The Energy Shift From Winter to Spring That Most Witches Ignore
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
— Margaret Atwood
Every year around Ostara, witches everywhere start decorating their altars with eggs, flowers, pastel candles, and tiny baby animals.
And listen… I love a seasonal altar as much as the next witch. In fact, I have a special set of little eggs and a mossy looking rabbit statue that I use as a centerpiece to my own altar. But most people completely miss the most important part of this sabbat.
Ostara isn’t just about celebrating spring. It marks a very real energetic shift that happens every year on the Wheel of the Year.
When you understand that shift, your magick starts working with the seasons instead of fighting against them. Because here’s the truth most witches don’t talk about enough:
Winter and spring operate on two completely different kinds of energy.
Winter Is Not the Season of Action
One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to force major change during the winter months.I used to do this all the time and wonder why there came a point during the end of January or beginning of February where I was already feeling like a burned out failure.
When January hits, everyone sets huge goals, and suddenly you’re supposed to reinvent your entire life overnight. We get excited to do it, plan whole rituals around it, and if you’re like I was, you went wild with spells, rituals, and vision board sessions that you just felt deep down would make “this year your year!”
Meanwhile, half of us are still in blanket burrito mode trying to survive winter. But trust and believe, even when we’re in that state we’re probably thinking about all that other stuff and trying to plan for when we should do it.
There’s actually a reason for that.
Winter is not a season of outward movement. It’s a season of internal energy.
Nature shows us this every year.
The trees look dormant. The ground looks lifeless. Nothing seems to be happening. But beneath the surface, seeds are resting, roots are strengthening, and the earth is slowly preparing for new growth.
Magick works in cycles just like nature does.
During the winter months, the energy of the season supports things like:
• Reflection
• Shadow work
• Healing
• Rest
• Planning
• Releasing what no longer serves you
It’s a time for looking inward and figuring out what needs to change before new growth can happen. Think of winter as the part of the process where the seeds are planted underground.
You don’t see anything happening yet but the groundwork is being laid.
This is why I made a huge shift a number of years ago where during the time between Yule and Ostara I spend the majority of the time thinking, reflecting, releasing the previous cycle, and studying for the things I want to work on in the next cycle.
Ostara Is When Energy Starts Moving Again
Ostara marks the Spring Equinox, the point where day and night are equal before the light begins to take over.
From this point forward, the days get longer, the sun grows stronger, and life starts waking up again.
You can feel it if you pay attention. After months of feeling slower and more inward, people suddenly start feeling more motivated to change, inspired to take action, ready to clear out the physical and energetic blocks toward success and happiness, and generally excited about new ideas, new opportunities, and the idea of expansion.
That’s not just a coincidence. That’s the very real feeling of the seasonal energy shifting.
Ostara is when the energy of the year moves from internal work to outward action. The seeds that were resting underground during winter start pushing upward toward the light. And that same shift happens energetically in our lives and in our magick.
Why This Matters for Your Magick
When you align your magick with the natural cycles of the year, things start flowing much more easily. It makes sense to work with the seasonal energy since we often work with the phases of the moon or the astrological signs and energies. Think of these vibes as the container that holds your magick while it does its thing. If the container isn’t aligned with what you’re doing then it isn’t going to properly hold that magick.
During the winter the energy that is naturally supported and nurtured is ideal for magick involving banishing, releasing old habits and patterns, healing, protection, Shadow Work, deep reflection and personal growth.
When spring comes around magick for manifestation, growth, attracting opportunities, starting new projects, and creating momentum toward your goals is favored.
And when you think about, it naturally makes sense. Winter is a time for slowed energy and hibernation but when spring comes everything is pushing forward in bloom and growing.
If winter was the season where you figured out what needed to change, Ostara and the spring season as a whole is the moment where you start doing something about it.
It’s the point where intention begins turning into action.
Signs You're Entering the Spring Energy Shift
You might notice this seasonal shift showing up in your life in simple ways. But this can also mean you can miss it, so take time to look around and feel what’s happening within.
