This week marks Equinox- for the Southern Hemisphere, it will be the Autumn Equinox, or Mabon, marking the beginning of Autumn while for people in the Northern Hemisphere it marks Spring Equinox, or Ostara, and is the beginning of Springtime. No matter which part of the world you are in, and which season you will be welcoming, this is a time for celebration, and there are some simple and fun rituals you can practice to bring-in the Equinox.
Astronomically, Equinox is an event that marks the moment when the Sun crosses the celestial equator and sits directly over it, meaning that the length of day and night around the world are equal. Symbolically, this makes Equinox a time to observe the equal time of light and dark and to celebrate or explore balance in your life.
For those experiencing Autumn Equinox, you will notice your days start to get shorter and the night longer until the Winter Solstice while in the Northern Hemisphere this will be the opposite. Your days will begin to be longer and your nights shorter until the Summer Solstice.
If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, this Monday March 21, 2022 will be all about paying your respects to the upcoming darker days and to give thanks to the waning sunlight. This is a time of transitions and to reset, slow down and honour the darker and cooler days ahead. In the Northern Hemisphere you will celebrate the coming light that will illuminate your days and the new life that the Sun brings. This is a period of new beginnings and for fresh ideas to seed.
Symbolically, Equinox is the time to acknowledge the struggle that exists between light and dark, and is a meaningful time of seasonal change, when energies are shifting, allowing us the chance to connect to nature and the natural cycles of growth and harvest and death and rebirth. It is said that we are a reflection of the universe that surrounds us, and that all which takes place outside of us also takes place within us. In order to see the light we must first face the darkness within, and both the dark and light are necessary for the other to exist.
This is definitely an important date to acknowledge, and here are some rituals you can do this Saturday to harness the potent universal energy of the Equinox.
1. Practice Gratitude
Equinox is experienced by everyone on Earth and is a time of universal balance, which means that tapping into the collective consciousness can bring in prosperity and feed more abundance into our life when we show gratitude.
Create a gratitude ceremony where you burn some incense, light a candle, get out your journal and then write a list of everything you are thankful for in bringing you to this point where you are now. Think of everything- from the small things like having food, shelter and love and keep writing so that you can honour all the lessons learned, the challenges you have overcome, and struggles that have taught you what was needed to allow you to evolve and become who you are now. Once your gratitude list is exhaustive, give thanks and blow out your candle.
2. Connect with Nature
Get outside, and spend time before and after the precise moment of the Equinox to connect with your natural surrounds and honour how nature supports you and your energy through its cycles. Celebrate how life surrounds you and admire the beauty of nature. Awaken your connection to nature and the respect you have for all living things by hugging a tree, grounding your feet in the earth, pausing and listening to the nature sounds in a forest, swimming in the sea, or bathing in a fresh spring or creek. While you are out in nature, collect items like shells, stones, leaves, feathers and flowers that represent the elements and lay them into a symbolic grid, turn them into an offering to Mother Nature, or make them into an altar.
3. Bring Balance to Your Life
Because Equinox is about equilibrium, this is a good opportunity to reflect and review your inner life and external world to see where you can restore balance. This might mean looking at where you have too many extremes in your life- food, sleep, work- as well as things you can clear out of your physical space to bring more balance.
Analyse how you can organise your day so that your routine brings you more balance. Ask yourself how you can spend time more wisely. Do you practice enough self-care, or do you overwork yourself? Where can you have more fun and play? Do you spend enough time in nature and with moving your body? Equinox is the ideal time to look at what is out of balance and to get realigned.
You might want to also re-balance your physical space to prepare for the new season. A spring clean or autumn de-clutter of your home or workplace so that you get rid of what you no longer need can help to make space energetically and physically and allow you to move forward without any negativity.
4. Plant Seeds to Grow
On this March 21 it’s not only Equinox, but it’s also the start to a new astrological year, with the Sun moving into fiery Aries. This means there is a fresh start and the chance to create new plans and visions for your life. This is the perfect time of year to create goals or start a project. Make a step-by-step plan of how you will bring this project to life and then harness the Equinox and Aries Season energies to make it happen.
Aries Season encourages us to go after what it is that we want and to focus on achieving our goals. Get out your journal and spend some time exploring what physical and spiritual healing and growth you want in your life. You can then plant an actual seed to symbolically represent your goals that you can then nurture and grow in parallel with them.
5. Clear and Release
You can also write down on a piece of paper all the things in your life which are holding you back. This can be physical things, people, or limiting beliefs. Once you get everything written down, clear and release these by burning the paper on Equinox night.
With all of that clearing done, you can then future script your life by writing out the way you envision your life to look, be and feel as through you are already living that life. Then read this script very day and watch how it all unfolds.
6. Practice Yoga and Meditation
Practice yoga or spend time meditating on the Equinox to connect with the powerful energies and to cultivate a positive mindset.
7. Do a Tarot or Oracle Card Spread
This simple spread can hep you to connect with the equinox energies.
1. What do I need to let go of and release?
2. How can I bring more balance into my life?
3. What goals and visions should I focus on?
If you’re wanting to learn more about honourng integrating the Moon cycle into your life, come and join the five day Lunar Self-Care Mini Course!
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