18 Mar The Spring Equinox: How to Use its Spiritual Energy for a Fresh Start
The spring equinox marks a time when both nature and the human spirit are on the cusp of a new beginning. It is a time to let go of the past and look forward with renewed energy and purpose in many cultures and spiritual traditions. In astronomical terms, it’s the moment when the sun divides its light equally between the northern and southern hemispheres of the Earth, making day and night equally long across the globe.
In this article, we’ll give you practical tips on how to integrate this ancient wisdom into your daily life, and how to prepare spiritually for the Spring Equinox so that you can take full advantage of this special time for rebirth and personal growth.
Seasonal Changes and the Role of Spring Equinox in 2024
Astronomical Spring begins on 20 March 2024! This event refers to the occasions when the center of the Sun‘s disc is directly over the Earth’s equator, typically on 21 March and 23 September. However, mainly due to leap years, this can shift by two to three days in our calendar.
In the northern hemisphere we call the March event the spring equinox and the September event the autumnal equinox. After the spring equinox, the northern hemisphere tilts more towards the sun. This change results in longer days and sunlight hitting the Earth at a steeper angle, warming the environment and ushering in spring and then summer.
In the southern hemisphere, the situation is reversed: the March equinox marks the beginning of autumn and the September equinox signals the beginning of spring. During this time in the south, the days become shorter and the sun appears lower in the sky, causing the weather to cool as autumn and then winter sets in.
Embrace the changing seasons and gauge your springtime energy with the Egely Wheel.
Spiritual Celebrations of the Spring Equinox Around the World
This significant moment has been and continues to be celebrated in many cultures to honor the renewing power of nature. Several calendars mark the beginning of the year with the vernal equinox, including the Babylonian, Persian and Indian calendars. Other cultures have set their major festivals around this time, typically planting or fertility festivals, as this was when agricultural communities began to prepare for summer.
A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost
(1874 –1963)
Read this inspiring poem about celebrating spring, the beauty of nature and living in the present. May the beauty that spring brings stay with us for the rest of the year and help us through the times ahead. We must find joy and meaning in the small details of everyday life, for these experiences bring us closer to the true essence of life and love.
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.
One of the most important European holidays, Easter, is still calculated in relation to the equinox, falling on the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. As a result, it is a movable festival, not fixed on a specific date, but varying between 22 March and 25 April according to the phases of the moon.
In pagan tradition, Ostara, an ancient Celtic festival, and its Anglo-Saxon counterpart, Eostre, celebrate the spring equinox, the first real day of spring, between 19 and 21 March. It is a time of sowing and the renewal of nature. Christianity adapted this into Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus as a metaphor for the rebirth of spring. The term “Easter” itself evolved from the pagan name of the festival.
The Japanese celebration of spring, Hanami, includes the enjoyment of cherry blossoms. Preparations for Hanami begin well in advance each year: meteorologists announce the start of the season and provide information on when and where the sakura will bloom, which lasts only 1-2 weeks.
Our Own Spiritual Renewal through the Spring Equinox – a Guide
Nature’s dependably repeating cycles provide stability in our lives, such as the changing seasons and the continuous rotation of the year. If we are lovers of summer, we should rejoice at the spring equinox! Nature unfolds in all its splendor: trees bud, flowers bloom and the animal world comes alive. Spiritually, the spring equinox symbolizes renewal, cleansing and rejuvenation. Now is the time to sow the first seeds, both literally and figuratively.
Ask yourself this question: what area of your life is crying out for a fresh start?
Mental renewal is all about making the shift to positive thinking, dealing with stress and looking for new perspectives. An analysis published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, which looked at nearly 765 million Spotify streams in 51 countries, found a correlation between the length of days and the intensity of songs streamed. On longer days, downloads of energetic songs increased, while on shorter days, quieter songs were more popular.
- Don’t just set goals, because then the whole resolution becomes a to-do list. Instead, formulate in your mind how you want to feel in different areas of your life when you achieve your goal. Focusing on feelings rather than tasks will unleash incredible energy within you. Take stock of what you can do to feel this way (energetic, strong, full of life, useful, helpful, light, etc.).
- You can even write your wishes for the year on coloured ribbons and attach them to the branches of a tree in your garden or, failing that, to a wishing tree made from pussy willow branches in your home. Pussy willow (Salix discolor) symbolizes the transition from winter to spring and the coloured ribbons spiritually and visually convey your hopes, dreams and wishes for the universe.
- Learn to make the best use of your life’s energy, so that neither your commitments nor your leisure take up so much of your focus that you don’t have energy for the other. Work and leisure are not necessarily conflicting categories; they are both valuable aspects of life. You will feel better when you are in equal harmony with your life force, which is a sign of inner strength and resilience. You are one step closer to balance when you begin to integrate the use of the Egely Wheel into your daily routine by measuring your Life Energy status.
Celebrate Spring Equinox with the Egely Wheel
The Egely Wheel is the Universal Life Energy Meter Device, an easy and fun way to harness your life energy. Discover why the Egely Wheel is so trusted by psychics, healers, and anyone interested in a healthier lifestyle.
