Mar 20, 2012

Vernal Equinox


Just popping in to wish you a happy Equinox and a blessed Ostara!  Here's a bit of fun and lore for you:

Equinox

The equinox (meaning, “equal night”) is a point in time that occurs in the spring and fall in which the center of the Sun is in the same plane as the Earth's equator. This balanced time of the year gives us a day with equal hours of sunlight and darkness. Equinoxes are often referred to by their Latin names, vernal, meaning Spring (around March 21st) and autumnal, meaning Fall (around September 21st.)

Spring Equinox superstitions:

It is said that during the equinox you can balance a raw egg on its end, or a balance a broom to stand up on its own. (Although this has been proven to work any time of the year - it’s a fun exercise to do on the Equinox.)

A wish made upon seeing the first robin of the Spring will come true as long as you finish making your wish before the robin flies away.

Spring planting:

“Go plant the bean when the moon is light,
and you will find that this is right.
Plant the potatoes when the moon is dark,
and to this you always hark.
But if you vary from this rule,
You will find that you're the fool.
If you always follow this rule to the end,
You will always have money to spend.”

(Plant above-ground bearing crops during a waxing moon & below ground crops during a waning moon.)


"March bustles in on windy feet
And sweeps my doorstep and my street.
She washes and cleans with pounding rains,
Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.
She shakes the grime from carpet green
Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.
Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,
She ushers gentle springtime in."

- Susan Reiner, Spring Cleaning



Images found here.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Ostara and thank you very much for the wonderful info !!

mxtodis123 said...

Wishing you all the best at this special time of the year.
Mary

P.S. I am so sorry about your little kitty. I had commented the other day, but for some reason, I see it didn't come through.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Spring blessings to you, Rue!

Bird said...

Blessed Ostara, Rue. I hope that today is bringing you some sunshine hugs and breezy caresses.

Bright blessings,
Bird

pensive pumpkin said...

just a note to tell you what an idiot i am:

i can never remember which is waxing and which is waning, so i mess this stuff up every time. LOL

Jennifer MacNeill said...

Happy Spring to you. I like that planting guide, interesting...

Robin Larkspur said...

Blessed Ostara to you and yours! I love this post, with its sweet planting rhyme! Enjoy the Season!

Betty said...

I have been waiting for this day forever it seems. Have a Blessed Ostara. Thanks for the wonderful comment you made on my blog.

Sara said...

A very happy Equinox and a blessed Ostara to you as well, dear Rue.

Barbara F. said...

I love this post! xo

Anonymous said...

Springtime blessings to you!

AlphaBetsy said...

Blessed Ostara. I am definitely going to have to try the broom thing.

Sophie said...

many blessings to you!!

TheBlakkDuchess said...

Happy Ostara to you too! =D
Hope you had a wonderful day & thanks for sharing all the fun tips & lore. ^-^

XOXO

Life's a shoe said...

great post! never knew about equinox

Mary Bergfeld said...

Folklore is always fascinating. I have to put the bit about the robin to a test :-). I'll let you know what happens. Have a wonderful day.Blessings...Mary

brandi said...

~blessed ostara to you dear rue...i wish for warmth and a gentle breeze to blow your way...wrap you up and carry you through your day to day...

i can hardly wait for mother nature to decide what she would like to do our way...it has been rain or snow...today we finally get a sunny day...we'll see it is still pretty dark out at the moment : )we bought seeds but i am kind of hesitant to do anything yet because our weather has been so wishy washy...happy spring days ahead...much love light and blessings~

Anonymous said...

Happy belated Equinox, Rue!