Unabashed

Photo by sea turtle

Yesterday was the first day of spring, also known as the vernal equinox, and the Sun was at a point on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect. Traditionally, it’s the only day you can balance an egg on its point. It’s historically been a day for collecting eggs, eggs being a symbol of fertility and new life. Also, some traditions hold that the sun is resurrected on the day of the equinox, because after that day the days become longer than the nights. Today, the first day after the equinox, the day will be a little bit longer than the night, and increasingly longer until the day of the summer solstice, at which point the sun’s arc will decline a bit, and the days will grow increasingly shorter through the autumnal equinox. (Of course, all of this is reversed if you’re in the southern hemisphere.)

The moon is also full right now, so be wary of any practicing lycanthropes in your area. This month’s moon was called the Worm Moon by the Native Americans.

Five things to do during the first days of spring:

1. Go hiking.
2. Balance an egg on its point. It doesn’t count if you do it on the butt–you can do that any time of year. (Did I just say “do it on the butt?”)
3. Light a fire at dawn. New fires were lit at dawn in some cultures to celebrate the return of the sun to predominance in the heavens.
4. Decorate some Easter eggs.
5. Open up some windows and air out the house. It’s time for spring cleaning…

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: equator, equinox, solstice, Spring, sun, vernal