Mythic March: Folklore and Magic of the Month

March is upon us - a month that welcomes in the softness of spring and the return of life and light to the landscape. This month, on the cusp of winter’s end, is filled with magic and folklore. Let’s explore together…

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Origins & Dates

The name ‘March’ comes from Martius, the first month of the Roman calendar. This actually used to be the very first month of the year before the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582.

It was named after Mars, the Roman god of war, an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. The month of Martius was the beginning of the season for warfare that had been paused during the stillness of winter.

The monk Bede tells us that the Saxons called this month Hrethmonath, which came from the goddess Hretha, to whom the Saxons sacrificed during this month. Hretha, a name that lingers in history, but whose story is all but lost to time.

The adjective hrethe in old English means glory, fame, triumph, or honour, but it’s also been suggested that Hretha could have been a war goddess as some interpretations show this to mean "fierce, cruel, rough".

The sacrifice during Hrethmonath may have been an attempt to placate Hretha and avoid the worst of the storms, but we simply just cannot be sure.

March 1st is St David’s Day, who is the patron saint of Wales, and is still celebrated to this day with festivals and bunches of sunshine daffodils.

Following that on March 4 which is shrove tuesday or now pancake day, is the final feasting day before the Christian tradition of Lent begins on the following day, Ash Wednesday, a lingering echo of older rites of cleansing and renewal.

Ostara

March 20 marks the March equinox, also called the vernal or spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, which indicates the beginning of spring.

On this day, the Sun stands directly over Earth’s equator, rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west.

We have little to no historical record of celebrations at this time of year, but in modern times, this has been named Ostara as part of the wheel of the year, and many pagans choose to celebrate.

The name Ostara comes once more from the writings of the monk Bede, who wrote about the pagans, ‘Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month.’

However he was actually referring to April and we know nothing else about this goddess other than a whisper of a name, a fragment of a forgotten past.

Many people use this as a time to plant seeds literally and figuratively, dye eggs, bake seasonal food, and generally get ready for spring.

Ostara is a time of change - a shift when we let the old season go and welcome in a new one.

Hares

Hares have always belonged to the in-between, creatures of shadow and silver light. Moon-bound, fleet-footed and untamed, disappearing into the dusk like a whisper. They’ve long been shapeshifters, and connected to women in particular.

March is the time of the hare - when they emerge once more in the springtime sunlight, struck often by March madness where they box and fight in a mating ritual.

In Celtic mythology, the great warrior Oisin was said to have wounded a hare in the leg while out hunting one day. Oisin followed the hare where it fled into the misty glades and found a woman inside with a cut on her leg, and he swore never to eat hare again.

A folklore text from 1893 in Ireland tells us: “Country people in Kerry don’t eat hares; the souls of their grandmothers are supposed to have entered into them.”

Another tale I find very interesting is that of Isobel Gowdie, a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft in the 1600s. Her trial was all recorded and can be read today, and she admitted to a lot of things. One of the things she said is that she could turn into a hare, and she would chant the words “I shall go into a hare” and transform into this creature.

Folklore is always a bit odd, as in some traditions, seeing a hare was thought to be bad luck, but simultaneously in English folklore, carrying a hare’s foot was thought to bring protection, and this was later adapted into the rabbit’s foot charm. On the flip side again, it was said to be good luck to see a moon-gazing hare.

The hare runs rough misted fields, through moon-pulled tides, through places the plough has never turned. They say the hare is hollow-boned, light as wind, fleet as thought. and it leaps between worlds as women and wildness

Weather Superstitions & Folklore

March is also a time of weather superstitions, and according to folklore, it is somewhat of a tricksy and evil month, wild and untamed, and purposefully found a way to kill off creatures

In Scottish, Irish, and Manx folklore, the last three days of March are called the Borrowed Days, borrowed from April. These days were thought to be the most stormy and unpredictable, as punishment for March boasting of its power.

In Irish folklore, these days are known as Laethanta an Bó Riabhaí, the days of the brindled cow. In this legend, March originally only had 30 days. The brindled cow was hungry and exhausted after a long winter, but boasted to March that it would survive into April and could be seen leaping and jumping around.

The cow survived the 30th day of March, but the month then borrowed a day from April, and it was this particularly cold day that killed off the cow.

An old Scots rhyme says ‘March said to April, I see three hogs upon a hill, And if you'll lend me three days, I'll find a way to make them ill.’

You may have heard the phrase “In like a lion, out like a lamb”, and this well-known proverb suggests that if March begins stormy (like a lion), it will end gently (like a lamb).

Its origins may stem from astrological connections, with March beginning in Pisces (water, unpredictable) and ending in Aries (fire, strength), or perhaps even biblical, with references to Jesus being the lamb of god.

Daffodils

No flower is so entwined with March as the daffodil. Their Latin name Narcissus derives from the name of the son of Cephissus who was the river god in Greek mythology.

According to legend, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in the water and when he died staring at himself, the daffodil bloomed where he died. This is also where we get the term narcissist from.

Daffodils are a symbol of life, rebirth, and new beginnings, being one of the first to bloom after a long winter.

During Medieval times, it was thought that if a daffodil drooped as you looked at it, it was an omen of death. The gift of a single daffodil is also thought to bring about misfortune, so it’s better to give a bunch.

In Wales, legend says that those who see the first daffodil of the season will be blessed with wealth in the coming year. Daffodils are also the national flower of Wales, and are worn for St. David’s Day each year on March 1st.

Closing Thoughts

March is a month of shifting energies, from the last whispers of winter to the stirrings of spring. Its folklore is rich with omens, seasonal superstitions, and ancient customs that remind us of nature’s ever-turning wheel.

Whether you work with weather magic, bird omens, tree lore, or seasonal festivals, there is so much to explore and honour in this transitional time.

Happy March!