Stories of Goddesses of springtime frequently explore of love, compassion, rebirth, and growth. Spring Goddesses bring life and beauty back to nature. They conjure hopeful emotions of love and curiosity through their engagement in the wellness of the land. However: many Spring Goddess stories also have a tragic side, where an innocent maiden is steered into difficult events that trigger a quick and unanticipated transition into adulthood. While these stories are not always light reading, they are valuable in showing us growth is a natural aspect of the spring season. Even after facing challenging circumstances there is still the hope that a person can rebuild their livelihood to be stronger, more magical, and self-aware. Here will look at a few of the Goddesses that you can connect with and honor during the Spring season, along with ways to building relationships with each of them.
The Story of Eostre and the Hare
“Ostara” (1901) by Johannes Gehrts
When we think of Ostara we think of Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon Goddess of spring. There is little information on Eostre, though the Venerable Bede makes mention of her in the 8th century text De Temporum Ratione (*see note at end of blog). Eostre then appears in literature again several centuries later, in Deutcsche Mythology, a compendium of oral traditions collected by Jacob Grimm. Grimm describes Eostre as a goddess of the dawn, joy, and blessings, saying that there are springtime festivities connected to her. One such festivity included young maidens dancing in white gowns towards bubbling brooks, where they would wash their hands and faces in the water to preserve their youth and beauty.
Even if Eostre’s threads through literary and archeological records are thin, she is still deserving of attention and tribute at the Spring Equinox. Her stories are relevant to the growth, wonder, and magic of Spring. In Ostara: Customs, Spells and Rituals for the Rites of Spring, Edain McCoy shares a sweet story about Eostre meeting with a rabbit in spring. Even if this is not one from mythological volumes of the days old, it is an adorable story that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. One of Eostre’s finest devotees was a small hare who wished to give a gift to the goddess but wasn’t sure what he could offer the goddess of spring. One day, while looking for food, he came across a fresh egg. Although he craved the delightful egg for a snack for himself, he decided it would be a wonderful present for Eostre. He painted the egg bright colors and drew symbols and designs on it. When the egg was complete, he offered it to Eostre. Eostre was so delighted by the hare’s egg, that she decided that it would be a tradition that all children would receive eggs at the Spring Equinox.
Eostre can be called upon when you want to return to a simple and innocent frame of mind. She allows you to observe the growing world with wonder and love. She can also be called upon when you are looking for inspiration, want more abundance in your life, or have a project that needs a little extra boost of magical power to grow. Offerings to Eostre include painted eggs, spring flowers, and figurines of bunnies (and yes, I think that includes chocolate bunnies too).
Hretha: The Anglo Saxon Goddess of March
via Unsplash by Mimpic Photography
Returning to the Venerable Bede’s De Temporum Ratione, two Anglo-Saxon spring goddesses were noted for the origin of March and April’s names: Hretha and Eostre. Bede notes on March: “Hrethmonath is named for their goddess Hretha, to whom they sacrificed at this time.” Unfortunately, Bede supplies no further details about Hretha, leaving scholars to speculate on Hretha’s attributes and status amongst early pagan Anglo-Saxons. Scholars and Pagan researchers have tried to build her personality on the etymology of her name. Her name has been etymologically connected to “glory,” “victorious,” and “swift.” And, again returning to Deutcsche Mythology, Folklorist Jakob Grimm suggested that Hretha meant “shining and renownful goddess.” He also believed Hretha was connected to the Roman God Mars.
Modern day Pagans have also developed Hretha’s personality and magic through their spiritual encounters with her. River Devora sees Hretha as a domestic goddess who demonstrates the powerful healing powers of the hearth and home, saying “she also stands on the threshold of that idealized home and can help us to transition into whatever we need when we are out in the world… she can help us put on our armour to deal with the rest of the world.”
I would like to suggest one way to understand Hretha’s personality and magic is through the personality of the month of March. March is one of the most temperamental months, giving us a wild range of unpredictable weather. You could experience snow, sleet, sunny days, warm weather, and wind, all within a March week! In that sense, perhaps Hretha is a goddess of mood changes, a deity we can go to when our emotions feel like a pendulum swaying back and forth. Hretha can support you when your feelings are overwhelming you, helping you to take back control and helping you to look forward to a stable, calmer, and more predictable time. March’s weather has also led me to see Hretha as a goddess of transition and overcoming obstacles. You can ask her for strength and to help guide you to a stable and abundant path.
