Today, March 20, 2017, marks the Vernal Equinox, one of the two days per year when the sun is positioned directly over the equator. (The Autumnal Equinox will fall on September 22 this year.)
At the Equinox, we experience equal parts of daylight and darkness.
Throughout human history numerous festivals and religious ceremonies have pivoted around the Vernal (Spring) Equinox. The Pagan sabbat of Ostara occurs today and every year at this precise time in the solar year. The Christian festival of Easter is set to occur on the Sunday following the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Lent begins 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter. So then, the Vernal Equinox always occurs during the period of Lent.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere we gladly welcome the return of more warmth and light! This is an auspicious day, heralding the arrival of fertility and growth. It is an opportune time for new beginnings and for physical and psychological re-balancing.
As opposed to the Summer Solstice, a period for vigor and heightened activity, the Vernal Equinox is a time to return to an ideal balance of effort and ease. For the majority of us, this will mean less "doing" and more "being." In our Monday morning yoga class today, we added more grounding and restful postures to help us balance out our normally active and vigorous lifestyles.
Ask yourself what you need to balance in your life at this time, be it a relationship, your diet, your moods, or the hours you spend working vs. resting. Set an intention to take steps towards that balance, beginning today.
Here is a blessing to take with you into this new season:
You are invited to pause.
You are invited to soften.
You are invited to open.
You are invited to receive.
You are invited to let the darkness be.
You are invited to let the light in.
May you never lose your faith in the light beyond the darkness.
May you never lose your memory of the darkness while light surrounds you.
May your being align with sun and moon and the rhythm of universal balance.
May you experience balance through your whole being: spirit, heart, mind, brain, thoughts, body, skin, muscles, bones and cells--may they vibrate with the harmony of universal balance.
Amen, Aho, Ashe, Shalom, Om.
At the Equinox, we experience equal parts of daylight and darkness.
Throughout human history numerous festivals and religious ceremonies have pivoted around the Vernal (Spring) Equinox. The Pagan sabbat of Ostara occurs today and every year at this precise time in the solar year. The Christian festival of Easter is set to occur on the Sunday following the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Lent begins 40 days, not counting Sundays, before Easter. So then, the Vernal Equinox always occurs during the period of Lent.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere we gladly welcome the return of more warmth and light! This is an auspicious day, heralding the arrival of fertility and growth. It is an opportune time for new beginnings and for physical and psychological re-balancing.
As opposed to the Summer Solstice, a period for vigor and heightened activity, the Vernal Equinox is a time to return to an ideal balance of effort and ease. For the majority of us, this will mean less "doing" and more "being." In our Monday morning yoga class today, we added more grounding and restful postures to help us balance out our normally active and vigorous lifestyles.
Ask yourself what you need to balance in your life at this time, be it a relationship, your diet, your moods, or the hours you spend working vs. resting. Set an intention to take steps towards that balance, beginning today.
Here is a blessing to take with you into this new season:
You are invited to pause.
You are invited to soften.
You are invited to open.
You are invited to receive.
You are invited to let the darkness be.
You are invited to let the light in.
May you never lose your faith in the light beyond the darkness.
May you never lose your memory of the darkness while light surrounds you.
May your being align with sun and moon and the rhythm of universal balance.
May you experience balance through your whole being: spirit, heart, mind, brain, thoughts, body, skin, muscles, bones and cells--may they vibrate with the harmony of universal balance.
Amen, Aho, Ashe, Shalom, Om.
No comments:
Post a Comment