Spring is the dawn of the new zodiacal year in the Northern Hemisphere. Don’t you just love the word “equinox?” I have to decide each time whether to say it with a short or long “e”. The equinoxes are the two times during the year when the dark of night and the light of day are in balance or equal. Another name for the Vernal Equinox is Ostara, from the name of a German Goddess of fertility, Oestarae.
She is the deific equivalent of the Greco-Roman goddess, Aurora, the personification of the sunrise. Consider that the Sun rises in the East and her name is where East and Easter both come from. The Christian Easter date was decided by the Council of Nicaea to fall the first Sunday after the first full Moon occurring on or after the March Equinox. This effectively removed its observance from conflicts with either Ostara or Passover. Continue reading Happy Spring!→
A new PBS video shows a sleeping octopus changing colors in her sleep. I love to watch my dogs dream, but I never thought about whether octopi did too. Well, apparently they do. Click the link below to watch the clip, it is pretty cool.
On September 23rd, the Sun enters Libra and Autumn begins. In the same way that the Solstice marks the days of longest and shortest “light,” the Equinoxes mark the day of equal light. Nox is the Roman goddess of night so equinox literally means “equal night.” The glyph for Libra represents the setting sun expressing the balance between night and day. In traditional Astrology, the Sun is “exalted” in Aries while halfway through its circuit along the ecliptic, it is in “fall” in Libra, Aries’ opposite sign.
The rising of the constellation Libra marked the beginning of the New Year in ancient Egypt. Equinoxes are the two points in the year (March 19-21 and September 21-23) when the Sun crosses the celestial equator. At these times, day and night in Northern and Southern hemispheres are of equal length. The Spring (vernal) Equinox occurs midway between the Winter and Summer solstices; the Autumnal Equinox occurs midway between the Summer and Winter solstices. The Autumn equinoctial festival of Mabon mirrors the spring equinoctial festival of Oestara with the Light and Dark forces of the Universe switching ascendancy.
In myth, the goddess Persephone departs the earth to join her husband in the underworld. It is time to give thanks for the summer and to welcome the increasing dark. Traditionally, this was when some of the heaviest work of the agricultural year began, the final harvest was still to be stored away and the fields readied for the coming Winter.
Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of winter solstice on northern hemisphere. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21, 2019. The word Solstice is Latin in origin and translates as, Sol =the Sun, + stitere =standing still.
On that day, the North Pole tilts most directly Sunward. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere experience this as the longest day and shortest night of the year. Around December 21, or 22nd of each year, the Winter Solstice, the North Pole points away from the Sun giving us in the Northern Hemisphere, our shortest day, and longest night. This tilting of the Earth’s rotational axis gives us our seasons. During each Solstice, the Sun appears to both rise and set at the opposite spot on the horizon. The Solar Calendars like Stonehenge and the Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico operate by indicating this point. The Autumnal Equinox will be on September 24th.
Symbols of Summer:
The rose, the fast-growing vine, and the bright sun. Modern symbols include flip-flops, outdoor weddings, icy pitchers of lemonade, beach umbrellas and baseball games!
Cancer from June 22 – July 24, Leo from July 24 – August 24, and Virgo from August 24 – September 24 this year.
The Stones of Summer:
Cancer resonates with white stones like shell and pearl. Leo with gold stones like citrine and tiger-eye. Virgo with blue stones like sodalite and sapphire.
But I checked and it works in my case. I am a Scorpio with a Cancer Moon and embroidery (Scorpio) was one of my first crafts and I do yoga (Cancer) pretty much every day!
Why embroidery for Scorpio? My guess is that we are the only ones who would be entertained by stabbing a piece of fabric a thousand times, LOL
At the Winter Solstice, the Sun enters the part of the space-time continuum belonging to Capricorn. This year, that’s Saturday, the 22nd of December. This is the official first day of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The word Solstice is derived from the Latin sol, or “Sun,” and stitium, or “stoppage.” At the Solstice, the Sun appears to both rise and set at the same spot on the horizon. At New Grange the sun gradually lights the chamber over the five days, peaking on Dec 21-23.
On or around June 21-23, the Summer Solstice, the North Pole is tilted most directly Sunward. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere experience this as the longest day and shortest night of the year. On or around December 21-23, the Winter Solstice, the North Pole is pointed away from the Sun giving us in the Northern Hemisphere, our shortest day and longest night. It is this tilting of the Earth’s rotational axis that gives us our seasons.
If you want more information on how this works, just ask and I can recommend some articles and books that explain it really well. I don’t know about you, but to me, the important part of this is that from here on out, we get a few minutes more of daylight each day, until the Summer Solstice, that is.
Symbols of Winter:
Snow, bare-branched trees, icicles, yule log, Santa Claus with his elves and reindeer, a crèche with Magi and star, etc.
Capricorn is represented by onyx, hematite and garnet.
Aquarius is represented by pietersite, malachite and amethyst.
Pisces is represented by aquamarine, and turquoise and jade.
Activities of Winter:
Skiing and snowshoeing, hanging up lights and decorations, Holiday celebrations, shoveling snow and watching movies like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, Christmas in Connecticut, White Christmas, Die Hard, Home Alone, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation…
What color is your front door?
Here is a good short article on front door colors based on Feng Shui. You’ll need to know your exposure, for instance, I have a Southern facing front door so I have a steel door with a fiberglass wood veneer that I stained with two colors of gel stain, cedar and a color called bark, to resemble reddish woodgrain with darker streaking. It gives me the Feng Shui red/South door and it also looks like real wood but with the security of steel. I could have simply painted it red, or purple, or even magenta, but I wanted the look of wood so I choose a warmer redder wood-tone rather than a cooler-tone.
Click here to read the article and choose a color for your door: link to the article
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What color is your front door?