Ostara-Spring Equinox

It's that time of year again...Spring time!  Did you remember to change your clocks last night?  It's hard to realize an hour of your life is just gone, poof, vanished, in the time it takes to set the clock ahead isn't it?  Ah well, Ostara is a time for renewal and change so I suppose it's fitting.

This year Ostara, also known as Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox, and the First Day of Spring, is on Sunday the 20th.  It is a celebration of balance as day and night are once again equal in length on this day.

Here are a few customs and activities for this month:

• Time for a new broom. Get rid of your dirty & dusty broom filled with all the negativity of last year and pick up a new one.  Check your local dollar-type store for the best deal.
• Start your Spring cleaning.  I'll be doing a post on this later this month.
• While you're cleaning, sort through your personal items and donate anything that's no longer wanted or needed.
• Pick or purchase flowers that "speak" to you and display them throughout your home.
• Take a walk through gardens, forests, or even your local nursery.  Now that we have longer days, it's the perfect time!
• Work on your magical garden.  If it's still too cold in your area, start planning it instead.

The colors for this time of year are light green, lemon yellow, and pale pink.  And scents, while being a very personal choice, should include some floral notes if you're not allergic.  I love candles, but as we all know they are ridiculously overpriced.  So I've switched to using an electric wax warmer and scented wax tarts.  This thing works great and my entire home smells wonderful!  Yankee Candle is great for seasonal scents and the tarts only cost $2!  They have two great ones right now, Spring Days (yellow), and Garden Hideaway (green).  I don't get paid for promoting their products, but the tarts are cheap and I just love them so I want to share!

Seasonal decorations include:

• Eggs - colored or otherwise decorated
• Rabbits
• Chicks (the fuzzy yellow kind) *wink*
• Spring flowers of any kind
• Jelly beans.  These egg shaped, brightly colored candies are perfect for this season.  Put them in a candy dish or use as filler for candle holders.

My personal decorations include all the items I posted here but I've added plastic eggs in easter baskets, more butterflies, a large porcelain bunny I inherited from my Nana, a large bowl in the shape of a cabbage with bunnies as "feet".  I wanted to post some pics of my Ostara decorations but my digital camera has gone and died on me.

Spring foods include:

• Seeds such as sunflower, sesame, pine nuts, and even pumpkin
• Sprouts
• Leafy green vegetables
• Twisted breads and sweet cakes

I like to serve a light meal usually consisting of baked chicken, fresh salad with tons of fruit and veggies, and a pasta alfredo side with some type of fruit danish as desert.

I hope you all have fun decorating for and attuning with this wonderful time of year when everything comes back to life!

All pictures belong to Martha Stewart Living and can be found here.