Celebrating Spring Equinox or Ostara

Spring Equinox or Ostara: celebrating rebirth, renewal, and fertility. Reflections, a playlist and journal-prompts

Dates: 20th - 23rd March
Direction/Element: East and the element of air: the mind, vibration, communication and connection
Themes: balance, new beginnings and nurturing growth for the year ahead

Early spring always seems to feel like waking from a long dream. The world is still half-asleep but also starting to bloom. The arrival of the Spring Equinox (Ostara) always feels like a gentle exhale, a rebalancing after winter’s long inhale. There’s a tenderness to this season; a soft surge of energy as we, along with the natural world, remember how to reach for the sun and emerge from the darkness of winter.

Hello and thanks for being here. I’m Laura, a counsellor, therapist, a nature therapist and a Pagan priestess. I work 121 with clients in Birmingham and online, as well as offering group nature embodiment sessions. I have been curating and sharing playlists around the Celtic Pagan Wheel of The Year for some time now. Each time the wheel turns I update my post and playlist from the previous year. This is always a really interesting exercise in observing my own repeating themes and cycles. For an overview of The Wheel of the Year you can check out this post.

Ostara and Equinox celebrations: honouring balance and the renewal of life

The Spring Equinox is one of the eight festivals on the Wheel of the Year. It usually falls around the 20th or 21st of March, marking the moment when day and night are equal in length, with perfect balance between light and dark. As we step into the Spring Equinox this year I’m reflecting, as I did this time last year and the year before that, that I am ready for longer days and warmer weather. We had a couple of days, a week or so ago, where the temperature was warm enough to sit outside in a t-shirt but that’s shifted back to frosty mornings in the last few days. I am ready to bask in the sun and I am really welcoming the return of days that are longer than the nights, as we reach the point of spring equinox.

I love the sense of hope and expansion that comes with this Equinox. It’s a turning point when the energy of life begins to rise again, encouraging us to stretch, to plant seeds (both literal and metaphorical) and to open ourselves to new beginnings. The sun’s strength grows each day and we can also let our own fire rekindle.

Many modern pagans refer to this festival as Ostara, a name popularised in the 19th century by the German scholar Jacob Grimm, who suggested it derived from Eostre, a possible ancient Germanic goddess of spring and dawn. While there’s debate among historians about the historical evidence for her worship, the name Ostara has become widely used in contemporary Pagan and Wiccan traditions. I personally prefer to refer to this celebration as the Spring Equinox, as it connects directly to the natural event itself; the turning point in the solar year that we can all observe, regardless of cultural or tradition.

As we step into Spring this year I’m reflecting, as I did this time last year and the year before that, that I am ready for longer days and warmer weather. We had a couple of days, a week or so ago, where the temperature was warm enough to sit outside in a t-shirt but that’s shifted back to frosty mornings in the last few days. I am ready to bask in the sun and I really welcome the return of days that are longer than the nights, as we reach the point of spring equinox.

The Foundations of the Spring Equinox

The Wheel of the Year not only honours the changing seasons but also the four sacred directions and their elements. This time of year aligns with the East, the direction of dawn, new beginnings, and illumination. The element of Air governs this quarter; clear skies, fresh winds and the breath of inspiration. Air invites us to awaken our minds, to dream new dreams and to speak our intentions into being.

Archetypal energies associated with this time include The Maiden or, for a non-gendered equivalent, The Initiate. These archetypes symbolise curiosity, vitality and new potential, as well as creativity, joy and the courage to begin again. This archetype represents the energy of emergence, the first steps of a journey and the delight of discovery.

Whether you connect with the Maiden, the Youth, or simply the energy of renewal itself, this season invites you to honour your own rebirth. Step forward from stillness into movement, from reflection into action. The Spring Equinox reminds us that growth is both a tender and powerful process and that, even after the darkest winter, the light always returns.

For a full list of Pagan festivals and their meanings, you can check out this post.

Balance Returns: A Time for Renewal and Awakening

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Equinox for me is the sense of balance it brings; the harmony between light and dark, rest and growth, stillness and movement. This turning point in the year feels like a deep breath from the Earth and a pause before the surge of life that spring brings. It reminds me that balance isn’t about holding still, but about flow and the ongoing dance between opposing forces.

At this time of year, I like to reflect on where I might invite more balance into my own life. Where have I been leaning too far into the dark or too long into the light? What parts of myself are ready to stretch toward renewal? As the days start to become longer than the nights, how can we light our own inner landscape and nurture what wants to grow while still honouring the wisdom that we connected to in the dark months.

You might like to mark this season by spending time outside at sunrise, breathing in the cool morning air and noticing how it feels to be held between night and day. You could journal about what balance means to you right now, or create a simple altar honouring both the sun and the moon; symbols of light and shadow working together.

Planting New Seeds

This a time for beginnings. Nature shows us this clearly; buds unfurling, shoots breaking through soil, birds building their nests. There’s a pulse of vitality running through everything, an invitation to begin again. This is a time to plant seeds not just in the earth, but in our own lives. What are we ready to grow? What ideas, dreams, or intentions are we ready to nurture into being?

You might like to plant physical seeds as part of your ritual, holding an intention in your heart as you place them in the soil. Or you could write your intentions on small pieces of paper, placing them somewhere they’ll be touched by sunlight each day as a reminder to tend to them.

I’ll be celebrating with friends in nature, sharing food, lighting candles and setting intentions for the months ahead. To support you in your own reflection and celebration, you’ll find some prompts below that you can use for journalling or meditation. You can also listen to the playlist I’ve created to accompany this season’s energy; perfect for ritual, breathwork or simply welcoming in the light. You can find some guidance about how to practice breathwork here.

Here are some prompts that you might wish to reflect on as part of your practice:

• How do you feel about stepping into Spring?

• As we reach the equinox, take a moment to reflect on what’s light for you right now? And what’s dark?

• What seeds are you planting? What needs to be brought into fruition?

• Where do you need to find balance?

• Where can you connect with joy?