I know that my friends on the southern hemisphere are starting a different season today, but I like on the northern part of the planet so I’ll talk a bit about spring.
Equinox, meaning “equal-night”…interesting enough, in my native language we call it ravnodnevnica which would translate as “equal-day”. Long time ago, people noticed certain patterns in Sun’s apparent path in our Sky, and marked turning points as equinoxes and solstices. At equinox, which for springtime usually falls at March 21st but this year it was on 20th as 2008 is a leap year, night and day should have equal length…at least at equator and close to it. Why would this be important? We all strive for some kind of a balance in our lives, and so does Nature, and equinoxes mark both that balance, but also a turning point to either darkness or light. Both are necessary for normal life and spiritual growth too: dark periods allow us to rest and reflect upon things we have done and prepare to go on, and light periods support that growth and putting ideas we conceived during reflective periods into action.
Spring equinox prepares us for the light period which by Celtic year begins on Beltain.
In solar calendar, equinox is a start of the springtime, although in Celtic year spring is said to start at Imbolg, when first flowers begin to grow and animals have babies so first milk flows. Until this calendar beginning of spring, much more in the nature is awake or born again. In ancient Rome, this was a beginning of the new year, and with the astronomical changes and adjustments – precession due to which equinoxes and solstices change date, and change of the calendars when people found out that year does not last 365 days but 6 hours more because of which we have an extra day every 4 years like this year – new year roughly started around the date that would be today’s April the 1st. When beginning of the year was moved to January, some people did not accept it as they remained faithful to their tradition, and were ridiculed for that: that is the origin of April fool’s day.
Pagan holiday that is celebrated on spring equinox is named Ostara, after the Goddess Eostre whose symbols are bunnies and eggs, symbols of new life and fertility.
Also, for many years I wandered how they determine when Easter was and then I got my answer: it is a first Sunday, after the first full Moon after the beginning of spring. That is so for the Christians that celebrate holidays by new calendar.
As it turned out this year, equinox was on March 20th 6:48 CET (my time zone, GMT+1 until they move the clock), full Moon is on 21st and Sunday the 23rd is Easter.
So, I wish you blessed Ostara and/or happy Easter to any of you my friends who celebrate either. To the rest of you on the northern hemisphere, I hope you get nice weather and start enjoying outdoor activities, and to my friends on the south to enjoy fruits of their labour.
Nothing can pass without some features, so here they come…enjoy: