Monday, March 20, 2006

Thoughts on the Vernal Equinox


Now on the twentieth day of March, light and darkness are in perfect balance, and according to ancients and astronomers, this is the first day of Spring.

There was little or no Spring in evidence here in the Lanark Highlands yesterday - it was very cold and windy, and there was an abundance of hard icy snow on my favorite walking trails which made the Sunday pottering something of a treacherous exercise. As cold, windy and precarious going as the woodland paths were yesterday, I indulged in a small Spring Equinox custom which is all my own, sliding carefully down a glistening ice-bound hill to the spring in the woods, then perching on a large rock nearby, listening to the water for an hour or so and quieting the breath until my own thoughts flowed as effortlessly as the icy water beside me.

Yesterday's sitting exercise by the stream did not include birdsong, but from my cold place among the cedars, I summoned the Springtime within, and amid the morning's fluently cursive thoughts by the water, I was surrounded by the uplifted voices of woodland grosbeaks and migrating warblers.

Timeless blessings of Ostara and the Spring Equinox to all of you,

Cate

1 comment:

K Allrich said...

Spring blessings to you, too, Cate! May this new season of growth bring you a sesne of renewal and inspiration.