Okay, so folks ask me about Easter sometimes, knowing my path. And yeah, Easter isn’t really our thing, you know? We’ve got Ostara, which is all about the Spring Equinox, usually around March 21st. Sometimes it bumps right up against Easter, sometimes it’s weeks apart. Depends on the moon and how they figure out the Easter date, which seems kinda complicated between different churches anyway.
Getting Ready for Spring’s Kick-off
For me, this time of year, doesn’t matter what label you slap on it, feels like the world’s waking up. That’s the core of it. So, leading up to Ostara, which often feels like my personal ‘spring Easter’, I start feeling that itch to clear things out. It begins with a good house cleaning, like, really getting into the corners. Feels like shaking off the winter dust, physically and, you know, mentally.
Then I start thinking about my altar space. I put away the dark, heavy colors from winter. I bring out the light greens, yellows, pinks – pastels, basically. Stuff that feels like new sprouts and blossoms. I usually grab some:
- Fresh flowers if I can find any brave enough to be blooming yet. Daffodils are great.
- Seeds, little pots of soil. Represents potential, right?
- Candles in spring colors.
It’s not about fancy stuff. It’s about what feels like spring to me, right here, right now.
The Egg Thing
Now, eggs. Easter’s big on eggs. The tomb, rebirth, all that. We use eggs for Ostara too, but for us, it’s straight-up fertility, new life, the potential locked inside. It’s an old, old symbol, way older than Easter bunnies.
I actually enjoy decorating eggs. It connects me to the season. I don’t do the typical store-bought dye kits much anymore. Tried it, felt a bit hollow. What I usually do now is:
- Hard boil some eggs. Gotta be practical, sometimes I eat ’em later.
- Use natural dyes if I have the patience – onion skins for yellow/brown, maybe some beet juice for pinkish. Takes longer, feels more grounded.
- Or sometimes, I just get some plain wooden eggs from the craft store. Less messy.
- Paint them with symbols that mean something to me. Spirals for growth, maybe a simple sun symbol for the returning light, little drawings of buds or leaves. Nothing complicated, just what feels right.
I remember doing egg hunts as a kid, and they were fun. But for my own practice now? Nah. The decorating is the meaningful part. Sometimes I’ll place the decorated eggs on my altar, or give one to a friend. Egg tapping? Never really got into that game.
Marking the Day
On Ostara itself, usually near the equinox date, my actual practice is pretty simple. It’s not some big complex ritual most times. If the weather’s decent, I try to get outside. Just stand there for a bit, feel the sun, notice the little changes – the slightly longer daylight, the first buds on trees.
Indoors, I might light the candles on my altar. Maybe do a simple meditation focusing on balance – day and night are equal at the equinox, right? So, finding balance in my own life. Setting intentions for what I want to ‘grow’ in the coming months. Sometimes I’ll plant those seeds I put on the altar. Literally planting intentions.
I often make a special meal. Something light, using fresh ingredients if possible. Spring greens, maybe something with eggs like a quiche. Sharing food always feels like a good way to honor the turning of the wheel.
Wrapping it Up
So yeah, when Easter rolls around, I see the decorations and the candy. It’s kinda there in the background. But my focus has already been on Ostara, on that natural shift. It feels more real to me. It’s about the dawn, the light coming back, the earth waking up – stuff you can actually see and feel. Ēostre, Ostara, whatever name you use for that energy, that’s what I connect with. It’s less about dogma and more about just… noticing the world and my place in it. That’s my ‘Easter Wicca’ practice, I guess. Just keeping it simple and real.
