Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Vernal Equinox

Printemps has arrived in our tiny french village--all the goddesses are lining
up: Aurora ushering in the dawn with her elbow length pink satin gloves.
Ostara, the Celtic goddess of spring, hopping down the bunny trail--(thanks to
her we have painted eggs and chocolate rabbits).
Demeter is showering everyone with fistfuls of green, now that her daughter,
Persephone, has returned from the underworld. I bought some scarlet geraniums
to please her!
Day and night in perfect balance, we press dozens of seeds into the waiting earth.

     "unknowingly, we plough the dust of stars, blown around us
 by the wind, and drink the universe in a glass of rain." ihab hassan.


In the orchard the Mirabelles and Damson plums are showing off their
veiled finery like nervous brides...following a quick hard shower: "il pleut comme vache qui pissant" (the french say) "it rains like a cow pissing"- 180 degree rainbow arches over the field behind the orchard. 

 Aristotle was the first to pay serious attention to rainbows.
In Greco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Heaven and Earth. For me it was a gift from the Gods, & I still believe there is a pot of gold there somewhere. 

Loads of ancient rituals to mark this day, but a modern one in USA, Annapolis, Md."The Burning of the Socks", caught my eye--for 34 years the residents of Chesapeake Bay have been burning their socks to herald the arrival of sockless summer.  Good place to open up a sock store (in the autumn).


So what does the tarot have to say about the first day of spring?
The obvious choice:  The Queen of Wands - she is spring itself, sexuality and
fertility in motion.  Her element is fire & she's full of passion, creativity and spirituality.
Don't deny her, it is a call to action, time to take stock, look at the options, move forward-
with force. Are you ready for a career change? Or is it time to stoke the fires of L'Amour?
You have the imagination and resources you need at your disposal! 


"Nothing happens unless first a dream" - Carl Sandburg