Vernal Equinox-Winds of Change

Even as we begin to gather and to hug

there is much imbalance still

and perhaps forever.
Whatever forever means.

Equinox reminds us of the moment, of now, of being.
Balance is movement and stillness at once.

These cycles of seasons

almost familiar after decades of witness
with snow surprises
among the joys of renewal.

The stream rages at times as do I.

Spring Up!

Beltaine almost upon us,

trees in the most beautiful bloom,
house surrounded by flowering bulbs and early perennials.
Violets instantly appear everywhere
as always on time.

    

Staying in the present is a changing practice.

At the Equinox
always an anticipatory time
made more so in comparison
to what was last year
and was was in the times before.

                                             

Same and different

as usual

even with the unusual

like late-Spring snows and winds 
or a pandemic

or possible reckoning and revision and righting of wrongs

personal, cultural, environmental.

Maybe breaking open is the only way.

Spring Up! 

        

What follows are some images from our Vernal Equinox Ritual
and Notes from the Day-after

not in order of actual events but of actual recollection.

that liminal space between dew and frost.

Which came first - the chicken or the egg?

Blue birds overhead,
ritual starting with mourning doves and ending as the sun left our horizon

 

always make sure there is enough 

sacrifice

a smooth quarter

from the Earth for the Well

Sudden

Springtime

Abundance

stress & release

POP!

talking about comfort and acceptance

walking with difficulty

also
dancing a jig on the Equinox!

singing of the birds
warmth of the sun

greening of the land

and also

despair and depression and cold winds
crippling fear and excess
unspoken challenge

all this in the bubbling up of Spring

-seeds-

She said she planted too many seeds.
We sacrificed old seed.

Seed in my pocket for witness.

What is your comfort zone?
What is your fear?
What do we hold on to and what do we toss out?

Cleaned and vacuumed like old times.

Made food to share like old times.

Newness and oldness hand in hand.

It can be difficult to facilitate group worship

without catering to or focusing on the needs
of the human group.

melting ice sheets

go BANG on metal

not documented
looking for safe steps
missing the recorded moment

being in the present

He was all day barefoot on the Earth

and it was my first day in many weeks walking on the Earth.

the hammock over the stream
the stream flowing loud
the snow remaining only in the shadows of the garden

fires made from sticks recently blown onto the land
by the changing winds
and lit by her golden wrapping paper

 

spending the day in ritual contemplation

or reverence
noting
how different expressions
of springtime energy

rising up
can feel sometimes
like clashing of tectonic plates
or the ice floes breaking up in the river

swelling of old seed packs

before being consumed by the fire

flash of protein powder

drip drip drip of grease

spilled first on the deck
then as sacrifice into the fire

good to the last drop

grounding

with the Earth

away from others

in silence

words drowned out
by Nature

how to keep moving forward 

when lost

one foot in front of the other

one day at a time

gets thru the calendar

but the longing

for purpose

remains

Maybe we are meant to just witness

and give thanks

the lessons of Spring springing

the lessons of going slow

the lessons of care and compassion

honesty is the best sacrifice

compassion is essential

self & others

space & interconnecting

"it is so wonderful, we don't know what is waiting for us outdoors"

Our Omens

the seed- the action of potential & being

the vehicle- the relationship of horse & rider

the annual harvest- yearly completion of cycles

the day- vantage of high noon

bunnies and bulbs and birds

last year the pandemic fearful halting retreat at Spring
and now
the expansive rapid bursting forth of real Spring

life goes on

new life begins
transformation happens whether we notice it or not