Invitation

A Spring Equinox Poem

© 2021 by Joyce Mason

 

Photo via Pinterest

Every spring’s

An invitation to a new beginning

Even if you’re not up for it.

 

Winter cold and darkness slows us.

Slogging through quicksand snow,

Real or symbolic,

The heavy feeling of no end in sight,

That you’re going to “just die,”

A prayer to St. Roseanne Roseannadanna

Especially during our long Covid winters of forced confinement.

These months of hard scrabble introspection

beg us to reevaluate and escape to extroversion.

Too much of a good thing,

As winter insights roast on an open fire,

They are a slowdown,

A breath to review our merry-go-round

To see if we really want to jump back on.

 

 

Look at the sparkle in a loved one’s eyes,

That magical light that makes them who they are,

Firing on all cylinders.

 

Think your best possible thoughts for the future.

Look at your own spark in the mirror.

Look at the Aries Rambunctiousness in the curve

Of your eyebrows

Pushing you forward to explore Mars.

Imagine little green buds on your limbs

Like Brother and Sister Trees.

 

Don’t try. Just be.

Pause and let spring come to you

Packing hope and do-overs,

The only carousel worth riding.

Spring Chickens: A Vernal Equinox Poem

Poem © 2020 by Joyce Mason

Deep inside me

seeds are desperate to crack open

as the Sun warms the earth a bit longer

every day

inching to the Equinox.

The seedlings are chicks pecking at eggshells

from the inside out.

New hopes, dreams, goals, changes:

Resolutions to revolutions.

No one knows what work it takes

to mount or withstand this energetic build-up.

It’s dark, jabbing into the unknown.

It is disconnection and disorientation at their cruelest.

Yet one day like the Tortoise and the Hare,

the slow chicklets of resurrection 

crack the shell as we do the crust of our winter malaise.

Like the slow results of escape with inadequate tools,

We make our jailbreak.

All heaven breaks loose.

Holy Aries!

~~~

Photo Credit:© 1evgeniya1 | Dreamstime.com

Making Tracks: A Spring Equinox Poem

Poem © 2018 by Joyce Mason

High-speed railroad

Chugging, clanging

Picking up speed

Whisking down the tracks

Bursting flowers

Velocity out of control

Rounding the bend to Spring Equinox

Brakes squealing, slamming to a halt

Just making the station

Grab your suitcase.

Meet me for coffee on the corner
of Aries and New Beginnings.

~~~

Photo Credit: © augusta16 

Spring Equinox Poem: “Birthday Party”

 Poem © 2015 by Joyce Mason

Seeds

push through

the birth canal of Gaia;

end winter's hard labor.

The Sun hands out

flower petals rolled up as cigars.

The Moon mops her brow,

midwife to the season
where Mars leads off

Venus follows

and Mercury

rounds out the chorus

of springing, singing signs.

Chant Aries, Taurus, Gemini!

