Ostara, the Spring Equinox, marks the end of Winter and the beginning of a new Spring. A time when we celebrate the Maiden Goddesses, that brings us energy of renewal and abundance and action for the future. It is a time for literally and figuratively plant seeds.
Ancient Druids called the first day of spring “The Light of the Earth." They considered it a rare and magical time, being one of the two days in the year that night and day are in balance.
Equinoxes and solstices alike are holy times of transition, a celebration of the miraculous balance of nature and life cycles of renewal.
Spring, like all seasons, can be seen as an archetype in itself. The images of rebirth become more powerful in this period of the Wheel of the Year and are celebrated in countless festivals of the most different religions and mythologies. If we are willing to deepen self-knowledge, we can create purpose in looking inwards while we look outwards, accompanying our inner life with movements of outer life.
We can call this moment Divine Spring. With it arrives the Divine Maiden, an archetype that lives in all women… She is ready to live, take chances, explore the world, hear a new calling.
This is the time when the energies of the Sun God and the Maiden Goddess enter a sacred marriage. We celebrate the return of the Spring Goddess from her long season of dormant sleep.
The earth awakens, new life emerges, sap rises, buds shoot and spring flowers are celebrated as gifts from nature. Spring returns and rejuvenates our own life force.
It is a time for celebrating the greening of the earth, and crops are typically sown at this time. For the ancients, it was the time of the festivals of the pagan goddess Ostara or Eostre. She was the Goddess of fertility and Spring, and also the Goddess of Dawn.
Everything that has been stored inside our inner psychic cave during the Winter, guided by our Inner Crone, The Old Witch, can now step out of its comfort zone and be released in the form of the Maiden, the Girl, the Child beneath the Sun.
The Spring Equinox is a time to celebrate fertility, and many cultures see eggs as a symbol of new life or the home of the soul, decorated eggs have been part of spring celebrations for centuries. Easter traditions can be related to these pagan celebrations and symbols.
The egg symbolized the goddess Eostre's wholeness and fertility - the female hormone estrogen is named after her. The golden yolk represents the Sun God; its white shell is seen as the White Goddess. Eggs were offered to the earth to ensure a fecund future harvest.
The vernal equinox is known as the day of equilibrium. Now is a good time to consider the balance of our lives and to do a thorough Spring Cleaning: outside and in. Perhaps for you it will be a day of quiet reflection and contemplation.
You can create rituals or be part of a circle with people who will be in celebration and meditation for this special time. Give thanks to Nature for the Blessings of Spring, planting the seeds of intention for the year to come.
So ask yourself:
Your efforts, your goals, your dreams, your work, your relationships, these are all made of energy - and energy never dies. It is just released and recreated again and again.
Spring is the energy of renewal, of learning, of taking risks. Let the Maiden’s call be for a new adventure, within yourself.
Welcome, dear Spring!
From its winter sleep the earth is awoken,
The cycle of nature, true and unbroken,
The promise of spring, of life, a new start,
To fill you with faith, mind, body and heart.
The perfect wheel of nature keeps spinning,
With proof that an ending is just the beginning.
Rejoice in this season may it fill you with peace,
And may the blessings of nature, for you, never cease.