The When to Start Debate...
January or Ostara
There are a lot of rants going around in the spiritual community that basically belittle people who want to start the Gregorian year (1/1) off with a bang. These people feel that the year doesn’t truly start until Ostara, or the first day of Spring. Believe what you want to believe. Live in a way that serves you best so long as you are not hurting others. Be respectful of those who use that collective energy of 1/1 to our advantage. No one is hurting you. All that is happening is that people are living most authentically to themselves.
I believe fully in collective energy being put into something and giving it power. Lion’s Gate Portal? Not real, but a ton of people put stock in it, put energy into, and there is a charge in the air from the millions believing each year on 8/8. The New Year is something that is celebrated all throughout the planet, and the energy is tangible. There’s hope, renewal, a second wind after the darkest week of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere). It is an energy to tap into for your own projects.
There are many new years each year, which is even cooler! You can start your new year, your new chapter, your new life whenever you want! That’s the amazing thing about life. You don’t need to start your next year on 1/1. You don’t need to start your new year on Ostara. You don’t need to wait for Samhain or Yule or the Lunar New Year. You can just start… as soon or as late as you want. I think some days are more powerful than others, but I am not going to tell someone not to start their new path because their day doesn’t align with mine.
Normally this debate doesn’t phase me, and on those years I have been too deep in the throes of depression to start anything until spring, I have been that person saying, “It’s ok! The New Year is actually on Ostara.” This year though, I’ve been getting defensive, and I am not sure why other than it feels like people are trying to hold me back. I have learned that if I feel trapped, even if I’m not, I will turn into a caged animal and tear shit apart. Reading over and over and over that all of my efforts to turn my lemon of a winter break into lemonade on the first was really getting to me.
I was motivated and ready. I was feeding off the hopefulness, not the diet culture or the capitalist consumption but on the energy of change and freshness and shedding the old to make room for the new. We are now 4 weeks into 2024, and it has been a rough 4 weeks with the weather, wars, inflation, and winter depression, but I am still working to make those changes, and I am grateful to have started 4 weeks ago.
Winter is absolutely a time for hibernating, for reflecting, for rest and recuperation. It is also the time that you plan and take advantage of Capricorn Season after the festive and indulgent Sagittarius Season. In winter, I plant my seeds and water them. I visualize, consort with my goddesses, and get guidance on the new year from my cards. I put in the work so that by the time Ostara, Spring comes, I am ready, and my seeds have sprouted.
Most seeds take 30-150 days to fruit. Your dreams and goals are seeds. They need time to sprout, grow, flower, be fertilized, and finally fruit. You can’t rush that process. The later you start, the later your seeds will grow, which is fine if that’s the timing on your path. I know that I need to have additional income and a new job lined up before Augusts. I only have 8 months to get things off the ground. That means I need to start now. Spring? That’s too late. For you though? Maybe spring is the exact perfect time because your timeline is different.
Winter is a time of planning, plotting, planting, and laying the foundation. Spring is a time of movement, of action, of putting into being everything I’ve contemplated through in the winter.
Spring is when I am out galavanting through forests, fields of wildflowers, and chasing rainbows. I am too busy being present and active to be planning and thinking. My body has woken up from its slumber, and it’s ready to experience life in full again. I am able to do this because of the foundations and systems I set up during those first 4-6 weeks of the year.
I want to make it clear that I think everyone should start when they want to start! Something that 2023 really taught me is that we have the chance to begin anew at any time. For real, I’m not even kidding. I have new beginnings every month, every new moon, and every Monday. That means I have 4-7 new starts each month, and it is exactly what I need in order to be ok and do what I need. If I wanted to be extra intense about it, I could think about every second being the start of a new beginning.
Do what feels right for you. I want everyone to feel successful on their paths, to feel comfortable about taking the steps they need to take and when. What I don’t want is anymore of this superficial internet bickering about what 3/20 is a better start date than 1/1, when truly, they are both start dates! I will be celebrating Ostara. I will be welcoming in. the Spring. I will be starting and launching and releasing new things then, but for now? I am doing the behind the scenes work now in order to be ready for then.
What new projects or habits are you working on or wanting to start this year? Are you team NYD or Ostara or perhaps BOTH? Does one resonate more with you than the other? I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this!
Wishing you well this week! May your life offer what you need in this moment.
With love,
Aventurine ✨
I’m neither! I always feel my New Year starts on Imbolc. I’ve always had jobs that are very busy in November and December so January is rest and recovery time, so by February I should hopefully feel more energetic. Plus Imbolc is my favourite festival, I always make a paper Brigid’s cross with four themes/ideas/feelings that I want to embrace for the year ahead.
I love the idea of having many opportunities to start! I definitely used every opportunity to do some intention setting. I will do some in NYD, in the lunar New Year, on new moons, on my 11th house, on my birthday.