Ostara / Spring Equinox 2024
20th March 2024, 3.07 am GMT
Spring; the word itself speaks of moving forward with a leap, and here we are again at 0°Aries, the sign of the Ram. With light in the Northern Hemisphere rapidly taking hold, clocks in some countries are advanced to maximise the light, and we begin to look towards the outside world for social events and activities in the sun.
The Equinox, 0° Aries, and Ostara all refer to this time, just named differently according to one’s beliefs. Each represents the burst of new life that can be witnessed on a warm spring day.
The Equinox marks the celebration of the Goddess as Ostara, or Ēostre, the Goddess who represents dawn and the East. She is at Her splendid best as the youthful maiden waiting for her betrothed to join Her in the cross-quarter festival of Beltane in May. The Christian festival of Easter, so clearly borrowed from Ēostre, follows closely with themes of rebirth and resurrection; Lent ends, and the feasts begin.
Narcissus Pseudonarcissus
A symbol synonymous with the season is the wild daffodil, Narcissus Pseudonarcissus. In my local area of the UK, bright yellow, white, and orange can be seen on roadside verges and in gardens. With its central trumpet and halo of blousy petals, the flower heralds the new season with a cheery burst of colour.
As daffodils take a few years to develop a bulb that is mature enough to create blooms, most gardeners will buy and sow bulbs in the autumn. As does the Goddess in Her Winter, underground phase, the pregnant bulb uses the time of the dark part of the year to push its roots into the earth, ready to support the birth of shoots and flowers in the spring.
After the Winter Solstice, the building light triggers the bulb to send up its ‘nose’ to sniff out the Spring season. Soon, green shoots can be seen beginning to burst through the cold soil. By February, the first brave blooms can be found on the ground lucky enough to receive the winter sun. When we reach the Equinox, the flowers in all their glory can be seen in urban and rural settings.
Daffodils have the same compound, galantamine, as our previous flower, Snowdrop. Galantamine is used in allopathic medicine as a treatment for Alzheimer's, but the whole flower is toxic and must not be ingested.
For those of you with Welsh heritage, you will recognise the daffodil as the Welsh national flower, cenhinen Bedr, Peters Leek. Though certainly easier to pin to your chest than the vegetable, it has only been a recent symbol for the country, seemingly from the 19th century.
On a personal note, the 1st of March is St David’s Day, the Welsh national day, and it was also my grandad’s birthday. I always have daffodils in the house at this time of year to celebrate his life.
Daffodils also remind me of a dear friend who, full of joy and always with a sunny nature, also dealt with a lifelong genetic illness Cystic Fibrosis. The flower is used to remember those lost in battle, and I can confirm that Sam fought long and hard every day to make it to 30, an age she was told she was unlikely to reach. However, as a true warrior with all the battle scars, she beat the odds and made it to her 30th birthday; sadly, we lost her six months later.
Daffodils were Sam’s favourite flower. At her funeral, I was honoured by the family to hand out blooms on a cold grey January afternoon in remembrance of a life well lived to all who attended the memorial. The flower is very dear to me, and I cannot help but smile and remember my loved ones who are no longer here in body but are certainly here in spirit.
Jean-François Millet: Daffodils and violets
Daffodils are often cited in poems, art, and traditional songs, as they are a well-loved symbol of the light returning and the turn of the wheel. My favourite, and most often quoted, is by William Wordsworth (1802).
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
The Astrology // 20th March 2024, 3.07 am GMT
With the Earthly tropical sign of Capricorn on the Ascendant, this Ostara chart reflects the feeling of having to push a little harder to get things going this spring.
Saturn, as the Lord of the Helm, is in a melancholy mindset. Considering the day-to-day tedium does not sit well when in a contemplative mood. He spies the First Place from the Piscean watery temple in the 3rd house, co-present Exalted Venus. She gently caresses Him as She approaches, reminding us that so often, to love is to lose, but love itself is never lost. Especially if we take ourselves back through our memories and recall those people and times back into our hearts.
With Saturn and Venus sextile Jupiter in Taurus in the 5th, maybe we can put some of our expansive, expressive, creative, and artistic visions into a tangible form. It is worth considering the ideas we are serious about while also recognising those that need to be left in the ethereal world as beautiful daydreams. Venus will have an abundance of those once she joins Neptune on the 3rd of April!
Mars, the exalted Lord of Capricorn, cannot see the Ascendant being stuck in Aquarius, though it could be seen as a support through the second house of resources. I think this symbolizes having to wait a little longer to get the party started.
And what a party we are all expecting. Anticipation is rife, with every astrologer discussing the great Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Taurus, the Mars/Saturn conjunction in Pisces, and the Eclipse season all happening within weeks of each other in April. Oh, and add a little twist of Mercury retrograde as a garnish!
However, I am racing forward in true Arian fashion! This Equinox chart is the foundation for all that is to come, with the Sun in the impetuous sign of the Ram in the 4th house, blessed with a separating trine from our Luna Queen, regal in the 8th house, Leo. Luna asks us to consider what we owe to others, what do they owe us? Where do we come from, and where are we going to? Do we have outstanding debts to pay and the resources to back up our outgoings?
The Sun does not appreciate being held back, so starting a new cycle from deep underground is not the easiest way to start our Spring season. But consider for a moment in the Orphic Hymn to Apollo; it discusses how “You see the first and the last, You see the roots below.” (Trans Dunn, P). I have considered these lines often. We are always aware of the Sun in the daytime; how could we not be, but the hymn also asks us to remember that the Sun has not died at nighttime; it is just shining its light elsewhere, below us in another realm, where it is witnessing our roots, our heritage.
With that in mind, I think we have an opportunity to settle some scores in that 4th house, which can sometimes be challenging. Family karma can be some of the most difficult to deal with. But the Sun in Aries is very well dignified and can bring the unseen courage that is needed to tackle tasks that may beset us in the coming weeks.
A strength of will and a passion for working towards the tasks we believe in, for our personal truth, can come from recognising that some things, people, and circumstances need to be left in the past. Not buried and hidden, but laid to rest with honour, whether it be a lost loved one or a part of us that is in pain. Give thanks to the inner strength that has brought you this far; you are a soldier who has fought many battles already. There may be more ahead, but now you are a wise warrior, not a novice. The lessons you have learned give you the strong foundation to spring back up, fighting fit and with courage.
As the tropical point of 0° Aries arrives, I imagine I hear the solid clank as the wheel moves one more notch in the great turning of the cosmos. We begin another cycle as the Sun’s dominance takes over and the light builds. If you take the time to wander out in nature, a cacophony can be heard in the woodlands and fields. Turn off your phone, open your heart, and take in the glory of the season, even if it begins a bit damp and grey!
Saffron Dennis is an astrologer, crystal therapist, horticulturalist and tarot reader based in the East Anglia region of the UK. You can book her for a reading or as a speaker at your local or online event at divinebaytree.com
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A Tarot Spread for Ostara - Heather Marie Morse helps you create your personal tarot spread for the Vernal Equinox! Link here.
A poignant beginning. Thank you for this gorgeous work.
👏 beautifully said!