Known also by the ancient Celtic name of Ostera, the Spring or Vernal Equinox of late March is next on the Wiccan calendar. Fertility images of flowers, eggs and rabbits are associated with this holiday and with Ester/Ostera, the ancient Celtic Goddess of Spring -- hence "Easter" Eggs and the "Easter" Bunny of secular tradition!

The Equinoxes are about balance and just as day and night are balanced in equal portions at these two special moments at the beginning of Spring and Fall each year, so must we strive to balance our inner selves in preparation for the shift in energies that occur each year at these times. In Spring we emerge from the dark, inward time of winter and shift to the expansive time of the approaching Summer. (In the autumn, the Fall Equinox celebrates the shift back toward the other direction.) In myth, the God matures to adolescence as the Goddess blankets the Earth with life and fertility. Ostera is a time of hope and anticipation.