It is sometimes called Ostara, which is similar to the festival of Easter, and is a time to celebrate rebirth in nature. The Spring Equinox falls on March 20 or March 21, but there are plenty of open rituals and pagan events taking place over the weekends on either side. Here are some in London and other parts of England:
Now to 25 March; Witch Hunt - a touring exhibition about the East Anglian witch-hunt of 1645-47, put on by Epping Forest District Museum. Location: Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road, Walthamstow London E17 9NH. Tel Tel 020 8496 4381. Email vhm.enquiries@walthamforest.gov.uk or visit http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/leisure/museums-galleries/vestry-house/vhm-whats-on.htm
Saturday 17 March; Mysteries of The Spring Equinox: Intensive Day Course on Symbolism, Folklore and Magic with Suzanne Corbie. The one-day course aims to teach the customs associated with the pagan festival of the Spring Equinox and culminates with a ceremony. Location: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Price: lb35 (lb20 deposit, balance due on the day). Time: 11am to 5.30pm. Advance booking essential. Tel: 0207 419 8507 or email: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/
Saturday 17 March; Spring Equinox rite by the Free and Open Gorsedd of Caer Abiri at The Sun Circle, Avebury stone circle, Wiltshire. Druidic style open ceremony to celebrate the balance of day and night - all faith paths welcome. Meet at the Red Lion pub at Avebury from noon for a ceremony at 2pm. Offerings of bread, cake, mead, poetry and song are welcome.
Sunday 18 March; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm. For more details contact Peter Warwick-Mahoney peter@dawnoftheoak.co.uk, or Eugenie eugenie@dawnoftheoak.co.uk.
Monday, 19 March; Croydon Crows. PF moot held every 3rd Monday of each month at the Skylark pub, South End, South Croydon from 8pm onwards.
Tuesday 20 March; Spring Equinox Festival at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Gather at noon at the well head for a meditation on the lawn at 12.30. This is a free event, although normal admission prices to the garden apply from noon. For more details, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/
Tuesday 20 March; Interview with a Magician. Krzysztof Azarewicz in conversation with Christina Oakley Harrington at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets lb7. Reserve a place by emailing info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/
Wednesday 21 March; Images of Witches: History, Fairy Tales, Films. Evening public lecture by Willem de Bl'ecourt, Honorary Research Fellow at the Huizinga Institute, Amsterdam, author of Werewolvesand co-author of Cultural Approaches to the History of Medicine: Mediating Medicine in Early Modern and Modern Europe, Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 6and Witchcraft Continued: Popular Magic in Modern Europe. Location: The Mitre Lecture Theatre, Chichester University. Time: 5.15pm - 6.30pm. For tickets (lb5/lb2 concessions)contact h.robbins@chi.ac.uk
Wednesday 21 March; Atlantis Bookshops Presents (formerly The Moot with No Name) An Evening With... Weekly pagan talk by a special guest at Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission lb5. Visit http://www.theatlantisbookshopevents.com//
Thursday 22 March; Druid Order Open Introductory Evening. A chance to learn more about at The Druid Order (A.D.U.B.) Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.30pm start. Price: lb5. For more details, call Druid Order on 020 8659 4879.
Thursday 22 March; Pagan Federation London Spring Equinox Open Ritual with Romuva - a Lithuanian pagan group in London. Expect song and dance. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London. Turn up by 7.30pm for pre-ritual social. The ritual starts at 8pm. Entrance: PF members/conc lb5. All others lb6. Please bring seasonal/home-made food and drinks to share at the feast after the ritual. For more information, visit the PFL website at http://www.pflondon.org/index.html
Friday 23 March; Light Into 2012 - What Can We Do at this Time of Change?. Lecture by Tracey Ash at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm. Cost: lb5/8. Advance booking advised. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html
Friday 23 March; Cross Bones Vigil to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Gather from 6.45pm in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, SE1, opposite the Boot and Flogger, just north of the junction with Union Street. Nearest tubes Borough or London Bridge, 5 minutes walk away. The event is free. http://www.crossbones.org.uk/
Sunday, 25 March; Adventures in Shamanism Taster Day. One-day introduction to shamanism and the shamanic journey offering a taste of the world and work of the shaman. Explore the history and traditions of shamanism and learn where and why shamans go when they 'journey'. Participants will learn to journey and meet spirit helpers. Location: Neal's Yard Meeting Rooms, 14 Neal's Yard, Convent Garden, London WC1. Time: 10am - 5pm. Cost: lb75, some concessions available on request. For further information email info@shaman.uk.com or call 07847 894453. Website: www.shaman.uk.com
Sunday, 25 March; Anderida Gorsedd Spring Equinox open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.
Sunday, 25 March; Pagan Belly Dance Workshop to celebrate Ostara. Explore the ritual aspect of this ancient dance and work with elemental energies to create a group dance for the season. Workshops facilitated by experienced dancer, teacher and co-founder of Norse Belly Dance, Polly Hallam and Clare Wood (South East London Folklore Society and former local PF co-coordinator). All levels of ability / experience. Time: 1.15pm-3.15pm Venue: Bellenden Therapy Rooms, 147a Bellenden Road, Peckham, London SE15 4DH. Peckham Rye rail or bus 12, 37, 63, P13. Suggested donation lb6 - lb9. Bring soft shoes or sticky socks, wear loose comfortable clothing, bring a small natural object for the seasonal altar. Advance booking advised: contact Polly: mrsmiggins13@hotmail.com or Clare: cgbwood@gmail.com to reserve your place. www.facebook.com/shimmyaroundtheseasons
Sunday, 25 March; Herbal Magic Workshop: Springtime and Nettles in Practical Hedgewitchery. Workshop with Karen Lawton and Fiona Heckelsat Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Price: lb25, includes all ingredients. Time: 1pm to 5.30pm Reserve a place by emailing info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/