Hretha also feels like the wild but strong elder sister to Eostre. Hretha arrives in March and transforms its unpredictable nature into a much more comfortable and stable space. Eostre safely arrives in a tamer April to rule over a realm of wildflowers, growth, and fertility. It is as though Hretha paves the way for Eostre to have a much gentler landing in this world. Perhaps then Hretha can be seen as a protectress of those who are younger, just discovering themselves, or starting out in a new (and maybe scary) venture. You can speak to Hretha when you need help finding your footing, want confidence to break out into the world, and receive fierce “been there, done that” wisdom only an elder sister could supply.
If you wish to connect with Hretha, spend time reflecting on the wild temperament of March weather. If you can, take a trip into nature during March. What does it feel like to experience that first warmer sunrise when the birds are brave enough to start singing again? How does it feel when you are drawn back into the homestead to wait out a late season snowstorm? You can also try to follow Hretha on the Anglo-Saxon archeological trail. For those who live in England or can visit England, consider going to sacred places for the Anglo Saxons. You can visit the remains of an Iron Age hillfort called Yeavering Bell in Northumberland National Park, England or the recreated Anglo-Saxon village of West Stow in Suffolk, England. There is also a fantastic Anglo-Saxon exhibit at the British Museum of History that displays the treasures of a burial ship known as Sutton Hoo.
Freyja: Goddess of Love, Magic, and Healed Confidence
“Freyja and the Necklace” (1890) by James Doyle Penrose
Freyja is a Norse goddess associated with the return of spring, love, fertility, sensuality, and magic. In the Edda, composed by Snorri Sturluson, Freyja is described as a glorious goddess who “is the most approachable one for people to pray to… She was fond of love songs. It is good to pray to her concerning love affairs.”
Freyja isn’t limited to associations of love and fertility: she is a multifaceted goddess. Freyja was said to teach the Aesir a form of magic known as seidr, which involves trances and shamanistic rituals to divine and weave the future. Those who practiced seidr were said to have a powerful ability to access secret knowledge and share wisdom about future events. Not only was Freyja said to be a master at seidr, but she also taught the form of magic to Odin.
Frejya's name means "Lady" and she is also known as "The Vanadis," or "The lady of the Vanir." She is from one of the two divine houses in Norse myth: the house of Vanir. Her brother is Freyr (The Lord), and her father is Njord, a sea king. Her mother is not known, but some speculate it is Nerthus, an earth goddess. Óðr is Freyja's husband, though he seems absent from mythology, said be off on long and frequent travels. It is even said she would weep tears of red gold when he was away from her. Freya wears a cloak made of falcon feathers, which she puts on to fly in the form of a falcon around the world. She rides a boar into battle but also has a chariot led by two cats.
Interestingly, blogger Thorskegga Thorn suggests that deities from the Vanir house may have been neglected by Christian scholars in their recorded tales of Scandinavian myths because sexual promiscuity. Freyja was portrayed as such a sexual goddess, that one myth tells of her spending a special kind of night with the dwarves, who created a beautiful necklace named Brisingamen that she couldn’t resist. When the dwarves showed her the necklace, she asked what the payment for it was. They said payment was to spend an intimate night with each of them. She obliged for her gorgeous piece of jewelry. Freya’s sexuality is also put on display again when Loki insults her in the Poetic Edda, saying “I know all about you; you aren’t lacking in blame: of the Aesir and the elves, who are in here, each one has been your love.” Apparently, slut-shaming is not a just modern occurrence.
It’s clear that Freyja’s character is not so simple: this complex goddess has many different talents, stories, and traits worth examining and honoring. As Barbara Walker points out in The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets: “She was called the Goddess of fertility, love, the moon, the sea, the earth, the underworld, death, birth; virgin, mother, ancestress, queen of heaven, ruler of fate, of the stars, of magic; the Great Sow wedded to the sacrificial board; the Mistress of Cats; the leader of Valkyries; the Saga or ‘sayer’ who inspired all sacred poetry.”
Freyja must also face dark emotions, specifically the grief she feels from missing her absent husband. Freyja is must somehow rebuild her life and wellbeing, even after dealing with the psychological and emotional ramifications of abandonment and neglect, as well as shame for her sexual awareness. These lessons are unfortunately familiar ones that many living under patriarchy can relate to. Freyja teaches us that there are ways to find pleasure and joy, to savor life’s good moments, and use magic to manifest desires and heighten personal awareness.
