SPRING EQUINOX 20th March 2025

The Spring Equinox which is also known as Eostre, Ostara, or Festival of the Trees, is the time when Day and Night are of equal length and so it is a time of balance.

It is also the first day of Spring, the trees are budding and the first flowers of the year are out bringing promises for the future.  Birds are nesting and young animals are being born.

People used to go out into the fields with poles and broomsticks and leap over them to show the crops how high to grow, and dance with bells and ribbons to chase away evil spirits and bad weather. This is still around as Morris Dancing. Morris Men dress in white in honour of the maiden of spring; their dances are to ask for blessings from the old ones, for weather magic and male fertility in honour of the young God. They use sticks for male fertility, a bladder for female fertility, and by waving hankies and leaping high they chase away bad weather.

Morris women use different dances using spindles, sieves and brooms in honour of the Moon Goddess their dances are for home magic and family groups.

The young Lord of the Earth would be asked to bless the land so that the newly planted seeds would be fertile and grow and crop well. To this end last years corn dolly would be dismantled and the seeds mixed with the first sowing, so his energy would return to the soil.

At the same time as the Equinox, the Sun will be moving into Aries, starting the new Astrological Year. Aries is a Fire sign, and this reflects the power of the growing Sun as daylight will from now on be longer than the night. It is the sign of the Pioneer and beginnings so this is a great time to make plans and revisit our New Year resolutions.

This is a time for beginning the work of the year, spring cleaning, clearing away the clutter of winter and preparing for the summer.

Our homes – removing clutter, cleaning away the dust and grime of winter and sorting out what is no longer needed. Going through our clothes and discarding unwanted items, sewing up those dangling hems, replacing missing buttons etc and buying new clothes if needed.  Cleaning our windows to let the stronger light into our homes and removing dust from the corners and maybe deciding on some redecoration

Our magical space - smudging our homes and if you have a personal altar decorating it with spring flowers, decorated eggs to signify the rebirth of Nature and pictures of young animals and birds

Our bodies – cutting out the comfort foods and bringing more fresh vegetables into our diet and taking more exercise. It is a time to get out of the house more and feel the energies of the land growing. Our skin would appreciate deep cleansing and exfoliation to rejuvenate it.

Our gardens – buying new tools, seeds and preparing the garden. Some seeds can be started now, and herbs can be planted in pots for the kitchen. In my opinion there is nothing like picking your own fresh herbs to add to your cooking!

Magical workings for the Equinox include gratitude and celebrations for the returning strength of the sun and the regrowth in Nature, requests for the success of our plans for the year and deep workings to find balance in ourselves. We dance and sing in celebration and feast in gratitude for the bounty to come.