Equinox, Spring and the census

What a busy weekend this has been and a busy week as well. But the Equinox has passed and the days will get warmer and lighter. I love this time of the year as Spring shows its head among the grasses and trees. The catkins are doing well and the blackthorn blossom is stunning and it is noticeably warmer when the sun is out.

The UK census came today as well. I filled mine in yesterday but won’t be around to see what everyone else has written. As a family historian I love the census and am waiting for the 1921 census to come on-line next year. The census is a snapshot of life at one point in every ten years and we can see how life has changed for everybody. For many this last year has changed their lives dramatically and their lives may never be the same again.

But back to Spring. I was lucky this week to get my first walk in my new area. My son and I went to a nearby village where there is a nature reserve around a large lake. It was muddy and there was the occasional spot of rain but it was wonderful to be out in nature again after a gap of several weeks. There was so much to see, flowers, catkins, birds of various kinds and to just enjoy the scenery. It was peaceful too and I found myself being refreshed on all levels. There are many lakes in this area, old gravel pits but there are still working gravel pits as well. It is also an area of great archaeological interest too. I am looking forward to more forays out there when permitted by the restrictions.

There is much to look forward to despite the current situation and looking forward and being positive is important to our health. Stay safe and enjoy the wonder of Springtime.

Random thoughts at the Equinox

Equinox, a time of equal day and night, a balance between the two. But everything around us seems out of balance. I do think that the Equinox also signals change as we prepare for the darker days and the colder weather here in the UK. I look around me at the chaos in our world and try to stay balanced but that is hard to do.

After my time out I felt energised and able to do things I had needed to do for a long time. That soon came to a halt as my body decided otherwise and some tiny movement unwittingly triggered a sequence of pain in various parts of my body. So much for balance!

There are definite signs of autumn in the garden as the flowers die back and the hedge has had its annual trim. I have a wonderful thick hedge left over from when this area was farmland. It consists of hawthorn mainly but there is holly and elder also in it. It provides a wonderful home for many birds and also food for them as brambles also grow there. It is still thick and high though and the birds still love it. They give me enjoyment too as I can sit and watch them for hours.

At this moment as I write this blog, the rain is pouring down heavily. We do need the rain and I am sure when it stops everything will look brighter and greener as the dirt and dust is washed away. Rain is so cleansing. But I do not like the dark days as I find them depressing. Trying to stay in balance is hard then too.

This week I was working at my table when something outside caught my eye. A dragonfly which decided to sit on my garden path. I tried to take a photo through the window but it wasn’t very good so took my camera outside hoping that the dragonfly was still there. I then discovered there were two of them having fun mating on my path. I don’t know where they would go to lay the eggs but I am not too far from a small river and lake in the nearby country park. I felt quite privileged that they had chosen my garden path for the their mating union. A positive end to my ramblings. The dragonflies can be the photo for this blog.

Finding the balance

We have just celebrated the Equinox, a time of equal day and night. I have been taking a look at what is in balance in my and our world and what is out of balance. Looking at myself first of all, I have noticed that some things are in balance while others are not. If we look at our emotional, physical and mental bodies, are they all in balance? I think my emotional and mental bodies are in balance but not my physical one so I must find ways to deal with this. Next I looked at how I spent my days.

I am retired so don’t have to go to work but I do spend a lot of time working, either writing, making music or writing music and doing art work. Of course these could be considered as leisure activities! But sometimes they can be very hard work as well. I try to find a balance between doing these things and resting, taking time just to sit and stare, generally at the garden. I have been watching the blackbirds building their nest. It is a beautiful nest but I don’t want to disturb them by getting too close so I have not taken a photo of the nest. But watching the birds is an important part of my day. There are many of them and many different ones even though each one seems to have a character of its own.

There are many other things to look at for balance, do we/I overeat? Do we/I drink too much? Do we/I get angry or sad? Both of these make you out of balance especially anger. I look at the world around me and find very little of balance there. Our world is in crisis and our leaders seem paralysed and cannot make decisions to do the right thing. They are too busy fighting amongst themselves and making sure they get plenty of money to look out for the environment and the people they serve. So trying to keep myself in balance is important. I hope you can all do the same. Surely if we ourselves can stay in balance it will influence our world.

Balance

We are now at the Autumn Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, a time when day and night are equal and in balance. The sun is in the sign of Libra which is again about balance.

So a time of balance and it is time maybe to look at how our world and its inhabitants are in balance or not in balance as the case may be. Taking a look at nature itself first of all. The food chain shows balance in nature but what if one part of this chain  has too many members and wipes out another part of the chain? It can take some time to get back in balance and in some cases when a species has been wiped out, that part of the chain can stay broken for a long time.

On a larger scale perhaps, what about our world? The number of wars and refugees and areas of great poverty shows us that our world is not in balance. Not only wars but there is the way we have been stripping our earth of its assets, plundering the soils and forests for material gain. This is not a way of balance.

But what of ourselves, our bodies and our lives. If we overeat all the time or drink too much then we get out of balance. What we eat plays a part in this too. Too much of one kind of food can also make us out of balance. Our mental states can also get out of balance as we get stressed or depressed. How we spend our money can also make us out of balance. Do we buy too many gadgets or clothes or chocolates? If we do then we can easily get out of balance.

So now at the time of balance of the Equinox, for me it is time to take a look at my life and see what is out of balance so I can do something about it. I hope I have encouraged you to do the same.

Spring Equinox

Alban Eilir, the Spring Equinox is nearly here. It is the time of equal day and night but a time of looking forward to longer days. Everything in nature is awakening at this time. The sun is gaining strength and the days grow longer and warmer. Catkins and blossom can be seen on the trees as well as buds while spring flowers show themselves and lambs appear in the fields.

It is time to reach out for what we want for ourselves and the world; time to begin new ventures, journey and make plans. It is time also to work towards balance in ourselves which will bring healing and change into our lives. We can look forward with joy to the months still to come and celebrate this time.

The symbolic plant for Alban Eilir is the trefoil or shamrock. This plant is worn on St. Patricks day which is on the 17th March, very near to the Equinox. The three leaves of the shamrock symbolise the Trinity but also the Triple Goddess; Artemis, Triple Moon Goddess of the Greeks. She fed her hinds on trefoil. Oestre, the Goddess of Light is also associated with this festival as she brings fertility in the Spring.

Things you can do at this time include planting seeds, decorating eggs, meditating with trees, plan for the coming months and let go of things you no longer need.