Ostara Breath

The vernal equinox (celebrated as Ostara by many contemporary Pagans) is observed around the 20th of March in the northern hemisphere, and around the 21st of September in the southern hemisphere. This meditation weaves together themes of acceptance, balance, new life and healthy choices.

Transcript

This meditation is dedicated to Mother Earth,

The Mother of us all,

And to the equinox,

The vernal equinox in particular.

Of course,

The equinox is a global moment.

On this particular time,

The Sun rises due east and sets due west,

And day and night are roughly equal.

The vernal equinox usually comes on or around March 20th in the northern hemisphere,

On or around September 21st in the southern hemisphere.

And it's that point at which we tip into the light from that point of balance,

From this point forward.

Day will be longer than night.

And it's often observed as the beginning of spring,

And sometimes celebrated as Ostara,

And many other observations,

I'm sure.

Persians observe this as the New Year,

Nowruz.

The sounds you're hearing in the background are spring peepers in a pool in Maine.

These are a type of frog.

Their chirping is said to mark the beginning of spring.

They start up as soon as the ice melts in the wetlands.

Thank you to Bud Gillette for the recording.

So for this meditation,

It's best to sit comfortably with an erect spine.

We might begin with a little spring cleaning,

So to speak.

Just taking a deep breath in through the nose and exhaling quickly through the mouth a few times.

And then let your breath settle into its natural rhythm.

And gently bring your attention to your breath,

Just to observe the breath,

Just to see what it's like,

How it is.

Notice the circular,

Cyclical nature of your breath.

Draw a breath in,

Letting breath out.

The cycle of our breath is similar to the cycle of the earth,

Moving around the Sun.

Days are getting longer,

And days are getting shorter,

And days are getting longer again.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

And breathing in again.

Our inhalation is similar to the lengthening of days,

The waxing of the light.

And the vernal equinox,

Well,

That's that moment right in the middle of the inhalation,

A passing fleeting moment when your lungs are half full of air.

Springtime.

It's kind of like the inhalation of the earth.

Of the natural forces that have been slumbering through the winter,

Kind of curled up tight and ready to spring forth.

That's why we call it spring.

And at this moment it may feel like an inhalation before the great burst of activity,

Of new life.

So that inhalation in our breath could be an analog to springtime.

What can we learn from it?

What wisdom can we find in our inhalation?

With each breath we're accepting air into our body,

Into our lungs,

To become part of us.

With each inhalation we're drawing something from outside of us into our very being.

We can cultivate this kind of acceptance intentionally in our meditation as we observe our breath.

Maybe there are other thoughts,

Distractions,

Feelings,

Sensations that arise.

We can accept all of these inputs,

All of this stimulus,

All of these thoughts,

Feelings,

Emotions.

We can greet them with an open-hearted spirit of acceptance,

Without judgment.

We can accept whatever arises within our experience.

Simply return our attention gently to the breath again and again.

At the moment of the equinox we might see it as a special invitation,

Not merely to practice this acceptance,

But also to reflect on what it means to accept and even to exercise discernment about how we live our lives and what we welcome in to our lives,

What we accept,

What we take in to our bodies,

To our minds,

To our being.

In our daily lives,

Not just in meditation,

But when the meditation is done,

How will we carry the spirit forward?

What will we accept?

What will we bring in?

If we think of the air that we're breathing,

We want the air that we breathe to be pure and clean.

And in the same way,

In much of our life we might examine our choices to see if we're bringing into our lives that which will make us healthy,

Happy,

And which will help us thrive.

Sometimes this is paradoxically through a process of subtraction.

We might be inspired to give up unhealthy habits,

Habits of mind,

Habits of body.

We can affirm our desire to make healthy choices,

To make happy,

Responsible,

Ethical choices in our life.

We can affirm even with each breath,

You might simply think of a word or a phrase affirming your resolve,

Affirming your desire.

With each breath,

Wellness,

Happiness,

Or a phrase,

Desire make healthy choices.

And if you'd like,

You might even visualize these intentions as something that you can hold,

Cupped in your hands,

An egg,

A symbol of life,

A symbol of new life,

A symbol of spring,

Fragile and yet strong at the same time.

You're holding your intentions gently,

Carefully.

Bringing them to life.

Carrying them forward into your life,

Your best intentions for this day,

For this season.

And finally,

It's always appropriate to remember our gratitude for receiving this moment,

Our gratitude to our ancestors,

Both material and spiritual.

To all our friends and fellow travelers,

Thank you.

And I wish you a happy Astara and a blessed Vernal Equinox.

Thank you.

Reviews

Loved this talk. Especially the peepers! Thank you.

the meditation is so good & exactly what i was hoping for in an ostara mediation

The background noise though is very distracting & because of my personal state found irritating

Yes I loved this. Thank you for providing the whole year.

I searched for Ostara meditation and you delivered; thank you very much and many blessings to you!

I always enjoy this teacher's seasonal meditations. Helpful.

Bright blessings 💜x

Thank you! 🙏🏼✨ I was thinking about peepers yesterday, how during my childhood in Connecticut we always listened for them, and here in Barcelona I can't hear them! It was a perfect touch and a nice memory of home 🐸🌷

Absolutely wonderful! Love the central metaphor of breath and seasons, and the final image of the egg.

Extremely minor quibbles (really just observations) :
*Starts off more in talk/lecture/information mode (which is necessary background, but it takes a while to shift into the actual meditation)
*The slow, deliberate pace of the delivery was a wee bit distracting to me (again, just takes patience—and I was not listening under the best conditions)

Accessible to anyone, although already being familiar with breath awareness ( and/or the Wheel of the Year) might help. I can’t believe that metaphor never occurred to me till now, at least not this clearly.

Bears multiple listens, ideally every March 20-21, when it is most relevant, although you really try the practice anytime.

An IT standout for me.

Beautiful! Thank you!

Thank you for posting this lovely meditation for the Vernal Equinox!
In Novasutras, we also celebrate the Equinoxes, Solstices and Cross-Quarters because of their global significance. Globally synchronized meditations at the precise astronomical moments are a part of this - learn more at novasutras.org.  Ubuntu and agaya to you!

What a lovely way to mark this day! Thank you!

Very nice insight and meditation on the Vernal Equinox and Ostara. Thank You🌞🌷🤗💖

Really enjoying these thoughtful meditations on seasonal themes and celebrated days! (including the Imbolic meditation in Feb) Love the nature sounds and soothing voice. Hope there will be more though the year...

A lovely, renewing meditation. It’s very soothing and the practice really centered me in the present moment. Thank you!

Wonderful meditation, thank you! The guidance given kept me anchored and in the now.

Thank you for this special recording. Your voice and the sound of the springfrogs send me straight in a kind of trance. Interesting. I will listen again to let your words in on a more conscious level 😁. Have a beautiful spring, Bart!

Thank you so much for this truly beautiful meditation ... 🙏 😊

Thank you for this reminder of spring and all that it symbolizes and brings with it.

Thank you! I will repeat this ine🙏🏻💜