This week, March 20^th, is the equinox. It’s the day when an equal amount of light and darkness make up the day. In ancient times this day was celebrated as Ostara, a Pagan holiday for the goddess of spring. She was represented as a beautiful maiden associated with dawn running through new grass. Flowers blossomed around her. Many of the remnants of this Anglo-Saxon and Celtic festival remain with us in the form of Easter eggs, which celebrate new life, rabbits which symbolize fertility. This special time of year drew people to remember the cycles and celebrate the coming changes. Old ways and decaying winter were left behind for new seeds to take root and grow. Spring equinox was celebrated with bonfires, plantings and festivals. In India it’s celebrated by Holi, the festival of colors and joy. 

Today, the equinox offers a chance to reflect bringing life into balance to move forward with ease and grace into the rest of the year. The difficulties of winter have passed and a soft, warm breath of spring is blowing through the air. We’re so often drawn out and off balance by the deadlines, the rush and the constant demands on our senses. But this week is a time to consider bringing in more balance and relocating that much needed equilibrium. With it comes a sense of being grounded and joyful. It’s easier to face hardships and remain anchored.

The ancients would go to a well or spring and drink the water on that day believing it had magical properties to heal and to aid with keeping equilibrium and vitality. Drinking a glass of water today and filling it with the intention to maintain a good equilibrium in health, in mind and in spirit can be beneficial. This is a good time to plant seeds too. These may be metaphorical seeds that are planted to fulfill your heart’s calling. A good way to do this is to write down what you’d like to see come into being over the next months and years and then imagine ways to water and bring light in to nourish these yearnings. This is a time full of promise and possibility, a time to move into action after reflection and grow. Happy spring!

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.