The Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox

“And here is the serpent again,
dragging himself out from his nest of darkness,
his cave under the dark rocks,
his winter-death.
He slides over the pine needles.
He loops around the branches of rising grass,
looking for the sun."
- Mary Oliver

Spring Equinox, when day and night meet as equals, sharing our time between them. The Earth swings on its axis and we sit briefly in a moment of harmony between the light and the dark, a balance offered to us from the cosmos.

Cosmographia ,1544 - Sebastian Münster 

An astronomical event that happens only twice a year, the word Equinox derives from the Latin ‘aequus’ meaning equal and ‘nox’ meaning night. It marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator - an imaginary line that circles the sky, wrapped around the heavenly reaches of the firmament, meaning day and night hold equal sway.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the Vernal Equinox heralds the return of the Sun, sprouting flowers, singing birds and lighter skies. We transition into a season of rebirth, growth and renewal, released from our winter hibernation of introspection and malaise.

Spring Evening, - Arthur B. Davies

Celebrated for centuries, we worship the sky, greeting the dawn with arms outstretched, soaking in the sun like a plant bending towards the light, seeking resurrection. 

Yes, there is darkness still in Spring, blossoms are transient, abundance is fleeting, the expectations of joy can weigh heavy. 

But what hope there is to be found in the blooming of a bulb, a seed lying dormant in the soil, waiting patiently in the warm womb of the dark until it is time to rear it’s head and touch the air, drinking in the light if only for a short time before it disappears again.

Hope springs eternal.

Spring, 1965 - René Magritte

*Cover photograph - Almond Blossoms, 1890 - Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh painted a series of blossom paintings when suffering from a particularly bad bout of mental health issues. Once allowed to leave the asylum and surrounded again by nature, he found solace in the burgeoning buds of the trees overhead, representing new life.


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