Spring
Vernal Equinox
Equal (12) hours of day and night
Spring
Vernal Equinox
Equal (12) hours of day and night
The energies are very power at this time! You might want to meditate, ask for guidance in dream time before going to sleep, or visit a place with powerful energies that match your grid matrix for healing and balance.
Modern astronomy aside, people have recognized the vernal equinox for thousands of years. There is no shortage of rituals, celebrations and traditions, personal and universal, surrounding the coming of spring, especially at power grid points around the planet. Many early peoples celebrated for the basic reason that their food supplies would soon be restored. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It is no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it pointed directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox. Some view this transition as a victory of a god of light (or life, rebirth, resurrection) over the powers of darkness (death).
The monoliths at Stonehenge, mark the position of the rising sun on the Vernal Equinox. In Central America the Ancient Mayan Caracol Tower and Temples of the Sun and Moon also have alignments that coincide with the sun's position on the Vernal Equinox. In China they celebrate Chunfen on the Vernal Equinox.
In ancient Europe they celebrated the arrival of the goddess of spring, Ostara, or Eostre, on this day. Many historians believe the Christian holiday Easter gets its name from Eostre, as she had an enchanted rabbit that could lay eggs (metaphors of creation, the rabbit died, egg).
Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2007, it will be on September 23 at 5:51 A.M. EDT (09:51 UT).
Spring is one of the four seasons of temperate zones, the transition from winter into summer. Astronomically, some Western countries consider spring to begin with the vernal equinox (around March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere, and September 23 in the Southern Hemisphere), and ends with the summer solstice (around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). Such conventions are by no means universal, however.
In Chinese astronomy, for example, the vernal equinox instead marks the middle of spring, which begins around the time of Lichun (around February 4). In the Irish Calendar it is counted as the whole months of February, March and April.
In meteorology, it is (also by convention) instead counted as the whole months of March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere and September, October, and November in the Southern Hemisphere. For many people in temperate parts of the United States, spring is synonomous with baseball, either Major League Baseball's Spring Training or time to sign up for Little League Baseball.
As in summer, the axial tilt of the Earth is toward the Sun, and daylight hours are greater than or equal to 12 hours and rapidly increasing (especially in higher latitudes). The hemisphere begins to warm significantly, causing new plant growth to spring forth, giving the season its name. Snow (if any) begins to melt, and rivers and streams swell with runoff and spring rains. Most flowering plants bloom this time of year, in a long succession beginning even when snow is still on the ground, and continuing into early summer. In normally snowless areas, "spring" may begin as early as February during warmer years, with subtropical areas having very subtle differences, and tropical ones none at all. Subarctic areas may not see "spring" at all until May or even June, or December in the outer Antarctic.
Severe weather most often occurs during the spring, when warm air begins to invade from lower latitudes while cold air is still pushing from the polar regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year due to snowmelt, many times accelerated by warm rains. In the United States, Tornado Alley is most active by far this time of year, especially since the Rocky Mountains prevent the surging hot and cold airmasses from spreading westward and instead force them directly at each other. Besides tornados, supercell thunderstorms can also produce dangerously large hail and very high winds, for which a severe thunderstorm warning or even tornado warning is usually issued. Often, spring storms trigger dozens of warnings, one right after the other, often simultaneously along a line hundreds of miles or kilometers long. Even more so than winter, the jet streams play an important role in severe weather in the springtime.
The hurricane season officially begins in late spring, on May 15 in the northeastern Pacific, and June 1 in the northern Atlantic. Before these dates, hurricanes are almost unheard of and even tropical storms are rare, one of the earliest ever being Tropical Storm Ana in mid-April 2003. Even in June, hurricanes are uncommon.
Springtime is seen as a time of growth, renewal, of new life (both plant and animal) being born, and of the cycle of life once again starting. It is also used more generally as the start of better times, as in Prague Spring.
ANCIENT BRITAIN: Both the solstices and equinoxes "were the highly sophisticated preoccupation of the mysterious Megalithic peoples who pre-dated Celt, Roman and Saxon on Europe's Atlantic fringe by thousands of years." The equinoxes were not otherwise celebrated in ancient Britain, until recent years.
