Ostara

     The Spring Equinox or Ostara is a pagan holiday celebrating the spring warmth that is either here or about to be here. This year it will be on March 19th luckily which means spring will be starting earlier! This celebration is one of my personal favorites since we all know I hate the cold. Ostara is an interesting holiday between Imbolc and Beltane, while Imbolc holds the space to shed all the negativity and darkness of the winter, Ostara is the beginning of all the rewards to come. Winter is a time of rest in which we tend to lose ourselves in the world we live in now. We are still out of our houses often, still working, still playing outside, and barely giving ourselves time to rest when it is a part of our biology to do so. This gives us a sense of uneasiness and makes winter hard to move through. I personally have noticed that because of this world we live in now, holidays such as Imolbc, Ostara, and Beltane are especially exciting to us. Ostara is meant to honor our sun, our light bringer, our source of energy and warmth. It marks the beginning of the long hours of daylight. There are many theories tossed around on where Ostara got its name and where it originated but due to a lot of history being lost, unfortunately, this debate is up in the air. 

     Personally, I celebrate this holiday with a fire, mead, and praising the guardians of the sun. I use this term loosely because not all of us are pagan and not all of us, if we are pagan, believe in the same pantheon. Whoever your guardian is, that is who you should be addressing and honoring for they are the ones who are hard at work during this time. At the fire I call to them and thank them for all the work they do, give them an offering of fruit and mead, and possibly might have a dance with drumming. This is always better in a group setting but if you do not have a group don’t shy away from what you want to do for this holiday. On nearly every holiday I leave fruit out for the animals around my property to let them know that they are welcomed back to our land and my home is a safe space. Even when all the squirrels like to dig into my bonsai trees I work so hard on! After this, I like to have some sort of feast whether it is with my various groups or by myself, this always is an excuse to have some good food but doing so shows the universe and spirit that you are ready to put in your work as well. By feeding yourself, you are fueling yourself to get ready for anything that is to come. 

     The crystals I would work with during this time are Sunstone and Moonstone. The Sunstone is naturally here because we are honoring the sunlight and warmth that Ostara brings but it has more meaning than just that. It also represents work, the introspective work that we all consistently do in our lives to always be better than the day before. It focuses on our Solar Plexus which brings up past emotions to be dealt with. This is the time to do so since our rest is now ending, and the season of activity and high energy begins. Moonstone is there to keep a balance because even during the months to come we must remember to check in on our current emotions while working with old ones and remember that when daylight does set, it is time to rest to make sure we are good for the next day. Ostara brings so much hope and happiness and it is important to remember to keep that alive through Beltane. Until then, we are setting the stage for all the rewards that Beltane brings for us to enjoy throughout the summer.