Freyja can be called upon if you are trying to bring love into your life. There are many ways to speak with Freyja about bringing love into your life. You can keep a statue of her (or a framed illustration of her) on your altar. Dress your altar with fresh flowers such as roses or daisies. Decorate with golden objects or jewelry that you love. Light red candles and near your altar and write a letter to Freyja, telling her in detail the kind of traits you are looking for in your mate. Explain to her why you need romance in your life and take a moment to describe how it would feel to have that special someone arrive soon. Anoint the letter with amber essential oil and leave it on the altar. Keep the letter with you if you’d like or keep it with Freyja’s image.
Freyja's beauty was known by all. She was the inspiration of love songs and poetry. Ask for Freyja to help you with self-love, confidence, and a sense of self-worth. Laurie Sue Brockway’s A Goddess Is a Girl’s Best Friend offers a wonderful exercise for creating a set of “Freyja’s Runes,” that are a set of stones with sensual adjectives on them. As a spin on this idea, get a set of index cards (a dozen to three dozen). On each index card write a word that will inspire you to feel beautiful, empowered, and confident. For example: intriguing, mysterious, successful, prosperous, beautiful, magnetic, confident, desirous, etc. You can decorate the cards if you are crafty. Every morning pull a card for focus that day. Keep the card with you, and look at it frequently, knowing that you are what is stated on the card (and more).
Freyja would go to battles and take half of the fallen soldiers to live forever in her hall. I have always found Freyja to be brilliant, kind, and warm during times of transition. Ask her to help you find the good during difficult times. Ask her to be beside you while you weep. Ask her to reveal joy and love in your life or make it clearer so you have an optimistic path to follow. Freyja wears many magical hats: she can help you discover love and beauty, but she will also walk onto a battlefield if it means there is an opportunity for justice and empowerment. She can be a flirt, but she also is willing to engage in an enlightened discussion about magic. She celebrates the birth of new life, new relationships, new endeavors, but she also offers comfort and magic to those who find themselves in moments of transition. Let her many interests encourage you to explore what you love.
Blodeuwedd: Independent Goddess of the Land and Otherworld
via Unsplash by Milan Popovic
Blodeuwedd is a Welsh goddess of flowers and fertility, often associated with the celebrations of Ostara and Beltane. Blodeuwedd’s story appears in the tale of “Math, the Son of Mathonwy,” a story in the medieval Welsh book The Mabinogion. The story begins with the goddess Arianrhod shaming her son, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, saying that he could not be king unless she permitted it. Through her rule, she made it so he could not marry a mortal woman, thus stopping him from gaining the throne. However, Lleu has magical abilities that allow him to be safe from being killed, unless in the most complex of circumstances. As we learn: Lleu cannot be killed in a house or outside; on a horse or standing on the ground. This at least allows Lleu the time to search out a wife who is not human. Lleu’s magical cousins Math and Gwydion can help him with this task. They create an otherworldly woman by using the flowers of oak, broom, and meadowsweet. By doing this magic, they created a beautiful maiden of the land they named Blodeuwedd, meaning “Flower-faces.” Lleu and Blodeuwedd are married, and Lleu is finally able to take the throne, through marrying a woman of the land and not a human.
While Lleu is away hunting, a hunter named Gronw comes to the castle. When seeing Blodeuwedd, the two instantly fall in love. To be together, they plot a way to kill Lleu. When Lleu returns, Blodeuwedd tells him that she is afraid he could get killed. This, of course, is feigned and part of the plot to set up Lleu’s death. Though Lleu tries to coax Blodeuwedd, she insists that he set up the circumstances in which he could be killed. So, they set up a bath on a riverbank with a thatched roof. They bring one goat to the bank of the water. Lleu puts one foot on the goat and the other foot on the side of the bathtub. In this instant, Gronw throws a spear and hits Lleu in his side. Lleu turns into an eagle and flies away.
Gwydion finds Lleu as a wounded eagle high in a tree, and by chanting, gets him to fly down. With the help of a magical wand, Gwydion turns Lleu back into his human form. Gwydion then sets out to find Blodeuwedd and turns her into an owl, banishing her from seeing the light ever again. When Lleu is completely healed, he slays Gronw.
