E is for Equinox

Two equinox events grace our calendar this year. One in the Spring and one in the Autumn. During the equinox the days and nights are of equal length. From Mid December to Mid June, the nights grow shorter, and the days longer. The equinox in mid-March represents the halfway point, where the days and nights are the same amount of time. From Mid June to Mid December, the nights grow longer, and the days shorter, and the autumn equinox in September bisects these solar events, and once again, the days and nights are of equal length.

The Spring equinox represents the safe time to begin planting seeds, if you haven’t already. Spiritually, it’s a time to make some small changes toward goals chosen at Imbolc, or the new year. Themes of the Spring Equinox include new beginnings, the planting of seeds (spiritually and physically), and balance. Maiden energy reigns supreme, and the spark awakened at Imbolc now begins the first few steps to fruition. It’s a time of hoping and dreaming. Symbols include what the mainstream sees as symbols of Easter: rabbits, eggs, pastel colors, and what we think of as spring: seeds, flowers, and buds on the trees . Goddesses associated with the onset of spring: Flora, Hebe, Bloudewedd, Ostara, Persephone, Aprodite, Artemis, and Maiden goddesses.

The Fall equinox is the second of the three harvest festivals. The first harvest being at Lughnasadh/Lammas, and the final harvest at Samhain in October. Also known as Mabon, it’s a fruit harvest. This is the time to sit back, and look at what you have created during the fruitful part of the year. What have you accomplished? What should you adjust? It’s also a time to be thankful, and people include a thanksgiving rite as part of their Fall equinox festivities. Symbols of the harvest include acorns, fruit, wood and deep harvest colors- yellows, oranges, browns, as well as deep forest green and purple. Goddesses commonly honored at this sabbat are Persephone, Modron, Cerridwen, Hecate, The Morrighan, and Crone goddesses. Here are some more ideas for your Mabon/ Fall equinox.

The equinoxes are great times to center yourself, find balance, work in your garden, and align with the wheel of the year as it turns.