Ostara takes place on the Spring Equinox. In 2021, that’s March 20th in the Northern hemisphere and September 23, 2021 in the Southern hemisphere.

As the spark of Imbolc develops and grows, the season turns into Spring. It’s not surprising then, that the symbols of this pagan holiday that celebrate the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn Eostre/Ostara, include eggs, rabbits, flowers, buds, and seasonal fruits.

WHAT İS OSTARA

Ostara is the spring fertility festival that honors Eostre, goddess of the dawn. (Her name means East, from where the sun rises.) It’s a time to plant the seeds for what you want to grow throughout the year.

In modern pagan and Wiccan tradition, Ostara is the time when the maiden Goddess meets her reborn consort in the form of Pan or the Horned God.

Feasting and merriment are part of celebrations of Ostara as the energy of spring rises up. It is also a time of ritual cleaning to sweep away old patterns and bring in renewal.

Important Symbols of Ostara

The goddess Eostre is the personification of the fertile energy of the season that bursts forth from buds and flowers. And, two of the important symbols of the holiday are rabbits and eggs.

This is because rabbits and hares can reproduce in a nearly exponential fashion. In fact, they’re so legendarily fertile that a doe can become pregnant with a second litter a few days before she gives birth to her first one. Hares are sacred to many fertility goddesses including Freya, Aphrodite, Wenet, and others.

Other Symbols of Ostara

Colors: Green, yellow, lavender

Crystals: Peridot, moss agate, sunstone

Flowers: Crocus, violets, daffodils, forsythia

Animals: Rabbits, birds, lambs, chicks

Plants: Rhubarb, asparagus, peas, lettuce

What Are Some Ways You Can Celebrate Ostara?

Go for a walk in nature or simply observe the changing season and the green grass, new leaves, and all the animal activity.

Decorate an altar using flowers like forsythia, grey willow, lilacs, green and yellow candles, eggs, and representations of rabbits and birds.

Start seeds for plants that attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Dye eggs red, yellow, or green.

Do some Spring cleaning and declutter or shoo out dust and energetically clean your home at the same time.

Enjoy making crafts using eggs, bunnies, spring flowers like daffodils

Drink dandelion tea.

Cook with early spring produce like asparagus or rhubarb.

Wear a flower crown and write down your intentions for growth and renewal.

Cook recipes with eggs, and add in onions or other green herbs.