The spring equinox is celebrated from March 20 to 23, when night and day are balanced. Historically, this equinox represents the end of winter and the beginning of the growing season. Also called Ostara, the spring equinox is a time for honoring life’s resilient cycles and deepening our sense of hope and possibility.
As the plants begin sprouting leaves and the first daffodils begin poking their blossoms out into the sun, we’re reminded of how delicate and precious beginnings are. This is a time for having faith that the seeds we’re planting will yield abundance later on in the year. The spring equinox is for fresh starts, cultivating presence, and prioritizing joy. Here are a few ways you can celebrate the equinox with rituals of your own.
Decorate with flowers
The first flowers of spring are a powerful symbol of rebirth and recovery after difficult times. They are associated with fertility because a flower is a plant’s lifeline—its ability to reproduce. There’s something special about the fact that a plant’s first instinct is to expand itself, to take up more space, and to spread its beauty. Flowers remind us to enjoy a sense of ease and to pay attention to the small things, however fleeting those moments may be.
Decorating your home or altar space with fresh, seasonal flowers is a great way to honor the joy and pleasure that life has to offer. Each day, take a moment to meditate on their simple beauty. Allow the flowers to share their gifts of confidence and radiance with you. Let them be a reminder to give yourself the space and time you need to bloom after moving through winter’s challenges.
Honor your hopes
Spring is when we plant seeds in soil rich with nutrients from the decomposition that happens over autumn and winter. In a literal sense, it’s when gardeners and farmers have to start thinking about how to give their crops the best start so that they can harvest in abundance come late summer. On a symbolic level, our personal desires and goals are the seeds we plant, cultivate, and grow inside of our lives.
Take some time to journal about what you want to experience this year. What would fill your heart? What would help you grow into someone more loving? What would bring you deep joy? Think of the intentions you set as seeds, and reflect on what would help those seeds grow. Consider creating a personal gardening plan that details what your dreams need to thrive. Figure out what the right ratio of water, sunlight, soil, and attention is for each of your hopes. Diffuse refreshing Golden to infuse your journaling session with optimism.
Bake something sweet and share it
Sugar is the direct result of photosynthesis; it’s the flavor of sunlight itself. Using sugar in a way that gives you pleasure is a wonderful practice for honoring the return of the sun. Other baking ingredients like milk and eggs are also the products of spring: eggs are symbolic of new life, while milk is the first meal a newborn eats. Plant alternatives similarly connect us to the earth, reminding us of how nature makes our world habitable and nourishes our bodies.
Baking treats with this deeper attention—and intention—transforms the act into a ritual. Mix your appreciation and sense of awe for spring’s miracles into the batter. Alchemy is the process of creating something that’s much greater than the sum of its parts; baking is a kind of alchemy, and bringing people together to enjoy what you’ve made is powerful alchemy, too. Diffuse floral Moonbeam to infuse your gathering with the scents of the season.
The spring equinox is the perfect time to expand your horizons and invest in the possibilities the future holds. Ritualizing small, simple moments and engaging in joyful activities allows you to show your reverence for the gift of life you’ve been given. Like flowers, none of us will be here forever. Savor the experience of right now.
