Spring ~ and an Equinox Ritual
Oh the excitement, to look out over the garden in the early morning to find the first trees budding, the first petals bravely opening to a chilly world so ready for their coming.
One of the gifts of this past year for me, has been a renewed appreciation of the cycle of things.
It’s nearly a full year since the UK went into lockdown, a chaos at the time that was softened ever so slightly by the most perfect spring. And here she arrives once again.
In an unsettled world where time has been turned on its head, there’s a completion and certainty in that which feels welcoming and calming.
Being present with seasons’ change
There is so much wonder in the changing seasons.
Crops growing from small sprouts into towering oceans.
New life.
Insects, birds, radiant sunsets.
Warmth on hungry skin.
A spectacle of colour; greens and blues and pinks and purples into oranges and red, rust and gold.
Leaves dancing to the ground.
Then naked, muddy land snuggled up in stillness.
Shorter days requesting blankets and fire.
And now lengthening days.
The first promises of spring here to gently encourage us forwards.
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The noticing of nature offers such presence and awareness. When we pay attention in such a way, we pay attention to ourselves; to our changing seasons, our own inner landscapes. It is right that they fluctuate, that they ebb and flow; this is what living is.
Our only job is to notice in reverence, as we would each coming season.
The Spring Equinox
The Spring Equinox heralds a potent time of rebirth, and for many early cultures marked the beginning of the new year (there’s great wisdom in this I feel, and this year it resonates more than ever).
It is one of only two points in the year (the second being the autumn equinox) when the sun is positioned directly above the earth’s equator, and day and night are synchronised in perfect, harmonious balance.
This is the official beginning of spring; the shedding of the darkness and stillness of winter, and the welcoming in of light and renewal. A time of creation and growth and deep potential; when the ideas and thoughts and possibilities that have been germinating beneath the hardened soil of winter begin burst forth in manifest, tangible reality.
How exciting!
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Here is a gentle ritual to honour and imbibe the beautiful energy of the Spring Equinox:
Deep cleanse ~ scrub, purify, lovingly tend to both yourself and your space.
Walk ~ connect with the earth. Consider and collect; reflect on what this time means for you. Seek small items that may call to you (ask the land for permission for anything you take).
Create a nature altar ~ candles, cards, art, crystals, and anything that comes home with you from your walk; a sacred space that symbolises the intentions that you are setting for the coming spring.
Ceremony ~ light a candle, meditate, journal; what do you now release? What creations are you calling in? Burn that which you are releasing and offer it back to the land, place that which you are calling in somewhere sacred (I put mine at the centre of my altar for as long as feels right).
Ground and give thanks ~ to settle, embed and complete. Bare feet on grass, hands in soil, perhaps plant a seed.
I hope you enjoy ♡