Ostara - The Spring Equinox. A time of rebirth.

For London this year the Spring Equinox will be In 2020, this will be on March 20, at 03:49 UTC. 

So what is it? 

The word “equinox” derives its name from the Latin term “eqi” which means “equal” and “nox” which means “night”.

According to the astronomical calendar, there are two equinoxes each year in March and September, when the day and night are approximately 12 hours each everywhere on Earth.

Many cultures around the world celebrate the whole day as the March equinox. However, in reality, the equinox occurs at a specific moment in time when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, the imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s Equator, from south to north.

At this moment, Earth's axis is tilted neither away from nor towards the Sun, but is rather perpendicular to the Sun's rays.

Spring Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring. It is a solar festival, celebrated when the length of the day and the night are equal (this happens twice a year, at Spring and Autumn Equinox).

This turn in the seasons has been celebrated by cultures throughout history who held festivals for their gods and goddesses at this time of year. Aphrodite from Cyprus, Hathor from Egypt and Ostara of Scandinavia. The Celts continued the tradition with festivities at this time of year.

Today, Pagans continue to celebrate the coming of Spring. They attribute the changes that are going on in the world to an increase in the powers of their God and Goddess (the personifications of the great force that is at work in the world). At the time of Spring Equinox the God and the Goddess are ofter portrayed as The Green Man and Mother Earth. The Green Man is said to be born of Mother Earth in the depths of winter and to live through the rest of the year until he dies at Samhain.

To celebrate Spring Equinox some Pagans carry out particular rituals. For instance a woman and a man are chosen to act out the roles of Spring God and Goddess, playing out courtship and symbolically planting seeds. Egg races, egg hunts, egg eating and egg painting are also traditional activities at this time of year.

It's a time for rebirth, growth and fertility so as you go to sleep on Thursday night just meditate for a moment on this turning point.

For more information of traditional Pagan and Wiccan rituals for Ostara see here

https://www.learnreligions.com/hold-an-ostara-ritual-for-solitaries-2562480