Are you wondering what is Ostara?
It may be an unfamiliar word, nevermind the concept that healing can occur at certain times of year. But, before I explain what is Ostara, let me back up a bit so you can understand where the true healing of Ostara stems from.
Are you feeling winter’s end?
Are you ready for some sunshine and happiness to make its way back into your world?
I know many, myself included, feel like this was one of the longest winter’s ever. If you’re with me on that, know that winter’s end is finally here, and you made it through. Spring is finally and officially here!
Often by the time winter is wrapping up, you can feel worn out.
Winter has many amazing aspects for it that bring healing and growth to you. However, it can often feel harsh and bring up a lot of inner turmoil. You go through winter having your whole body impacted, including how you feel mentally and your spiritual side gets poked at too often bringing up inner turmoil and sometimes inner work we may have been putting off.
So if you noticed feeling more apprehensive, tense, bogged down, tired, anxious, depressed, or heavy, it’s very normal to feel that right now. Our culture often shows us that New Year’s Eve is the end of the slump, the time for any negative emotions or aspects to be tossed away. However, in truth, January is the time we fully embrace the lessons winter brings for us.
Spring on the other hand is the true time to let go of the heaviness, the harsh emotions, or slumps you may be in, as spring brings a light uplifting energy that allows your inner spirit to begin to feel restored and bloom again.
What is Ostara?
The first day of spring usually occurring on March 20th or 21st, is also known as Ostara in the Celtic Wheel of the Year, or the Spring Equinox. Ostara is a time of equal day and equal night. It’s a time of balance, both internally, and externally which is something humanity really needs more of right now and something you might feel you may be lacking in some way in your own life after making it through winter.
With that, it’s a great time to support your body and mind with gentleness and bring balance into your own being.
Ostara is a great time to reflect on what you were working on over the winter and what desires may have been stirred up. Now that it’s spring we set seeds and intentions for what we are ready to bring into our lives.
During Ostara you can tap into the natural energy of this time of newness and balance and bring in some healing into your life by aligning yourself with the energy of spring. Below are some nice practices you can do to honor yourself and the energy of Ostara either today or sometime over the next few weeks.
Ways you can align yourself with the energy of spring and Ostara for healing and balance:
★ Dig into the Earth.
This is a great time to sit on the Earth or if the ground is snow covered or muddy, put your hands or feet on the Earth. The Earth has just woken up and the first signs of new life have begun to burst through. This new energy is bursting forth all around us bringing hope, joy, and compassion. Take a few moments to sit with your bottom or hands on the Earth and just breathe. Take a few slow long deep breaths and let out whatever yuckiness remains from your long winter and exhale it out. Take a moment to just be in the stillness of our busy world. Feel the sun’s rays shining deep into your belly warming up your core again.
★ Noticing.
Try to spend a few minutes a couple of times this week noticing what the animals and plants are doing. This is such a beautiful time to go for a walk and notice what is going on around you.
What is beginning to grow?
What animals are shuffling or flying around?
Connect with nature that is around you just by noticing the simplicity of what is naturally occurring. Doing this is a great way to help release tension and anxiety, especially from being pent up for months. Paying attention to our surroundings centers us bringing us out of our otherwise chaotic world and helps fill us with ease and alignment.
★ Spring cleaning.
The energy of this season often has us ready and wanting to purge what we no longer need. In winter we are inside more and hunkered down. The spring energy is all about clearing out what doesn’t serve us. This applies not only in the physical material sense like cleaning out closets but also within you as well.
What can you let go of that you don’t need anymore?
Where can you bring some space, and some ease into your life?
Beginning to think about this starts the process of releasing it. It’s not meant to be a drastic upheaval, but rather a gentle shift to release. Spring itself is a time for detoxification, cleaning, and purging; removing the heaviness of winter, and lightening up our load a little. This applies to not only our minds, and our physical spaces, but also our bodies and what we eat and take in. Here is a blog post written about using beets to support your body with detoxification.
★ Journaling.
With this being a time of balance it’s a great time to reflect on how you may be out of balance in your life. Think about where you may need more support, where you might be struggling, or need to direct your energy in a different direction. Do you need more self-love in your life? Are you giving too much of yourself in a certain direction? How are you truly feeling?
In addition to the negative out of balance aspects in your life, also think about where you are in balance.
What have you accomplished over the winter (no matter how small it may feel to you).
What is good in your life right now?
What brings you joy?
It’s been a very unusual winter so try to be gentle with yourself on your reflections. Try to think of as many positives as you can.
Spring is such a wonderful transition time as we begin to wake up from winter’s slumber and transitions are times of great power and new energy that can heal, restore, and fuel us for the months ahead.
Be gentle with yourself and I wish you many spring blessings and moments of ease and joy in this seasonal transition!
