Celebrating Ostara

Similar to the Slavic peoples, the ancient Celts and Germanic tribes considered the Spring Equinox the first day of spring and the beginning of the agricultural season. They honored the return of Ostara, the goddess of spring and the dawn.

Her return from the underworld, associated with the full revival of nature and the restoration of its life force, was celebrated with small wheat buns and painted eggs, which were symbols of new life.

On this day, like the Slavs, they rejoiced at the return of migratory birds—the heralds of true spring. The Slavs also celebrated March 22nd, known as “Larks” (in honor of the return of migratory birds)—a parallel to Ostara as a Celtic bird festival. On this day, they baked small bird-shaped pastries to welcome spring.

The main symbols of this day are the hare and the painted egg (which became an attribute of Easter much later). In ancient times, the Lunar Rabbit was sacred to many lunar goddesses. The hare, as a symbol of fertility, embodies rebirth and resurrection. It represents the growing Moon and cyclical reproduction.

Painting eggs is also an ancient pagan tradition. Eggs, as obvious symbols of fertility, were decorated with magical symbols and used in fertility rituals as offerings to the Goddess. Eggs were also dyed yellow or gold and used in rituals honoring the Sun God. Due to their dual content—the white and the yolk—eggs are associated in mythology with primal creation, the division of Chaos into Heaven and Earth.

Additionally, in many beliefs, the chicken egg was a solar symbol—after all, it is from the egg that the Rooster is born, a solar bird whose crow drives away evil spirits and awakens the Sun each morning for a new day. Thus, the symbolism of the holiday is both solar (the egg) and lunar (the hare) simultaneously, emphasizing the harmony and unity of opposites on this day.

Therefore, in preparation for Ostara, we bake hares

or larks,

paint eggs,

and decorate our altars with the symbols of the holiday.

In magical tradition, this day is considered the most favorable for conducting rituals related to divination and foreseeing the future. It is a time of new beginnings, a time for action, spells for future prosperity, and tending to ritual gardens. It is the moment to start bringing our plans to life. On this day of renewal, we refresh our thoughts, dreams, and relationships. It is a wonderful period for rituals of prosperity and growth, to begin something new or to fully revive something.