Quick Specs
- Author: Kerri Connor
- Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide (Sabbat Essentials #1)
- Format: Paperback, 240 pages, 4.9″ x 6.9″
- Best for: Pagans and Wiccans seeking Spring Equinox rituals, seed magic, and Eostre tradition
Ostara and the Spring Equinox in Pagan Practice
Ostara falls on the Spring Equinox, around March 20, the precise moment when day and night reach equal length. In pagan theology, this is the balance point: winter has loosened its grip, the earth is waking, and the year’s growing half begins. The name derives from the Germanic goddess Eostre (or Ostara), whom the 8th-century scholar Bede recorded as the deity of spring in Anglo-Saxon England. Her sacred symbols, the hare and the egg, represented fertility and the renewal of life, and both survive in the modern secular Easter holiday, which absorbed them from older seasonal practice.
Kerri Connor, an experienced Pagan practitioner and Llewellyn author, grounds this volume in that historical context before moving into modern application. The book traces how diverse cultures, from ancient Mesopotamia to medieval Europe, marked the spring equinox with planting rites, water ceremonies, and celebrations of returning birds and blooms. Connor then bridges that history to contemporary practice across multiple pagan paths, including Wicca, hedgewitchery, and reconstructionist traditions that draw directly on Germanic or Norse source material.
Rituals, Seed Magic, and Equinox Correspondences
The book follows the Sabbat Essentials structure: Old Ways, New Ways, Spells and Divination, Recipes and Crafts, Prayers and Invocations, Rituals of Celebration, and a full Correspondences chapter. Ostara’s spells focus on themes of renewal, growth, and passion for living, timed to the equinox’s energy of balance becoming growth. The Correspondences chapter covers seasonal colors like pastel yellow and green, herbs such as lavender and jasmine, stones including moonstone and rose quartz, and deities from multiple traditions. It’s a complete reference for anyone building an Ostara altar or planning a sabbat celebration. Browse my pagan and Wicca books collection for additional sabbat and Wheel of the Year titles.
How to Use Ostara
Three steps to using this Spring Equinox guide in practice.
- Study the Historical Foundation
Read the Old Ways chapter to understand Ostara as the Spring Equinox, around March 20, when day and night reach equilibrium. Connor traces Germanic Eostre traditions, hare and egg symbolism, and the balance-point theology of the pagan year.
- Perform a Spring Equinox Ritual
Choose a ritual from the Rituals of Celebration chapter. Connor provides both solitary and group formats, from seed-planting ceremonies to dawn rituals honoring the returning light, designed to align the practitioner with spring growth energy.
- Set Up an Ostara Altar
Use the Correspondences chapter to set up a spring altar with pastel candles, fresh flowers like daffodil or hyacinth, and stones such as rose quartz or moonstone. The Recipes chapter adds seasonal foods and craft projects for the equinox.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this book because Ostara is one of the most misunderstood sabbats, often reduced to “the pagan Easter,” and Connor’s volume does the work of tracing what that actually means historically and practically. Her coverage of Germanic Eostre tradition, planting magic, and the equinox balance-point is more thorough than you’ll find in general pagan primers. If you’re working the full Wheel of the Year and want a dedicated Spring Equinox reference, this is the one I’d recommend. For complementary ritual tools, explore my ritual supplies collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ostara is a Pagan sabbat marking the Spring Equinox, usually around March 20. It celebrates the balance of light and dark, new growth, and fertility. Scholars link it to the Germanic goddess Eostre, whose symbols included the hare and the egg.
Kerri Connor is the author of this volume in Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials series. She is a Pagan practitioner and author known for accessible, practical guides to seasonal celebration and modern witchcraft practice.
Both Ostara and Easter share symbols like eggs and hares, which derive from pre-Christian spring fertility traditions. Ostara specifically celebrates the Spring Equinox as a pagan sabbat, focusing on seasonal magic, planting, and solar balance.
It is a 4.9 by 6.9 inch paperback with 240 pages, published by Llewellyn Worldwide as volume 1 of the Sabbat Essentials series. The format is identical across all eight volumes, making it easy to collect and use the full set.
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