Spring conjures pictures of blooming daffodils and sunny afternoons. But that seems like a cruel joke in soggy Northern California. Just last week the “Pineapple Express,” the 11^th of the season, battered rooftops with ferocious winds and downed trees. Another storm is due tomorrow. Yet today, March 20, the sun crossed the celestial equator. Light and dark  aligned in perfect balance: the Spring Equinox.

As the seasons collide and change, I feel my impulse to hunker down in front of the fire running head on into my desire to get out in nature and explore. But I sense that it’s only a matter of time before sunshine wins out, snow melts, and the trees begin to sprout new leaves.

“In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”

–Mark Twain

As Above, So Below

With the heavens aligned, how are we humans manifesting the burst of energy inaugurated by the Spring Equinox?

Ancient wisdom tells us, “As above, so below.” There is a through line to the seasons as one morphs into the next. Spring is irresistible. For millennia, we’ve celebrated the changing position of the sun and the birth of new life. Our ancestors awaited new growth just as eagerly as we do, and they honored it with festivals.

The Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox festival, known as Ostara, named after the Greek goddess Eostre was celebrated by Pagans on the Sunday following the first full moon after the equinox, the same day as our modern Easter.

As a kid, I loved Easter. I’d get a new dress with a starchy new crinoline, and shiny patten leather shoes. We would dye and hide Easter eggs, and magically an Easter basket would appear lined with bright green grass and filled with chocolate eggs and a big chocolate bunny. Rabbits. Eggs. Jellybeans. These rituals honor new life, much as the ancients did.

Traditions that Honor Spring

In the Chinese system of Wu Xing, the Five Elements or Five Phases, spring is associated with the color green, a green dragon, and the direction of the east where the sun rises each day. Its climate is wind, and its element is wood, and it’s associated with the sound of shouting. To celebrate the change of seasons, face east, fly a kite, and make some noise!

Another important tradition is spring cleaning, a way to restore balance and order in your home and lay the groundwork for new beginnings. Decluttering guru Marie Kondo builds a strong case for how tidying can affect us mentally and emotionally in her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. She claims that a thorough cleaning and decluttering can help us let go of our attachment to the past and relieve anxiety about the future.

Spring Projects

I’ve found great wisdom and solace through tidying, although I don’t practice it as rigorously as Kondo recommends. I recently culled my collection of books and rearranged them in categories. Now, I can more easily find my chosen selection. Instead of a bedside table cluttered with books, I now have them in a special section of my office bookshelf.

My spring project – now that the tax documents are with our accountant – is to tackle my files. As a writer, I generate and store an immense amount of paper. Once a year, at least, I have to sort and let go of several pounds of research and old first drafts, not to mention magazines I never got around to. I always feel better and lighter when I do it.

The equinox is also an ideal time to begin planning and planting a garden. It’s fun to buy new plants and put them in the ground or in pots on your patio. Getting my hands in the soil always feels like a fresh start, and when summer rolls around my plants reward me with beauty.

The Rhythm of the Seasons

For me, the surest sign of spring are California poppies, bright orange flames, sprouting on the hillsides. I don’t have to plan for or plant them, yet they magically reappear in early March year after year. When I let myself sink into the rhythm of the seasons and trust that nature is wise and ever changing, when I appreciate and celebrate her beauty, I feel renewed.

As we mark the equinox, I’ll find ways to honor the transition to spring no matter what the weather brings. I hope you will too. New growth and new beginnings never cease, no matter our stage in life. Let’s clear the decks for whatever is being born anew in our lives.

What spring traditions and rituals inspire you? Share them here.

This post originally appeared in the Rossmoor News in slightly different form.