March : Air Magic | Women's History : Ostara
- The Garden Variety Witch
- Apr 13
- 10 min read
As March unfolds around us, we stand at a powerful crossroads where cosmic transitions and earthly celebrations converge. This month brings the invigorating influence of the Air Element, the balancing energy of the Vernal Equinox, and a chance to honor the remarkable legacy of women throughout history. Together, these three forces weave a tapestry of transformation, balance, and recognition.
March: passionate transitions
The name March traces back to Mars, the Roman god of war and agriculture. This personification of energy shows us a striking duality reflecting both the fierce and nurturing aspects of this transitional month.
As the saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb,” referring to the strong winter winds that welcome us at the beginning of the month, and the gentle spring breezes that bid us farewell.
We see this shift from intensity to balance also mirrored in the month’s Full and New Moon phases, giving us anchored opportunities for grounding into Self and expressing our creativity with the enthusiastic passion of the season.
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The Full “Worm” Moon graces the northern hemisphere skies on the morning of Friday, March 14th in Virgo, a Mutable Earth sign known for its methodical and grounding energy.
Can you take a moment this morning to recognize your own weekly methods, and consciously ground into and practice a single one that is currently helping you move toward embodying your most present and abundant Self?
By that afternoon the Moon shifts into Libra. This Cardinal Air sign swirls us into the concepts of harmony, relationships, and artistic expression.
How do your daily practices and overall methods enrich and empower you to facilitate your needs being met, and putting your Magic In Action for a better future?
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The Full Moon of March, commonly known as the “Worm Moon,” has deep roots in Indigenous traditions, reflecting an intimate relationship with the cycles of nature. This name was popularized by the Farmer's Almanac but originates from Indigenous cultures across North America, who closely observed the seasonal changes reflected in the landscape.
For Indigenous communities, this period was more than a shift in seasons, it was a sacred reminder of the interconnectedness of all living beings, with various cultures having their own rich naming traditions for this and other calendar Moons, honoring the natural rhythms they each observed.
Among some Algonquin tribes found across North America, the Worm Moon marked a time of transition as the Earth began to soften, allowing earthworms to emerge and signaling the re-awakening of life from beneath the soil.
This rebirth nourished the land and attracted birds back to feast on the wriggling bounty, a clear sign that spring was arriving.
The connection between the Worm Moon and the return of sustenance highlighted the reciprocal relationship between the land and her inhabitants.
As the Earth gave forth her gifts, gratitude was shown through careful stewardship and ceremony.
For many cultures this moon was not merely descriptive, but served as a call to action. The return of the worms and other creatures symbolized a reminder to honor the life-giving forces of Earth.
As another naming example, the Tulalip Tribe of Snohomish County, the original stewards of the land on which ITBC operates, calls March’s Moon “waq̓waq̓us”, or “the time of the singing frogs” which reflects the returning of the amphibians croaking after their winter-long hibernation.
In the traditions of the Anishinaabe people of present-day Canada, this Moon was known as “Ziissbaakdoke Giizis” or “the Sugar Moon,” reflecting the time when maple sap began flowing again, offering nourishment and sweetness after the long, harsh winter.
The Dakota and Lakota peoples also recognized this lunar cycle as a period of emergence and renewal, referring to it as “Čhaŋwápetȟó Wi” or “The Moon When Trees Leaf Out.” The thawing of the soil invites life back to the surface, signaling the initiation of planting season, since what was once hardened by frost is transformed back into fertile ground, newly enriched and ready to support fresh life.
Have you noticed many of nature’s songs, species, or essence emerging throughout this 31-day month?
Today and moving forward we can reflect on these cyclical teachings by acknowledging our relationship with the natural world. Consider taking a mindful moment under this Full Moon to express gratitude for the seen and unseen processes that nurture and renew our physical Earth.
How might you cultivate deeper respect for these ancient rhythms and their phases?
This period encourages us to release what no longer fuels our passions, moving from the heavy, stabilizing energy of Earth to the light, intuitive flow of Air - perfectly echoing this month’s elemental theme.
As the Moon’s brilliance illuminates what we’ve nurtured in darkness, what might you be ready to acknowledge and release back out to the surface?
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The New Moon in Aries emerges on Saturday March 29th, a day traditionally linked with Saturn, which symbolizes the transmutation of challenges, grounding, and shadow work, and Aries, a Cardinal Fire sign, ignites the day with bright, quick, and fierce energy.