Happy Rebirthday!

~~~

Photo Credit: © angelo19 - Fotolia.com

Spring Equinox: Come On, Baby, Light My Fire!

Article © 2013 by Joyce Mason
All Rights Reserved

Spring and the sign of Aries blast into our lives in a way that does justice to the expression “living out loud.” Buds burst, light sings, the sap rises in trees and we ditch our winter slump for a love affair with high energy.

If this sounds somewhat like overdoing the happy dance because you just got a Get Out of Jail Free card, there’s some mythical truth to the matter. From a symbolic standpoint, spring is more like a season’s pass from Hell. Here’s how the story goes.

Spring Mythology

Long ago in a place far away that may have never existed, but is none the less true for its core wisdom: Demeter, the goddess of crops and harvest (the asteroid Ceres in astrology), bore a daughter with Zeus, king of the gods. The daughter’s name was Persephone. One day Persephone was out gathering wild flowers when she was abducted by Hades—better known to us in his astrological persona as Pluto. Hades took Persephone to be his lover and queen in the Land of the Dead. (Not hard to see the parallels to an unevolved Scorpio and why Hades gets my nomination for patron sinner of stalkers.)

Demeter roams the land, trying to find her lost daughter.  Ultimately, she encounters Hecate, one of the original witchy women, who advises her to go to Helios, the Sun, to find out if he saw who snatched Persephone. All is revealed in the light of day, and Helios names Hades as the perpetrator.

Naturally, Demeter pleads with Zeus to do something. He is the chief god, and as incest-laden mythology would have it, Zeus is also Demeter and Hades’ brother. (Throw sibling rivalry into this soap opera.) Zeus refuses to intervene, and Demeter, righteously angry, refuses in turn to perform her duties as crop goddess. Famine threatens extinction of the human race.

The next bit of the story, typical of legends, has a couple of different versions. One is that Zeus finally intervenes and forces Hades to give up Persephone. In another, Demeter bargains for her daughter’s release. [1] (I like the latter because it empowers Demeter as the only person I know of in the myths who deals with that devil and at least cuts a compromise.)

Once reunited, Demeter asks if Persephone ate anything in the underworld. She admits to having consumed a pomegranate seed. This act links her permanently to the Land of the Dead, where she is destined to spend part of each year as Hades’ wife. During the time she’s gone, Demeter mourns and the crops go barren. Thus we have the cycle of growth, harvest, winter—and the joy of all nature welcoming Persephone back each spring.

Spring Fire

After revisiting this tale, it’s easy to understand why, in the perfection of nature, the cycle of the Sun through the zodiac begins with the first fire sign, Aries. It’s as though Persephone brings with her a little bit of hellfire without the damnation. (That comes later when she has to go back to the underworld.)

Carl Jung associated the astrological element fire with intuition. Fire is the life force rising up in us. It gives us warmth, comfort and literal fire cooks our food. [2] Man’s discovery of fire was one of the most important moments in human evolution. It changed the human course forever. Fire’s awesome power is recognized in another myth, that of Prometheus. He is punished horribly for stealing fire from the gods and is associated with the planet Uranus. As we evolve, we better harness our own inner warmth and fire to strengthen our own self-confidence and to share our ideas and creativity. It takes an initial act of rebellion to snatch some fire for ourselves and not let the jealous gods horde it --and lord it over us. After all, it’s the life force itself. It belongs to everyone, like the sun, stars and sky.

Celebrate!

It’s the Natural New Year, the first—and in some ways the most important—of the Cardinal Turning Points. Here are some past posts with poems, ceremonies and things to ponder to kick off your New Year with some firecrackers of inspiration and meaning:

It’s Spring! Let’s Get Seedy

Prayer on Spring Equinox

(Rituals to) Celebrate Spring Equinox

God is Not An Aries

In his book, The Inner Sky, astrologer Stephen Forrest talks about the Sign of the Spring Equinox and Aries’ psychological association with the development of courage. [3] Behind every Aries Warrior is someone working on getting up the guts to do something. If the Aries you know seem more courageous than most, it’s only because they’ve been working on it since Day 1.

This is the time of year for all of us to screw up our courage and become more Aries- like—to be Life Warriors, rushing headlong into new adventures, taking risks and starting the New Year off boldly. Burst out of your winter eggshell and fly into spring like a firecracker, tail afire!

Happy Rebirthday, All!

~~~

Photo Credit: © Jürgen Fälchle - Fotolia.com

NOTES

1. Myths and Legends: The Yearly Agricultural Cycle http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/mythslegends_2.htm
2. The Four Elements in Astrology by Bonnie Moss http://www.astrostar.com/Four-Elements.htm
3. Forrest, Steven, The Inner Sky, Seven Paws Press: 2007, p. 42.

Celebrate Spring Equinox – 2012

© 2012 by Joyce Mason

All Rights Reserved

A Dedication and Naming Ceremony for Your New Births

Spring is the time of new beginnings—or rebirth. When babies are born, in the Christian tradition, they are baptized or christened. This confers both the gift and symbolism of the child’s name but also brings him or her into the community of those who care, implying that you and yours have a back-up support system. Whether it’s a new pet, a new relationship, or a new project, you can do the same for your particular new rebirths this spring. I did this ceremony in 1995 when I brought my kittens Duffy and Darrin into my family. The ritual can be applied to anything, including a new attitude! Here’s how to do it.

