Ostara; or known as Eostre.

March 20th, Spring Equinox.
Moon Phase; Full Moon.

Suggested Inscense: Jasmine, Rose.
Decorations/Altar: Yellow Disk, or Wheel, Colorful Egg’s, Rabbits or Hares and Spring Flowers.
Colors: Yellow, Green.

 

Welcome and Blessed Be, my friends! The Spring Equinox has arrived, time for new beginnings, as Ostara is the time of the new fires, sprouts, and life. Tis the season of fertility and growth, where the light and shadows are in perfect balance and the one day time, in which day and night, are the same length.

This is the break between winter and summer, where new growth occurs, time to sow crops after tilling the land of a harsh winter’s rest. New animals emerge, and the young grow stronger. Here, the Sun God begins his seminal journey across the sky.

Ostara or Eostre, who is the Anglo-Saxon (Or Germanic)goddess of Spring, to which are offered cakes and colored eggs; rabbits, especially white rabbits, are her sacred animal. Sometimes, Ostara is oft believed to take the form of a rabbit.

Recommended Stones:
Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, Agate, Lapis Lazuli, Amazonite, and Garnet.

Recommended Herbs:
Lily of the Valley, Tansy, Lavender, Marjoram, Thyme, Tarragon, Lovage, Lilac, Violets, Lemon Balm, Dogwood, Honeysuckle, Oakmoss, Orrisroot, Sunflower Seeds, Rose Hips, Oak, Elder, Willow, Crocus, Daffodil, Tulips, Broom (Scotch or Iris), Meadowsweet, Acorn, Trefoils (aka, purple clover), and Vervain.
(taken from Earthwitchery.com)

As with Ostara, there was a custom of giving eggs, which was known to have occured in early Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and the Gauls. The Egg represents life, which also stands for the universe around us. Ostara dates back as far, or further, than 3,000 B.C. and as described below, heralds the return of the Goddess Persephone from the clutches of Hades. 

Ostara’s planetary ruler, is Mars and the Astrological sign, is Aries. 

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Maebyt says:

Besides celebrating Ostara herself, Persephone/Proserpina is another Goddess to celebrate during the Spring Equinox. If you’re familiar with her tale, then you already know she has strong ties to this time. She quite literally left the Underworld to bring Spring to the Earth…

Persephone cherished a close relationship with her mother, Demeter. One was hardly ever without the other. Persephone was famed for her beauty, and Hades had decided to kidnap her and take her to the Underworld. The story changes depending on who’s telling it and some adaptations claim Hades received permission from Zeus, her own father, to kidnap her.

But the story generally goes like this: Persephone was out with friends gathering flowers. The ground split in two and Hades appeared, stealing her in the same heartbeat, before she could make a sound. None of her friends knew what happened.

Demeter was heartbroken, and the Earth suffered a horrible Winter while she searched for her only daughter. In some accounts, she refused to bless the world with her bounty (Demeter is a Goddess of the harvest) until Zeus ordered their daughter to be returned. But Hades wasn’t all that eager to let his beloved bride leave him so quickly. Before she left, he fed her pomegranate seeds, the fruit of the dead.

When Persephone returned from the Underworld, the whole world burst into bloom as if Winter was only a nightmare, and Demeter was overjoyed to have her daughter back. But it was to be a short reunion. Since Persephone ate food of the Underworld, she would be forced to return to Hades eventually. Some say that is why we have seasons.