This lunar event offers a potent opportunity to plant new seeds just before we transition toward April’s nurturing Water Element.
What intentions could you set under this fiery Aries Moon that will thrive with April’s gentle waters?
March 20th marks International Astrology Day and the Astrological New Year, first established by the Association for Astrological Networking in 1993.
This celebration coincides with the Spring/Vernal Equinox, a moment of perfect balance between day and night and a theme we’ll explore again in a later section.
Air Magic: an intellectual landscape
With the transitional winds of March, we embrace the Air Element and its reign over the mind-space, and the accompanying qualities of communication, intellect, discernment, and versatility.
Can you define any of your personal beliefs that have changed from last season or last year? How are you communicating with yourself and others at this time? Have you been flexible?
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This mental territory, with its limitless potential and applications, is parallel to the 14-card Minor Arcana Suit of Swords experienced within the tarot journey.
This is the expanse of our human existence where thoughts craft reality, inner dialogue constructs our worldly lens, perception is colored by repetitive experience, and truth (as we each see it) remains in the seat of Royalty that we currently seek to confirm (repeatedly.)
The Suit of Swords reflects our life’s moments of mental clarity, cloudiness, and conflict. It asks us to confront the sharp and cutting truths that may be uncomfortable to experience, but which are necessary for growth (just like thinning back your garden’s rows of carrot seedlings to ensure full-grown roots instead of a hoard of stunted shoots at season’s end.)
Swords help us...
“slice through illusion, exposing reality in all its harshness or brilliance.”
- Rachel Pollack (Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, 1997)
Is the airy suit of this season exposing your inner realm more to harsh realities (like pulling up all those good-looking carrot sprouts) or brilliant clarity right now (understanding or enjoying the first pulling’s resulting bounty of large and nourishing, sweet, crunchy carrots)?
When considering that, where do you feel these sensations in your physical body?
Don’t jump to judgement or overanalyze, but instead attempt to intentionally connect your thoughts to emotions via your earthly body.
Try connecting to an individual thought (bodily Air) then follow it through the informing journey all the way to the emotions (bodily Water) that it whips up by tapping into the physical sensations arising in your appendages and core body (bodily Earth).
Once you’ve connected to the seed thought through the emotional journey of the body, what passion and action (bodily Fire) can you recognize and initiate that begins transformation (and ultimately integration) to reflect your newly discovered personal revelation of deeper understanding?
Anchoring into the physical Self during this transitional month can help you avoid the potential of cold detachment or self-imposed limiting beliefs from seeping in, which can be destructive experiences of the Air Element when left untended.
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Carl Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious provides even further depth to the symbolism of the Suit of Swords. Jung viewed symbolic systems, like tarot, as pathways to understanding archetypal patterns that shape human experience.
The Swords, in this light, reflect the struggle between the rational mind and the intuitive self, mirroring the psychological tension between the ego and the unconscious.
Mary K. Greer, a contemporary Jungian analyst and tarot scholar, suggests that the Swords ask us to bridge the gap between intellectual understanding and emotional wisdom.
This is a challenge that resonates deeply with the energy of March, where the shifting of seasons mirrors the ongoing negotiation between thought and feeling, logic and intuition.
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As you move through this airy month, take some time to consider the following Air Magic practices.
Thoughts of Communication practice:
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your verbal communication skills? Are you expressing yourself clearly and authentically?
How satisfied are you with your ongoing education while attending the school of the Human Experience? Are you staying curious, open, and engaged with learning?
How well do you adapt to rapid changes in your environment? Are you flexible and versatile when faced with new situations?
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Air is not only physically embodied in our thought but also in speech, which is another powerful tool in helping shape one’s reality.
Rituals of Air Magic practice:
Do you have intentional inner-speech practices, such as journaling or affirmations?
Cartomancy is an airy method of self-reflection, and our 3-Cards-A-Day Writual Planner is a tidy way to keep your daily, weekly, or monthly reflections.
What about mouth preparations that help you speak (and eat, and breathe, and…), such as your toothbrushing routine?
Our Oral-Care Air Magic Bundle at the ITBC Shop offers you support for honoring sacredness of speech and breath.
