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You probably know most of the symbols of Ostara. Ostara is a sacred time of fertility, life, birth, and rebirth. Spiritually speaking, this is a time to renew ourselves and our devotion to any deities we may work with.
Ostara is a spring celebration. Also known as the Vernal Equinox, will occur on March 20th, 2021 and 2022. The Christian celebration of Easter comes not far after, on April 4 2021. In 2022, Easter will be on April 17th.
These holidays are somewhat related, and share much of the same symbolism in our modern, mostly secular society.
You can probably think of most of the symbols of Ostara and Easter on your own: eggs, bunnies, and fertility.
Thanks to the continuing popularity of Easter, Ostara is one of the better known pagan holidays. This can cause some controversy among Christians, who insist that Easter is a pagan holiday. But for us pagans, that means that for once, our traditions live on and can be passed down to our children without much interference.
In this post, I am exploring the many different symbols and items that are important during Ostara. You’re sure to find that many overlap with secular and Christian traditions during spring.
That makes Ostara a wonderful time to try to find common ground with those of other faiths. In a way, you could make Ostara a time of community rebirth!
The Hare
Etymologically, there isn’t much evidence of Ostara or Eostre being a real goddess.
Still, there is a myth that the goddess Ostara brought a bird back to life as a white hare, and gave it the power to lay eggs one day a year.
That may be a modern story (I certainly think it is), but it does show that the hare symbolically represents renewal and rebirth.
Hares and bunnies are also obviously associated with fertility, considering how many babies they have.
Hares are also associated with the moon (which any Sailor Moon fan will already know, since Far East cultures often see a moon rabbit instead of a man in the moon)
Eggs
Eggs have the obvious symbolic meaning of “birth”.
They also represent fertility, abundance, and the sun. They can be used in rituals to remove curses, used in kitchen witchery, making wishes, and in funerary rites.
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are commonly associated with the Christian celebration of Easter, but there is no harm in using them in our traditions as well.
Hot cross buns have many relevant meanings for pagans and witches.
They can represent the four element of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
Or they can represent the four fire festivals of the Wheel of the Year (Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain).
Or they can represent the four major phases of the moon (dark moon, waxing moon, full moon, and waning moon).
You can find a good recipe for hot cross buns at The Cat Lady Cook.
Serpents And Dragons
The snake awakens from its winter hibernation around the time of Ostara.
It basks in the light of the sun, lays eggs, and sheds its skin. It’s easy to see how this creature can be associated with Ostara.
The shedding of its skin represents renewal and rebirth.
Snakes are also part of many creation myths.
Spring Flowers
Spring flowers are the perfect choice for Ostara altar decoration. Or you can use them as offerings for deities.
Appropriate spring flowers include catkins, celendine, crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, primroses, pussy willow, and violets.
These flowers usher in spring and are a sign of life after a long winter.
Ostara Colors
The colors of Ostara are the pastel, bright colors of spring. Light pinks and blues, bright greens like many of the plants springing up now.
| Color | Correspondences |
| Green | Earth, growth, money, fertility, new businesses, new opportunities, the heart chakra, forgiveness, platonic love |
| Light blue | Healing, patience, understanding, honest communication, trust, being truthful and fair |
| Pink | Softer love, self care, kindness, good relationships, empathy, healing the heart, friendship |
| White | A blank slate, cleansing, purification, innocence, new opportunities, new ideas, connecting to the divine, peace, unity |
| Yellow | Abundance, joy, happiness, sunshine, the source of life, persuasion, protection, the solar plexus chakra, self-empowerment, self-control, self-confidence |
Ostara Trees
The trees of Ostara are the birch, ash, and alder trees.
The birch tree is one of the first ones to grow their leaves every spring. The goddess Eostre is said to have been celebrated around a birch tree.
The ash tree is very important among Norse pagans, as Yggdrasil is sait to be an ash tree. It represents fortune telling, fate, and the link between the physical world and the spiritual realm.
The alder tree lives among river banks, its roots dipped in water. At this time, it is thriving.
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