Spring Equinox Message from the Trailblazery

“The Spring Equinox opens the veil between the physical and the spiritual so that a resurrection in our lives can be inaugurated. The keynote of this season is creation. It is the drive to move our lives upward, like a seed pushing forth out of the earth into the air. The Spring is the time when the creative powers we have been nurturing through the winter can be expressed to initiate a new world of opportunities for ourselves.”   
 

Ted Andrews, Nature Speak

Dear Friends,

We are delighted to be preparing our care package, The Nudge, for you as we approach the Spring or Vernal Equinox on March 20, one of four solar festivals on the Medicine Wheel of the Year. On this day, the sun rises in the east, travels across the sky for twelve hours and sets in the west. At this special time, day and night are equal, hence the name “Equinox” which means equal night, while “Vernal” comes from the Latin word for bloom.

We are seasonal beings that live within a great pattern of wild rhythms and cycles. The Spring Equinox marks a time when what was concealed now begins to be revealed. What was hidden potential now becomes a promise. The vibratory hum and creative force of life makes itself manifest before our very eyes. 

In the past…

Our ancestors lived in alignment with the natural cycles and honoured this time with ritual and ceremony. There is great wisdom and well-being available when we track the seasons and sense into the creative life force of nature around us and inside us. 

In Ireland, the megalithic site Loughcrew (also known as Sliabh na Callighe, meaning the Hill of the Witch) is located at the northernmost point of Co. Meath. Humans have wandered this sacred spot for at least 5,000 years and somehow managed to record astronomical knowledge by building monuments capable of transmitting this intelligence to a culture thousands of years into the future. In 1980 a back stone was discovered, positioned so that on The Spring and Autumn equinoxes, the rising sun casts light onto intricate designs carved on the walls of the passage tomb. Full moons, which fall on or near the equinoxes, also illuminate the back stone. This is the Sliabh na Caillí Equinox Stone, where the imagination of our ancestors are preserved in an ancient time capsule. Image below created by Anthony Murphy.

The Dance of the Opposites

Spring Equinox heralds a time of new beginnings, where we venture out from our hibernation in the cave (womb) back out into the Light. It is an opportunity for rebirth and we bring our Winter Dreaming with us, from the Darkness to be illuminated. When we look into nature we see fresh new buds sprouting growth, the wildflowers start to blossom and bloom, new baby birds hatch and all becomes sparkly with new life.

The Equinoxes invite us to meditate on the dance between the seemingly opposing forces that guide our lives. In The Northern Hemisphere, the Spring Equinox leads to the sovereignty of the active masculine element for the summer months. In the Southern Hemisphere the Autumn Equinox brings us closer to the sovereignty of the receptive, feminine element of the winter months. Every individual has a feminine aspect and a masculine one – we are being invited to unite these polarities within us. 

This day of equilibrium is a good time for us to consider the harmony of our lives in work, play and relationships and to dive deep into the mystery of polarity. Marion Woodman, the late great Canadian mythopoetic author, Jungian analyst and women’s movement figure, writes in Holding the Tension of the Opposites:
 

“Holding an inner or outer conflict quietly, instead of attempting to resolve it quickly, is a difficult idea to entertain. It is even more challenging to experience. However, as Carl Jung believed, if we held the tension between the two opposing forces, there would emerge a third way, which would unite and transcend the two. Indeed, he believed that this transcendent force was crucial to individuation. Whatever the third way is, it usually comes as a surprise, because it has not penetrated our defences until now. A hasty move to resolve tension can abort growth of the new. If we can hold conflict in psychic utero long enough, we can give birth to something new in ourselves.”              

Marion Woodman
 

On this day…

This is a time for courage and action. We recommit to our life purpose and rededicate ourselves to our unique calling in life. We align with our agency and refine our commitment. 

So, perhaps for you March 20 will be a day of quiet reflection and contemplation. You could create a Spring Equinox ritual by taking a meditative walk or pilgrimage to a special place. This could be a sacred site, chapel, monument or simply a place in nature which is calling to you. Another seasonal ritual could involve a good dose of joyful Spring Cleaning. You can learn a lot about tidying up from Japanese decluttering diva, Marie Kondo.

Some Journal Prompts to inspire you, as we approach Spring Equinox: 
 

At the threshold of this new cycle, what is emerging from within you?

Who are your allies and expanders as you prepare to cross this threshold?