ANCIENT IRELAND: The spring and fall equinox were celebrated in ancient times. A cluster of megalithic cairns are scattered through the hills at Loughcrew, about 55 miles North West of Dublin in Ireland. Longhcrew Carin T is a passage tomb which is designed so that the light from the rising sun on the spring and summer equinoxes penetrates a long corridor and illuminates a backstone, which is decorated with astronomical symbols.
ANCIENT GERMANS: Ostara, the Germanic fertility Goddess was associated with human and crop fertility. On the spring equinox, she mated with the solar god and conceived a child that would be born 9 months later on DEC-21: Yule, the winter solstice.
ANCIENT MAYANS: The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. As the sun sets on the day of the equinox on the great ceremonial pyramid, El Castillo, Mexico, its "western face...is bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. The lengthening shadows appear to run from the top of the pyramid's northern staircase to the bottom, giving the illusion of a diamond-backed snake in descent." This has been called "The Return of the Sun Serpent" since ancient times.
ANCIENT GREEKS: The god-man Dionysos was a major deity among the ancient Greeks. "As a god of the spring rites, of the flowering plants and fruitful vines, Dionysos was said to be in terrible pain during winter, when most living things sicken and die, or hibernate." Persephone, a daughter of Demeter, descended into the Otherworld and returned near the time of the spring equinox. This story has close parallels to various Goddess legends, stories of the life of King Arthur, and of Jesus Christ.
ANCIENT PERSIA; ZOROASTRIANISM: Various ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylonia, Elam) circa 3000 to 2000 BCE celebrated new years at the time of the spring equinox. "No Ruz," the new day or New Year has been celebrated in the area of modern-day Iran since the Achaemenian (Hakhamaneshi) period over 2500 years ago. It survived because of Zoroastrianism which was the religion of Ancient Persia before the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. Many religious historians trace the Judeo-Christian concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, the arrival of the Messiah, and the last judgment to Zoroastrianism. In that faith, the Lord of Wisdom "created all that was good and became God. The Hostile Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), residing in the eternal darkness created all that was bad and became the Hostile Spirit." This dualistic God/Satan concept is surprisingly close to the views of conservative Christianity today.
ANCIENT ROMANS: In "about 200 B.C., mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name)...The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." Attis was born of a human woman, a virgin named Nana. He "grew up to become a sacrificial victim and Savior, slain to bring salvation to mankind. His body was eaten by his worshipers in the form of bread...[He was] crucified on a pine tree, whence his holy blood poured down to redeem the earth." 2 The celebration was held on MAR-25, 9 months before his birth on DEC-25. In Rome, the rituals took place where St. Peter's now stands in Vatican City. The similarities between the stories of Attis and Jesus are obvious.
ANCIENT SAXONS: Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic lunar goddess Ostara. She gave her name to the Christian Easter and to the female hormone estrogen. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox -- almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west. One delightful legend associated with Eostre was that she found an injured bird on the ground one winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But "the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs. ..the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre."
BAHÁ'Í WORLD FAITH: Naw-Rúz is an ancient Iranian New Years day festival which occurs near the Spring Equinox. It is now a world holiday of the Bahá'í faith. If the equinox occurs before sunset, then New Year's Day is celebrated on that day in the Middle East; otherwise it is delayed until the following day. In the rest of the world, it is always on MAR-21. It is celebrated with many symbols indicating regrowth and renewal - much like the Christian Easter. Some members follow the ancient Iranian "haft-sin" custom on this day involves arranging seven objects whose name begin with the letter "S" in Persian; e.g. hyacinths, apples, lilies, silver coins, garlic, vinegar and rue.
CHRISTIANITY: The record of the Roman Army's execution date of Yeshua of Nazareth (later known as Jesus Christ) has been lost. Dates linked to the Jewish Passover celebration in the years 30 to 33 have been suggested. Easter commemorates Jesus' execution, visit to Hell, and resurrection. Easter Sunday is a moveable holy day, being celebrated from late MAR to late APR. It is named after the "Teutonic goddess Eostre, whose name is probably yet another variant of Ishtar, Astare and Aset..." The Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is held on MAR-25, on the nominal date of the spring equinox, according to the old Julian calendar. This is the time when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was pregnant. (Luke 1:26-38) Nine months later, at Christmas/Yule, Mary is traditionally believed to have given birth to Jesus, while still a virgin.