- Although you’re busy with your day-to-day responsibilities, it’s important to make time for yourself. You’ll perform better in all areas of your life when you can relax. Find what really takes you out of the daily grind. You need moments where you don’t think or stress about anything, just let your mind relax alongside your body.
- In addition to the physical spring cleaning, think about the spiritual cleansing of your home. Burn incense to drive out negative energy and bring in positive energy, place crystals and spiritually energetic plants in strategic places in your home, and make positive intentions and prayers for the well-being of your home and its inhabitants.
Physical renewal is about changing to a healthier lifestyle, trying new sports or increasing outdoor activity. An interesting study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports in 2019, reported that 20,000 participants improved their health and well-being after spending at least two hours a week in nature. The most positive effects were seen when people spent 3-5 hours a week in nature, while less than two hours made no noticeable difference.
- Go on a picnic and enjoy nature, listen to the birds singing, enjoy the warm rays of the sun and the soft breeze, as the Japanese do during the sakura blossom. The picnic basket should contain mainly egg-based dishes, as eggs are a symbol of spring.
- Your lifestyle and the food you eat play an important role in maintaining good health. Eating the right foods will not only help you achieve and maintain the weight you want, it can also help alleviate the spring fever that affects many people. Replenish your body with vitamins and minerals that are essential for internal renewal and energetic functioning.
- By gently massaging the lymph nodes and lymphatic channels, you can speed up lymphatic circulation, allowing you to eliminate accumulated waste and toxins more quickly and efficiently. Lymphatic massage also improves the function of your immune system and can help to eliminate mild cellulite.
- Gardening is not only a way to actively participate in the renewal of nature, but also a positive way to improve your health. Physical activity, contact with nature, cognitive stimulation and satisfaction can all be achieved by tending flowers and edible plants. Even if you don’t have a garden, that should never stop you. You can easily have a flower garden and a modest vegetable garden in the smallest of spaces. Create a therapeutic space for daily sensory exercise.
- As you shed those heavy jumpers, you’ll start to see the extra pounds you’ve put on over the winter. If possible, take your regular exercise outdoors. Sunlight can lift your mood and give you energy and vitamin D. This energy boost often gives you the motivation to start new projects and achieve your personal goals.
Personal and professional development is about learning new skills, rethinking career goals or taking up a creative hobby. The arrival of spring can improve your mood and reduce depressive symptoms which offers a great opportunity for personal renewal and change. A 2017 study found that symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and other mood disorders often improve with increased exposure to sunlight.
Thousands of measurements carried out with the Egely Wheel have also provided answers as to how to reduce stress, and thus increase vitality. I can recommend four reliable factors that definitely help to enhance life energy. They are: sunbathing, physical work, music and a sense of humor. The same individuals had much higher vitality in sunny weather compared to rainy, gloomy weather. That is the reason why there are so many smiling, cheerful people in Mediterranean countries.
- To refresh yourself spiritually, you must first take a look at yourself. Where are you at in your life? Where do you want to go? It’s best to make a list of the things you want to work on and another list of the mental barriers that might be holding you back. Once you know what you want, decide to act. Your actions must match your intentions if you are to achieve your goals.
- Stay positive! If you feel overwhelmed or unmotivated, take a deep breath and relax. Write down the good things in your life that you are grateful for. You can write two good things next to a bad thing to reinforce the good for yourself. It’s also great to go into a positive environment, get some inspirational books, listen to inspirational podcasts or sign up for a skills course.
- A simple exercise to rejuvenate: go to a beautiful natural place when the weather is nice (a river bank, a beach, a forest clearing, a city park, etc.) Sit down and do nothing for half an hour, just observe nature. In this peaceful state, new ideas may come more easily from your subconscious mind. Write them down, relying on your creative, dreamy self. Later you will have time to think things through logically.
- To make sure you don’t miss out on life’s opportunities, it’s important to look outwards as well as inwards. The choice is yours: know yourself, stop self-deception and negative habits. Accept yourself, be intuitive and if you follow your intuition you can expect significant positive changes in your life.
- As the flowers bloom in spring, so must you if you truly want new life. Be curious, alert and receptive, and gradually step out of your comfort zone. There is so much going on in the world, so much potential around you and within you, that if you embrace it, it can change your life in different ways.
Spiritual Revival through Spring Equinox and the Cycle of Nature
The spiritual energy of the spring equinox revitalizes nature. What if you, like nature, thawed and rose from your ashes after the winter darkness and cold? It’s time to put the ideas you’ve been nurturing into action. If you are able to live your life in synchrony with the Universe, you can later, at the summer solstice (Midsummer’s Day), give yourself over to the contented contemplation of your creation.
In tune with the forces of nature, set things in motion throughout the year so that you have something to look back on at the autumnal equinox. Let’s slow down and savor every moment of the changing seasons, celebrate and let this be the beginning of a new tradition.
4 Sources +
Egely Wheel has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references.
- Global music streaming data reveal diurnal and seasonal patterns of affective preference – https://www.nature.com/
- Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
- First Day of Spring 2024: The Spring Equinox – https://www.almanac.com/
- Seasonality in affective disorders – https://www.sciencedirect.com/