Women's History Month: honoring the Divine Feminine
March is designated as Women's History Month which is a dedicated time for recognizing and celebrating the contributions that women have made throughout history and continue to make today.
This national observance evolved from a week-long celebration first organized by the school district of Sonoma, California in 1978, and eventually expanding to its current month-long recognition in 1987.
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From grassroots community gatherings to museum exhibitions, educational programs, cultural events, and more, across the United States numerous celebrations honor women's achievements this month and year-round.
And, many of these celebrations now intentionally include LGBTQ+ women, emphasize environmental consciousness, and focus on intersectional experiences for inclusion and accessibility (all aspects of which ITBC adores and endorses!)
What is your relationship with the theme of this celebratory month?
How do you celebrate the influential women in your life, including yourself?
How can you start celebrating more of the micro magical moments of your life’s practice?
How can you participate in something even bigger?
Explore more about past and upcoming events that celebrate women across the U.S. with various organizations such as: National Women's History Alliance, Smithsonian Institution's Women's History Programs, Women's History Month Capitol Hill Reception, and Women's Earth Alliance.
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The timing of Women's History Month during the Vernal Equinox is particularly poignant as many animals enter their coupling season, a natural reminder of reproduction and new life.
This primal connection conjures up the ongoing struggle for women's bodily autonomy in the United States, especially in regards to reproductive rights, maintaining access to contraceptives, and the right to abortion as healthcare.
With the visceral response that the body elicits, we encourage all readers to support their local organizations and their efforts to restore and protect reproductive rights in communities throughout the country.
Organizations like Planned Parenthood continue to fight for essential healthcare services for women across the country, with ITBC’s founder having personally used and still vouches for their reproductive healthcare services. Please support them, or others, in any way that you can.
Take time to honor the women in your own life - mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues, mentors, teachers, yourself.
Each woman brings unique gifts to our individual lives and to communities as a whole. How might you express your appreciation for their presence and contributions?
Vernal Equinox/Ostara: balance in brightness
The Vernal Equinox arrives on March 20th as the Sun moves into Aries, marking the beginning of the astrological New Year. This celestial event creates a perfect balance between day and night, with equal hours of light and darkness as we tilt towards increased sunshine in the Northern Hemisphere.
In many traditions, this equinox is known as Ostara, a festival honoring the return of light and fertility to the earth. Common symbols of this celebration include seeds and sprouts, migratory and nesting birds, rabbits, and eggs, all of which represent new life and potential.
Ancient celebrations of the equinox often involved ritual bonfires, feasting, and offerings to ensure fertility and abundance in the coming growing season.
Modern celebrations are as varied as there are practitioners, some choosing to mark this transition by planting seeds (both literal and metaphorical), cleaning and refreshing their homes, and creating altars that may include spring flowers and symbols of renewal.
How will you celebrate this celebration of balanced and growing light?
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With the New Moon in Aries arriving shortly after the equinox this year, we have a powerful opportunity to harness that fiery Aries energy and infuse our intentions.
Consider planning a New Moon ritual that channels this passionate fire, perhaps focusing on themes of courage, new beginnings, or self-affirmation.
And, if it moves you, implement your freshly impassioned courage, new beginning, or self-affirmation and blaze ahead with the following five-minute practice everyday, you deserve these moments of Self-connection...
Intentional Breath & Reflection practice:
Stand in the sun, preferably outside, and feel the lightness and warmth of the great solar Fire.
Lean on the tenacity of Aries energy if you need extra strength and courage.
Take a deep, slow breath through your nose, stretching the inhale both in time and capacity.
Hold this breath for 4 to 8 seconds.
Slowly exhale through your nose, fully emptying your lungs.
Hold the empty space for 4 to 8 seconds.
Repeat at least three times, or for as long as time and ability permit.
As you breathe, reflect on the questions we've explored in this publication:
How might the Air Element support my journey this month?
What seeds am I planting at the equinox?
Which women in my life and throughout history inspire me to grow and transform?
How can I celebrate these women directly and indirectly?
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March offers a unique opportunity to harness the power of Air, find balance with the equinox, and honor the divine feminine in all its expressions.
May this month bring you clarity, equilibrium, and recognition of the sacred within yourself and those around you.
Your Magic In Action transforms the world breath by breath, word by word, and thought by thought. Thank you for being you; you are magic.
Read about the women represented in the above images:
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