JUDAISM: "In its origin, the Passover dinner itself was a spring fertility festivalthe unleavened bread coming from the agricultural past of the people and the paschal lamb from its more distant pastoral years." 6 The Bible passages of Leviticus 23:5-8 and Numbers 28:16-18 state that Passover is to be celebrated in the springtime, on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. The Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord is held on the 15th. It evolved into a celebration of God's liberation of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.
NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY: There are countless stone structures created by Natives in the past and still standing in North America. One was called Calendar One by its modern-day finder. It is in a natural amphitheatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont. From a stone enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl "At the winter solstice, the sun rose at the southern peak of the east ridge and set at a notch at the southern end of the west ridge." The summer solstice and both equinoxes were similarly marked.
"America's Stonehenge" is a 4,000 year old megalithic site located on Mystery Hill in Salem NH. Carbon dating has estimated the age of some charcoal remnants at 3,000 and 4,000 years ago. Researchers have concluded that the site was erected either by Native Americans or an unknown migrant European population. 15 The site contains five standing stones and one fallen stone in a linear alignment which point to both the sunrise and sunset at the spring and fall equinoxes.
NEOPAGANISM: This is a group of religions which are attempted re-creations of ancient Pagan religions. Of these, Wicca is the most common; it is loosely based on ancient Celtic beliefs, symbols and practices, with the addition of some more recent Masonic and ceremonial magic rituals.
Monotheistic religions, like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, tend to view time as linear. It started with creation; the world as we know it will end at some time in the future. Aboriginal and Neopagan religions see time as circular and repetitive, with lunar (monthly) and solar (yearly) cycles. Their "...rituals guarantee the continuity of nature's cycles, which traditional human societies depend on for their sustenance."
Wiccans recognize eight seasonal days of celebration. Four are minor sabbats and occur at the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The other are major sabbats which happen approximately halfway between an equinox and solstice. Wiccans may celebrate Lady Day on the evening before, or at sunrise on the morning of the solstice/equinox, or at the exact time of vernal equinox.
Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. 8 Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers to assure fertility of people and crops. It is experienced as a time of balance.
Spring Season Wikipedia
In astronomy, the vernal equinox (spring equinox, march equinox, or northward equinox) is the equinox at the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere: the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward. The equinox occurs around March 20-22, varying slightly each year according to the 400 year cycle of leap years in the Gregorian Calendar. At the present time, the vernal equinox occurs as the sun moves through the constellation Pisces.
In the southern hemisphere, the equinox occurs at the same moment, but at the beginning of autumn. There are two conventions for dealing with this: either the name of the equinox can be changed to the autumnal equinox, or (apparently more commonly) the name is unchanged and it is accepted that it is out of sync with the season. The alternative terms March equinox or northward equinox avoid any such ambiguity.
At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. In the northern hemisphere, before the vernal equinox, the sun rises and sets more and more to the south, and afterwards, it rises and sets more and more to the north.
This is when the Neopagan Sabbat of Ostara (or Eostar) is celebrated.
Vernal Equinox Day is an official national holiday in Japan, and is spent visiting family graves, and holding family reunions.
Equinox Wikipedia
On Spring Equinox, Day and Night Equal in Name Only National Geographic - March 2004
Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, a time of transition when the soul lets go of the old and plants symbolic new seeds, each year with increasing determination and renewed understanding of manifestation and changing reality. The soul awakens from the sleepy (depression) of winter and seeks nourishment on many levels. The warmth of the sun (god) awakens something within us, a new quest generally begins, as if by synchronicity. More hours of daylight propel most souls to move forward, to make needed changes. It is almost an internal drive. It's all about finding a way to exist in our reality while facing changing dynamics as another chapter begins.
The onset of Taurus links with the Call of The Wild Syndrome as souls seek freedom from relationships, jobs, responsibility, anything that makes them feel confined. The more dysfunctional the soul, the stronger the need to be free. Functional souls adapt, but those with issues and emotional problems often seek escapism and drop out.
Dysfunctional relationships will end while others begin. Some will last, but most will not. Souls forever seek a connection with someone who is there for them to share their journey. And the relationship bandwagon will March on ...
Allergies: As trees and flowers bloom again they bring with them new and old pollutants and allergies that make us uncomfortable.
Vacations and holidays will create dramas and fun in the duality of experience.
Many weary souls will cross-over after a long battle with illness, emotional or physical.
With death comes birth. Hormones surge in the spring, conception and pregnancy often occurring at this time.
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