Spring has Sprung! The Spring Equinox by Tena Stetler

 The Spring Equinox,  March 20, 2024, marks the official start of spring across various cultures around the globe and holds special meaning.  When day and night are nearly equal in length - representing balance and renewal on Earth from winter's chill to the warmth of spring's warmth.

Many celebrate it through rituals, ceremonies, festivals or festivities that honor this changing season and promise new beginnings - join us as we uncover history, customs and traditions associated with this ancient and magical event! 

Spring Equinox ushers in an emotional and physical renewal. In Northern Hemisphere after months of dormancy during winter, nature slowly begins to waken. New leaves emerge and floral beauty gradually unveils itself into vibrant color schemes and aromas, filling the air with vibrancy and fragrance. Bird songs become more melodic while streams run freer than before - life springs forth with renewed vitality all around us! These changes not only delight the eye but are a testament to life on our planet.

On a symbolic level, the Spring Equinox has long been seen as a time for renewal and rebirth. Easter, which commemorates Christ's resurrection and usually falls around this date.

Ancient druidic tradition celebrated this event as marking victory of sun-god over darkness-god; many people today still align celebrations and rituals around its celebration, feeling deeply interconnected to nature's rhythms.

In certain cultures, the Spring Equinox marks an opportunity for fertility and abundance. Japan celebrates Higan - a week-long memorial service held at family gravesites to remember those who have passed.

Iranians celebrate Nowruz - an Iranian new year festival coinciding with Spring Equinox which symbolizes rebirth and fresh starts - in conjunction with Spring Equinox.

The Spring Equinox with its inherent message of renewal can teach us much. Just as nature renews herself each spring, so can each of us embrace change, set goals for ourselves and emerge from metaphorical hibernation into a period of growth and abundance. Let's welcome this spring equinox with hope, connect more closely with nature and live more harmoniously within its rhythms and cycles.  Now is an opportune moment to plant seeds of intention for the coming months, set goals, and embark upon exciting adventures.
Happy Spring Equinox!

Speaking of Spring, take a peek at Raven's Hollow Spring Magic. 

Spring is in full bloom in Raven’s Hollow, a small town in the Colorado Rockies with a population of unique townspeople. Blaze, a dragon shifter, and Wynter, a witch, are neck-deep in wedding preparations, when Wynter’s mother, Jade, goes missing after opening her new antique store, and attending the Simon estate sale where she procured an ancient jelly bean machine. Frantic with worry, Blaze and Wynter track her last movements via the store’s ancient, grainy, security footage. What it reveals is nothing short of shocking. As deputy sheriff, it’s Blaze’s responsibility to find his soon-to-be mother-in-law. But at what cost?

I guarantee you'll never look at jelly beans the same again. 

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Looking forward to Spring Anyone? by Tena Stetler

 

Well, officially the first day of Spring (vernal equinox) arrived on March 20, 2022. Surprisingly enough, I could actually see green spouts from my crocus, daffodils, snowdrops, tulips, and hyacinths. Usually these sprouts are poking out of the snow on the first day of Spring. Mother Nature allowed us a couple of spring like days before she’ll hit us with more wet snow. Not that I’m complaining, Colorado needs the moisture so badly, I’m fine with the snow. It just felt good to see starting of spring flowers along with the warm sun on my face!

How about a few fun facts about the Spring equinox?

1.      An equinox is a moment in time and space when the sun is positioned directly above the Earth’s equator, which happens just twice a year on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

2.     In Mexico, in the ruins of the Mayan city Chichén Itzá, crowds gather at the ancient El Castillo pyramid every spring and fall equinox to witness an equinox celebration that dates around 1,000 A.D. The pyramid is dedicated to the feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl. Now this is the part that makes your skin crawl. At sunset on the equinoxes, the angle of the sun creates shadows that look like a giant snake. The light-and-shadow snake appears to slither down the pyramid steps until it merges with the huge sculpted serpent’s head at the bottom.

3.     Spring is a time of renewal and new growth. March showers (in Colorado it’s snow showers) bring April-May flowers and earthworms! The worms spend the winter buried deep below the frost line, but the annual spring showers reduce the oxygen in the dirt so they make their way to the surface. That’s why the first full moon in March is known as the Worm Moon?

4.     Then there is the age old magic egg spring equinox tradition. A day of magic. Folklore claims that special magnetic or energetic changes on the Spring equinox make is possible to stand a raw egg on its end. It’s a myth! When in reality, you can balance some raw eggs on their end anytime of the year. I’ve never been able to, but….

5.     Is there a gateway to hell during the Spring Equinox? Yep. According to Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets.  In the tiny town of Stull, Kansas at  a cemetery on Emanuel Hill, legend claims this is one of the places the devil himself can enter the human world only twice a year. Of course the other is Halloween. This is a new one on me.

6.     Did you know that Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox?

7.     What does the Spring Equinox mean for Zodiac Signs? Check it out! 

Looking for An Angel's Wylder Assignment? Got one right here for you.

An impromptu assignment for a Scottish Warrior Angel and a Native American shapeshifter from present day, must time travel to 1878 in an effort to unravel a dangerous mystery and creature their future. 

Angel Killian Dugan’s annual trip to the family castle in Scotland is shattered by the arrival of Legion Commander North. Killian’s skills are needed for an urgent time travel assignment. A rogue demon has escaped back in time. He must discover the why and where then stop the demon before it can damage the past and change the future.

Killian’s girlfriend Chinoah Grace, a Native American shapeshifter is included in the mission, which takes them to the wild west town of Wylder, Wyoming in 1878. She will have her hands full fitting in and making friends. Nothing is as it seems. They encounter visions, spirit quests, and a mysterious shaman. On top of it all, blending in as a blacksmith is more physically difficult than he imagined. But not as challenging as keeping his hands off his undercover wife. Will they complete their assignment or run out of time?

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