It's the morning of the Autumn Equinox.
The kitty is playing with something, up and down the hall.
Clacketta clacketta clacketta.
What is that damn cat playing with now? I wonder.
Turns out, it's a jelly bean.
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Today is the Spring or Vernal Equinox, also known to ancient Anglo-Saxons Pagans as Ostara, from which the word Easter is derived. For many, today marks the beginning of spring. For others, it is its midpoint. Either way however, everyone is in agreement that winter is over and summer not too far off. It is a time of change, renewal, and fertility as the natural world awakens from its cold slumber in the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere.
As always we’ve gathered all of our related posts as well as those we found across the internet that we thought you might enjoy . We hope you have a great time this spring!
I like the alternative name for vernal, or Spring, equinox - equilux, the equal light, this brief balance before we tip into the increasing daylight and lengthening days, the 'doing-ness' part of the year.
At this point when the the earth is equally poised between light and darkness, what stories do you tell yourself? How do you frame your life's passage? Is there a single, unifying theme or thread? Or is it a tapestry with intricate workings of warp and weft? Where is the balance between the personal and universal in your story?
...It's March, which here in the Northern Hemisphere marks the beginning of Spring. Back on the Dakota prairies where I grew up, March often blew in like a lion with brisk winds and rains, blowing away the last of the snow and ice. (Though sometimes it brought more snow...) Here in Texas, March comes in a little more gently most years, with warm balmy days and rain. Occassionally we end up with tornadoes and thunderstorms to mark the beginning of Spring, though those will often come closer to the end of the month.
However March manifests, it's one of my favorite months of the year. The Earth feels like she is taking a long, languid stretch after the cold Winter. Life begins to stir. It's time to till the soil, to plant seeds, to make ready for the growing season.
...As we entered into March, a strange energy overtook me. Perhaps it was that, while the rest of the country remained captive of the snow and ice, the West coast has had a warm, early spring. Perhaps it was, as some astrologers suggest, the Pegasus energy surrounding the eclipse on Ostara.
Whatever the muse we attribute with providing motivation, I have felt an invigorating sense of determined purpose. After years of plodding through a collaborative project, my co-author and I are nearly finished with the revised manuscript. After years of a loss of mobility from a degenerative knee issue, I finally started taking my health seriously and used my new insurance to get physical therapy.
...Blessings and good tidings, fellow Witches and Pagans!
After the long winter (or short winter, if you’re from the U.S. West Coast) spring has finally come, bringing with it the renewal of the earth and the flowering of life. Today is Ostara, better known as the root word of “Easter,” and the Spring Equinox, representing the point in time at which the balance between night and day switches decisively in favor of the latter. Of course, if you’re in the southern hemisphere it’s the opposite, Mabon, as winter approaches after a long summer. Either way, it’s an important point in the year!
As per usual we’ve gathered both all of our articles on spring as well as several stories we thought you might find interesting. We hope you enjoy!
-Aryós Héngwis