Do you suddenly feel the urge to declutter your space and do some spring cleaning?
Are you feeling calling to reorganize or completely revamp your altar and ritual space?
Are you suddenly filled with ideas for new creative projects?
Do you start getting the urge to spend more time outside, even if it’s just for a 5 minutes taking in the crisp, fresh air?
Are you called to set new goals or intentions?
Do you start to feel more of a jolt to wake up and get the day started in the mornings?
It’s these little shifts that you start feeling within that can show you that you are tuning into the greater shift outside of you. After many months of slower energy and a call to go within you start to feel the speed of nature picking up and it stirs within.
The “spring crazies” or “spring fever” is a real thing!
Nature is waking up, and so are you.
How to Work With Ostara Energy
If you want to work with this seasonal shift instead of just decorating your altar and calling it a day, there are a few powerful ways to connect with Ostara energy.
Revisit Your Winter Reflections
Think back to the inner work you’ve done over the past few months. It you spent time doing Shadow Work or even just looking at your patterns and habits that you wanted to shift for 2026, this is time to mine the gold for growth from that time. What did you learn about yourself? What did you find that needs to change to get closer to realizing your goals?
Ostara is the perfect time to start acting on those insights.
Set Spring Intentions
This is a great time to set intentions around things you want to grow over the coming months. You can use your discoveries from your winter reflections to find a starting point for these plans.
Just like seeds planted in spring gardens, these intentions are meant to develop slowly as the year continues. The things that we plant now we need to be prepared to nurture through the spring, help grow during the summer, so we can harvest them in the fall. This is a time for setting intentions that are going to take a little time and effort, not things you want to see manifest quickly.
Do Seed Magick
Seed magick is a beautiful way to symbolize that growth. When you determine the intentions that you want to set for the spring, pick up some seeds and planting supplies. The kind of seeds you get can be for plants or flowers aligned with your intention (but a little research is ideal around the practical side so you know you live in an environment that will support your seeds to grow).
Gather up your tools for planting, grab a spring colored candle, and a cleansing incense such as sage or rosemary. Light your candle and use the incense to cleanse your tools and seeds. Hold the seeds in your hands and cup them together. Focus on your intentions and visualize that energy going deep into the seeds and filling them with your energy. Then plant them.
Leave your pot with your candle and allow the candle to burn down on its own, blessing your intentions and adding a spark of growth and inspiration. As you nurture your seeds and the plan grows, it becomes a living and breathing representation of your intentions.
Refresh Your Sacred Space
Spring is also the season of cleansing and renewal. Now is the perfect time for cleaning, getting rid of things things that you no longer need, and resetting both your personal and ritual spaces.
This is one of my personal favorite parts of the spring season. I love going through my altar space and ritual tools and cleaning things out, resetting my altar (I have different tools for different seasons), and changing my altar candles and my altar cloth. Doing this always feels like I’m ready for new magick.
You’re not just tidying up. You’re making room for new growth. Energetically you can’t bring in new energy if there is old and stagnant energy hanging around or the energy that in your space now contradicts the energy you want to call in.
A Simple Way to Celebrate Ostara
If you want to work with this seasonal energy in a deeper way, a dedicated ritual can help anchor the shift from winter reflection into spring action.
That’s exactly why I created my Ostara Ritual Guide.
Inside the guide you'll find a complete ritual designed specifically for this seasonal transition, along with correspondences, symbolism, and ways to align your magick with the energy of the Spring Equinox.
You’ll also learn some of the cultural backgrounds and modern spiritual elements of celebrating Ostara, some spells and crafts for the season, and some journaling and divination templates for your inner work.
You can check it out here:
Whether you use a full ritual or just take a few moments to reflect on the shift happening around you, Ostara is a powerful reminder that growth always returns.
The seeds you planted during the dark months are starting to stir. Now it’s time to help them grow.
