stepping into a more creative life. I have had too little creativity in my world, and I’m ready to rectify that.

You can look at your life in general, or at what you want more/less of daily, weekly and monthly.

And remember: balance isn’t a destination to reach, it’s a process of living your life in a way that satisfies all your different needs, whether physical, emotional, spiritual or mental.

You may need to read more to feel balanced, or you may need to a weekly dance class. Whatever feels right to you is right!

Questions to ask yourself:
- what area of my life feels out of balance?
- what would restore balance there?

Ostara rituals

Here are some ritual ideas for you - remember a ritual can be as simple as doing something with intention, or lighting a candle and focusing on an activity:

• plant seeds to signify new growth - imagine you’re planting a particular dream you have (and make a plan to tend to the seed in the coming months!)
• cook or bake something that you associate with this time of year
• paint easter eggs, real or in a coloring book 😉
• do something to ignite your creativity - take a class, learn a skill, start an art or writing project
• spring clean your home - or just one space - and imagine you’re energetically clearing out the old to welcome in something new
• take some time to journal about what you’d like to see grow in the coming months

Ostara journal prompts

Journalling is one of my favorite ways to mark specific times of the year, and it’s one of the main components of my rituals.

Here are some journal prompts you can use to celebrate Ostara (they're all included in my FREE celebration guide too!):

• what’s beginning for me right now?
• what new beginning could I step into, if I chose to do so?
• what area of my life could use some spring cleaning?
• what’s best for me to release at this time?
• what would I like to see come to fruition in the Autumn/Fall?
• what feels out of balance to me, and what I can I do to bring balance back?
• what do I need to declutter right now?
• what would make me feel refreshed after my winter slumber?

Ostara tarot spread

Here is an example tarot spread you can use at this magical time. Note that this is just a suggestion, feel free to change the questions so that they suit you and your current situation.

1. Something to grow
2. Something to declutter
3. Something to refresh
4. Something to balance

I hope you enjoyed these ideas for how to celebrate Ostara.

Do share your own thoughts and ideas about this season in the comments below!

Love,