As you probably know, we celebrated the Vernal Equinox on March 20. The actual time of the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere was 11:33 a.m. What does this mean? Well, the Earth's two hemispheres receive the sun's rays equally at this time. As a matter of fact, the word equinox comes from the Latin word aequous meaning equal and nox, meaning night. For our earliest ancestors, this was the chief method of telling time. The fastest sunsets and sunrises of the entire year happen at the equinoxes. So, in the vernal equinox, we celebrate the fastest sunrises, later sunsets, moderating temperatures and winds, and, of course, the appearance of buds on trees and plants. The earth is divided into halves by an imaginary celestial equator separating the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. When the equinox occurs, the sun crosses the celestial equator to enter the opposite hemisphere.
As far as the weather is concerned, the changes become more and more obvious. The arc of the sun is shifting toward the north. This steadily increases our daylight. Both birds and butterflies begin to migrate northward, along with the path of the sun. The weather gradually becomes warmer. Trees and plants begin their new growth cycle, and the earliest spring flowers, the snow drops. daffodils, crocuses and pansies begin to bloom. Of course, in the Southern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter. Temperatures begin to dip, the fall is arriving. The word vernal, by the way means new or fresh.
The start of spring and the equinox itself are celebrated in cultures and religions throughout the world. It is widely believed to mark a time of transitions and new beginnings. The equinox has a great deal to do with the calculating of the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter. The egg is an important symbol of fertility and rebirth. Some cultures celebrate the start of a new year by purchasing new clothing and thoroughly cleaning homes.
This joyful time is for embracing new beginnings. The period of darkness and rest has come to an end. It is time to hope, to be curious and to introduce new ideas. The resting time is replaced with a new energy. we begin to plant our own seeds of bringing dreams into reality. The world's dualism comes into balance. Masculine and feminine, dark and light, hard and soft are in harmony again.
A Spring Blessing
May we today, at the dawn of new life
bless the Earth.
Teach us, O Creator God,
to enrich the soil,
to put back what we have taken...
Bless human hands that work the Earth,
and bless the life you give. (Meg Llewellyn)
Tesch
A Spring blessing
