Happy Spring Equinox! 20th March
Equal Night and Day
Today is Spring Equinox – equinox translates from Latin as ‘equal night’ – so today the amount of time in darkness and light is equal, 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, with sunrise around 6am and sunset around 6p.m.
From now on the daylight hours will be longer than the dark night hours!
At this mid-point of spring, along with hibernating creatures in the wild, we feel the light calling us from the slumbers of winter and awakening our consciousness. This is the prime time to sow seeds in fertile earth and also to sow the seeds for our hopes and dreams in the future. It’s time to put thoughts into action, and the increased light infuses us with new energy and the desire to work on creative ideas that were percolating in the depths and quietude of winter. We feel drawn to be out in nature and communicate and find reunion once again with kindred spirits.
For many years, the Goddess Eostre, with her totem, the hare, has been associated with spring celebrations. The Venerable Bede (c.672 -735) , a monk living on Holy Island, in his ‘De Temporum Ratione’ – ‘The Reckoning of Time’ describes ‘Eosturnmonath – the old name for April, as being ‘called after a goddess of theirs names Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month.’
The blackthorn and cherry blossom, daffodils & willow catkins are some of the early flowers to bloom at this time, providing food for the bees and cheer for us!
Thank you to our friend Maria Silmon for this information , taken from her book “ The Eight Solar Festivals and the Wheel of the Year” and for the beautiful Spring Solstice mandala image below, which we stock as a greeting card in The Dispensary shop & through our online shop. https://thedispensary.org.uk/products/5062?_pos=2&_psq=maria+silmon+cards&_ss=e&_v=1.0