Wheel of the Year

A Guide to Ostara – the Spring Equinox

In astronomical terms, the Spring Equinox (also known as Ostara) marks the beginning of the Spring season in the Northern hemisphere and falls between the 20th – 23rd March each year.

The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘equal night’ and twice a year, on both the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, night and day length reach a point of balance. The light has slowly but surely been increasing from it’s lowest point at the Winter Solstice (Yule) in December. It will now continue to expand, overtaking the hours of darkness, until it reaches its peak on our longest day at the Summer Solstice (Litha) in June.

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Wheel of the Year

Samhain

Samhain is a seasonal festival that falls roughly half way between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. It is the third harvest festival (following Lammas and Autumn Equinox) celebrating the time to collect the last of the year’s berries and nuts. Samhain is the end of the growth part of the cycle and the origin of Halloween. It can be thought of as the birth of the Winter and dark half of the year.

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