Spring Equinox - Ostara - Alban Eiler
The Spring Equinox occurs on the day of the year when the Sun’s course is directly in line with the equator. The sun rises due East and sets due West on this day; this event occurs on or around March 20th each year in the Northern hemisphere. This is significant because the other 363 days of the year, the sun tracks either to the South or North of this point, with the other day of balance falling on the Autumnal Equinox (Mabon) in September. This point of planetary balance and stillness in the midst of constant change and movement is magically potent. We can find balance at this time between light and dark, movement and rest, masculine and feminine, conscious and unconscious; between all forms of perceived duality. This is the time to take a moment to prepare and orient yourself as the power of the sun becomes greater with each passing day, and the wheel turns toward Midsummer. We can also reorient ourselves with the Earth at this time. In the Northern hemisphere we celebrate the Spring Equinox while the Southern hemisphere is celebrating the Autumnal Equinox. Think about this connection, take a moment to remember what you were doing as the Summer ended (around September 20th -22nd) when your Southern Hemisphere counterparts were celebrating the beginning of Spring and now you stand here, while they stand there. This perspective can be taken at any Sabbat around the wheel, but there is a particular power to the Dance between the equinoxes; Ostara and Mabon.
The Equinox is celebrated by many cultures and has many names. In my personal practice I have known this sabbat as Ostara or Alban Eiler. The roots of the festival can be traced back to the 8th century to a festival for the Phrygian Goddess Cybele and the ritual self-castration, death, and resurrection of her son/lover Attis. The holy sites where this ancient ritual was celebrated would later become the sites where Christians would re-enact the story of the death and rebirth of Jesus, which leads us to modern day Easter.
In Eight Sabbats for Witches, Farrar poses that ‘Easter, Jesus' willing death, descent into hell, and resurrection – can be seen as the Christian version of the sacrificial mating theme, for Hell in this sense corresponds to patriarchal monotheism’s view of the collective unconscious, the feminine aspect, the Goddess, into whom the God is plunged as a necessary prelude to birth […] stripped of theological dogma, this can have a positive meaning – the reintegration of the buried treasures of the unconscious (the gift of the Goddess) with the light of analytical consciousness (the gift of the God).’
We see this symbolism as well in the egg; the golden sun of the yolk is surrounded and enfolded by the white Goddess in perfect balance, which ultimately grows into so much more than it once was. The seed is another example; it is plunged into the dark cold Earth, the unconscious feminine aspect, and the seed germinates, integrating the power of the soil and the sun to grow exponentially. This balance and symbiotic union give rise to the vast and powerful creative force of life; this is the heart of the celebration of the Spring equinox, the still point, full of potential, which occurs within us as well, for we are all part of the Great Dance.
The spring equinox - by whatever name you may know it - is a great opportunity to harness the burgeoning energy of spring for a prosperous year, and cultures around the world have many traditions for celebrating the time of spring. If you know your ancestry, do a little research or ask family members about spring traditions and celebrations. In my tradition of Ostara, this is the time to put hopes and aspirations conceived at Imbolc into motion. Here are a few ideas for bringing a little magic into your spring celebration:
Color or decorate eggs which have been hard boiled or hollowed out; brightly decorating eggs was traditionally believed to entice the might of the Sun to crack them open. To hollow a raw egg out, pierce it on either end with a thumbtack or needle and blow the contents out into a bowl. The shell can then be cleaned, dried, and decorated however you wish. One of my favorite ways to color eggs is with natural dyes made from onion, beetroot, or turmeric.
Plant seeds or seedlings in your garden or in a planter indoors. Close your eyes and focus on imbuing them with your energy and intentions for the new wheel by visualizing or feeling what you want to accomplish this year, and direct that energy into your egg or seeds. Each time you care for the resulting seedling and plant, you are adding energy to that spell. Bonus: grow herbs you can make into tea and drink your spell in!
Draw sigils or other symbols on an egg and complete the spell by eating the egg. Don’t eat eggs? Draw your intention or sigil on a piece of paper and bury it or insert it into a hollowed-out egg and bury the shell in your garden or a potted plant and watch your intention grow with the seed you plant. *Note that planting a whole egg will likely result in a smelly decomposition, and the nutrients your soil wants are mainly in the shell.
Bless and cleanse any magical tools you use to prepare them to aid you in your work this wheel. Just about anything can be considered a magical tool; if you use it to help you connect to the numinous, it’s a magical tool. Examples of magical tools include but are not limited to; athame (ritual knife), chalice/cup, stones, crystals, divination cards or tools of any kind (runes, ogham sticks), jewelry, etc. Ask your tools how they want to be cleansed. Use any of these ideas alone or in conjunction with one another. Listen to your intuition. Here are a few examples/ideas to get you started:
Place tools under the light of a full or waxing moon; leave them out overnight and ask the reflective powers of the moon to cleanse away any negative or malign energy from these tools, that they may serve you to the highest good of all.
Cleanse tools with salt water or florida water, or a homemade consecrated water (not ideal for cards or stones which are damaged by water, such as selenite). Alternatively, take your tools to a local stream and cleanse them in fresh running water.
Sweep away impurities with an incense you feel is appropriate; pass cards through the incense smoke or spread them out and blow or fan smoke over them.
Vibrational cleansing: use your voice, a singing bowl, drum, or other instrument of choice to clear away malign energies.
Lean into the energy of introspection with journaling, divination, and meditation. The three days leading to and away from the equinox is a powerful time to meditate and align with the placement of the sun in the sky particularly at dawn and dusk. Journaling and divination are great ways to connect with yourself to assess and gain clarity in this moment of equinox stillness and balance. If you are having trouble tapping into your inner knowing, draw some cards or runes, break out your pendulum or tea leaves for a reading, whatever your preferred method is. Here are some journal prompt suggestions for the spring equinox:
How can I honor and balance my need for rest and desire for growth?
What ‘seeds’ of possibility have been germinating for me during the winter?
What feels ready to emerge in my life as spring emerges?
How would it feel to release pressure on my personal transformation and surrender to the divine timing of the nature within me?
What does personal empowerment mean to me? What does it feel and look like?
If I could write a new story about my life in the season to come, what would the first page say?
If you resonate with kitchen witchery, get cooking – especially things that are newly in season like asparagus, radishes, spring greens, rhubarb, artichokes, leeks or spring onions, etc. If you don’t have a garden, go see what is fresh and on sale at a local market. My personal spring favorite is asparagus soup and home baked bread. Cooking with the seasons is a simple, healthful and delicious way to attune to the wheel of the year and the shifting energies of the Earth.
I hope that this gives you some ideas for ways to bring the energy and magic of spring into your life. May you stride into this year balanced and armed with all you need to cultivate abundance in your life and achieve your goals. Sending bright blessings from my heart to yours this spring season.