For me, the story of Blodeuwedd is tragic and beautiful: she has an otherworldly creation, made with magic from flowers, with the intention of wedding a human hero. Unfortunately, her curiosity for feeling love and her passionate desires condemn her back to nature. As Winter Cymraes reflects in her article about Blodeuwedd, “She is never asked whether she loves him or desires to marry him. She was created for his purposes, solely to assure his right to rule the land. Her own desires are impossible to achieve while Lleu lives and she is often seen as the epitome of non-assertive femininity, fickleness, and the faithless wife, using the passion of two men for her to seal the doom of both.”
I see this as an allegory of what many individuals encounter when trying to find themselves, their positions in society, and their roles in relationships. Sometimes it feels as though it is hard to be heard, that her words are lost through an otherworldly barrier, her needs met only with sacrifice. You can connect with Blodeuwedd when you wish to explore the liminal and Otherworldly magic of spring as nature transforms into a blossom-filled landscape. Blodeuwedd can also help you learn about personal boundaries and powerful independence. She is also there to help you explore your true feelings and needs. You can honor Blodeuwedd by decorating your altar with oak, meadowsweet, and broom. You can feel her magic when you visit flower gardens or support an animal sanctuary that specializes in the rehabilitation of owls.
Persephone: Goddess of Transformation and Self-Reclamation
“The Return of Persephone” (1891) by Frederic Leighton
Persephone is the gentle and beautiful Greek goddess of the dead and afterlife. She is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus and was abducted by Hades, Lord of the Underworld.
The story goes that Hades was deeply attracted to Persephone. He asked Demeter for her blessing to wed Persephone, but Demeter refused to give the blessing. On a beautiful spring day Persephone was gathering flowers when she was particularly drawn to a narcissus flower that happened to be further away from the patch of other flowers. When admiring the narcissus Hades abducted Persephone and took her to the Underworld where she was forced to be his queen.
Demeter mournfully searched for Persephone, and as she continued to search, the earth began to decay and die. The world continued to grow cold and icy, the land barren as Demeter was in deep grief over the loss of her daughter. Seeing this, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld to fetch Persephone, on the one condition that Persephone could return to Earth if she did not eat anything while in the underworld. Hades then pressed one single pomegranate seed into Persephone’s mouth, condemning her to the underworld for half the year. Thus, Persephone spends part of the year in the underworld with Hades, and during this time Demeter mourns and the earth is bare and cold. But when Persephone returns, so does the warmth and growth of nature.
This tragic tale of Persephone’s innocence lost has an empowering lesson embedded within it. While in the Underworld, Hecate became Persephone’s attendant. Persephone then has access to this powerful magical crone’s wisdom. As Kala Trobe observes in Invoke the Goddess: “The magic she learns in Hades is of transcendence – she realizes that spiritual strength comes from a source independent of external stimuli and physical manifestations.” Persephone reclaims her personal power through magic, wisdom, and facing the darkness of the Underworld as well as her relationship with a wiser, older goddess who supports her in her maturation.
Persephone can be called upon when you are in a transitory phase. She can help awaken confidence, make you become more self-aware, and encourage personal growth. She can help heal those who have fallen victim to the similar atrocities that Hades felt entitled to enact. In other words: Persephone will guide you through the darker aspects of healing and shadow work, guiding you a place where you can reclaim your body, boundaries, time, and joy. Appropriate offerings to Persephone include fresh flowers, figs, grapes, pomegranate, honey, olive oil, and wine.
Whichever goddesses you which to approach this spring, be prepared for deeply reflective work. While this work can bring you to the shadows of trauma recovery, they can also help you blossom into an independent, contented, and magical person.
*Note from Eostre Entry: It is important to note that Bede’s knowledge and authority on Anglo-Saxon faith prior to Christianity to questioned. This is important to keep in mind as there are dozens of online resources claiming that Eostre was confirmed and worshipped Goddess or that Eostre’s name inspired the name Easter – both of which are disputable. There are also false claims online connecting Ostara to Babylonian worship of Ishtar or suggesting that the hare was an animal ally to Eostre – both claims do not have any supportive evidence, likely being romanticized modern interpretations. If this is a rabbit hole (pun intended) you wish to go down my recommendation is to start with the article “The Goddess Eostre Bede’s Text and Contemporary Pagan Tradition(s)” by Carole Cusak in The Pomegranate.
