If you liked reading this, feel free to click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏
Forgive me for popping into your inbox twice in one week. Your weekly letter arrives on Thursday morning as usual. However, today is the spring equinox and the eve of the new moon in Aries, the beginning of the astrological year, and this felt too important an occasion to ignore.
Also, nearly 200 new subscribers have arrived since my last correspondence with you, and I want to welcome them to our community. So, hello, I am delighted you’re here.
Spring Equinox
The Spring or Vernal Equinox marks a brief moment in the year when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal. This brief occurrence cycles around again during the Autumnal Equinox in September.
A beautiful bit of Earth Wisdom is found here at the time of the equinoxes.
The state of day and night in perfect balance lasts only the briefest time, one day to be exact. The day after the spring equinox, though imperceptible primarily to us, a few micro-seconds of daylight are added. The daylight hours will grow longer and longer as the Wheel of the Year turns towards the Summer Solstice.
Mother Earth is telling us that states of perfect balance and equilibrium are not the norm and last for only a very short time.
Even though we are in a season of balance now in early spring, enjoying basically equal days and nights, the balance is not precise or perfect.
So it is in our lives.
Perfect balance between work and rest, career and family, responsibility and play, caregiving, and self-care is rarely achieved. Yet Earth Wisdom shows us that times of relative balance are needed and that surges of imbalance or extremes, as at the solstices, will cycle into our lives. None of this has to negatively impact you if you are mindful about what season you are currently in (equilibrium or disequilibrium) and you have ways of gently spiraling back to a state of greater, though imperfect, balance.
Questions to Work with through Creative Process (writing, painting, art journaling, etc.)
Where in your life are you feeling out of balance?
Which roles, identities, parts of self, or responsibilities seem to take up more than a healthy amount of time and energy in your life right now?
What does an out-of-balance life look like?
How do you move into equilibrium?
What does balance look like in your life?
What does balance look like symbolically?
As the earth wakes up, plants begin to green again and rise from the warming soil. Here are two plants with rich symbolism worth mentioning.
Plant Symbolism
Nature was an integral part of the Celtic belief system; plants were honored as teachers and gifts of magic. The Celts believed that everything contained a life force and saw magic in everything they found in their environment.
If either of these plant messengers resonates, weave their images and symbolism into your art.
Cattails: A water-growing plant that turns ponds into swamps and then into dry earth; this plant symbolizes vital earth energy, balance, and stability.
Clover: Its three-fold leaves were very special to the Celts, symbolizing balance and the triad or sacred three.
On Thursday morning, I’ll be writing to you about Ostara and Persephone as I explore powerful mythic themes and how they weave into our lives, help us heal and become whole.
Meanwhile, enjoy this first day of spring. Take a few moments to connect with the earth and the new season.
The energy of this day is strong -- My next post (Wednesday) considers this same theme! Thank you for your insights, Jan.
Fascinating! So glad I found your Substack. I’ll make sure I can find time to explore your writing