Ostara (Spring Equinox)

Ostara (Spring Equinox)

Balanced day, singing birds. Windows open, floors swept, greens on the plate. Ostara is the moment hope becomes a plan and the plan gets dirt under its nails.
September 22
Sep 19 - Sep 25
Spring
Equinox

History & Folklore

Ostara is balance made visible. Day and night meet in the doorway, and the world smells like possibility. The figure of Eostre as a dawn goddess is debated in the sources, but as an archetype she’s useful: fresh, rosy, awake. Hares and eggs pop up across spring folkways not as corporate mascots, but as symbols of adaptability and potential, which is exactly what this season asks of us.

Historically, spring rites are a mix of cleaning, sowing, and communal renewal. Wells were dressed with flowers; homes were swept and aired; seeds were blessed with breath and song. The line between sacred and practical was blurry on purpose. You do the chores and call them holy, because they are.

Modern druidry at Ostara is a two-part practice: plant something (literal or metaphorical) and choose one balancing habit you can actually sustain. If you can’t garden, sprout lentils in a jar or tuck a seed into an envelope as a promise. On the habit side, don’t overcomplicate it: ten minutes of movement, one kind email, a bedtime that respects your nervous system. Balance is a way of walking, not a static pose.

Let the symbols teach. Eggs hold potential that becomes nourishment; brooms make space for what we invite; fresh greens remind the body it’s allowed to thrive. For the southern hemisphere, bring this balance work to September. Wherever you are, make room for light without losing your grounding.

Alternate Names

  • Alban Eilir
  • Spring Equinox

Core Meaning

Equilibrium and practical optimism. Planting intentions, literally and metaphorically, and making room for play.

Pocket Balance

  1. Stand with feet hip-width; arms out like a scale.
  2. Inhale left, exhale right (imagine breath filling each side).
  3. Finish by choosing one tiny habit to balance your week.

Seed Intention

  1. Hold a seed (or a lentil) and name one intention.
  2. Plant it—or tuck it into a small envelope as a reminder.
  3. Each day, give it a breath of attention.

Green Gaze

  1. Look for five shades of green outside or in your fridge.
  2. With each shade, name one thing you’re willing to nourish.
  3. Smile on purpose (yes, even a tiny one).

Equinox means equal day and night. Eggs and hares show up as playful seasonal symbols of fertility, adaptability, and pure spring mischief.

Themes & Intents

  • balance
  • seeds & intentions
  • playful curiosity
  • steadiness
  • green beginnings

Deities / Archetypes

  • Eostre (contested but evocative)
  • Green Man (seasonal)

🌍 Grounded Practice Reminder
Every offering is most powerful when it’s rooted in your own place. Use what grows nearby, and return gifts to the land you live on. A candle in your window, a slice of apple in your garden, a whispered prayer at your doorstep… these carry your presence more deeply than anything scattered far away.

Give gently. Harvest ethically. Leave no harm behind.