The Naming

Naming is serious business, for the name of any being or idea carries the resonance of your intention. Especially when naming human beings or pets, be sure you know the background or any mythology connected with the proposed name. Projects and new attitudes work best with an upbeat name that reflects the positive outcome you seek. For instance, keeping your house more tidy for better feng shui or energy flow might be called Home Energy Flow rather than reiterating the bad habit with a title like Clutter Busting. You could call an effort to see things more from the upside Operation Optimism.

The Dedication Ceremony

Gather at least two friends or family members who represent your support system. The more the merrier, and this is a perfect ceremony to do in a group during a Spring Equinox celebration. If you are dedicating a pet, bring it with you. I suspect most people would dedicate their children at a separate family gathering, but we have dedicated children in our Solsisters group in addition to their baptism or other traditions.

Create an altar, and place some objects on it that symbolize spring, rebirth and new beginnings: wildflowers, Easter eggs, plant bulbs, and a candle to represent the Aries fire and the new beginnings we celebrate at this threshold.

The leader lights the candle and declares: “Let our rebirthday celebration begin!”

Each individual comes forward with a symbol of their new birth or new beginning. If it’s a child being dedicated, you might use a bonnet or bootie--for an animal, a collar or favorite toy. For a project, you can become much more creative. For my new book, I’ll bring a printout of the cover concept or a bound copy of the manuscript. The individual launching Operation Optimism could bring a picture of a happy individual—best, one of her smiling.

As each person comes up to the altar, s/he faces the gathering, lifts up the actual being s/he is dedicating, if a child or pet. Bring the symbol, if it’s anything else, or if it’s impractical to bring the real thing. S/he says:

“Behold, ______ (name of new birth)!” Now say a few words about your “baby,” whatever it is, and what this new beginning means to you.

Bring the child, pet, or symbol back down from an elevated position. Share your promises and commitments—to love and support him, her or it. Ask your circle, “Will you help me grow and support me in this new beginning?”

The circle responds, “We will!”

Onto the next person.

Darrin & Duffy

Of course, the words can be altered and the ceremony stylized to suit your needs. I’ll never forget the teary moment when I held up the first of my kittens and declared, just like his parents did for Kunta Kinte in Roots, “Behold, Duffy Kyle!” That moment symbolized my commitment to a companion who has owned my heart for sixteen years. The community of my friends has supported me me during every challenge and loss with the Tabby Brothers, especially when Duffy’s littermate Darrin (the redhead) died of cancer at age 12. Darrin will always own major real estate in my heart, where he lives forever. The depth of our bonding no doubt had something to do with the ceremony and seriousness of my promises to be there for him always. I still am, even if one of us is no longer in a body.

While Spring Equinox holds the ultimate timing for new beginnings and rebirths, doing this ceremony any time during spring is still very potent. You can also convene a Dedication and Naming Ceremony at any time, for the beginning of anything new is like its own spring.

Blessings on all your new births! And thank the universe for the birth-death-rebirth cycle that is the Circle of Life.

~~~

Photo Credit: Vernal Sun - © yurumi - Fotolia.com ; Tabby Brothers photo by Joyce

Happy Birthday, Radical Virgo Blog! On March 21, The Radical Virgo turns three years old. What an odyssey. Love and thanks for your part in making it so!

The Cardinal Quarterly is about to arrive! If you aren’t on my newsletter email list, don’t miss this quarter’s inside scoop and a brand new article on Chiron, a preview from my forthcoming book, Keywords for Unlocking Chiron. It’s on one of my favorite Chironic concepts, making lemonade out of lemons. This preview is exclusive to the mailing list. Sign up at the top of the sidebar, if you’re not already a subscriber.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day on March 17! Revisit St. Paddy’s Day Quotes for the Signs.