All around the world, different cultures express their gratitude and welcome Spring with celebrations and rituals honouring a new beginning. The Spring Equinox is an annual astronomical event to witness the balance that comes with an equal day and night. The word “equinox” derives its name from the Latin term “eqi” which means “equal” and “nox” which means “night”.

According to the astronomical calendar, there are two equinoxes each year in March and September, when the day and night are approximately 12 hours each everywhere on Earth. Many cultures around the world celebrate the whole day as the March equinox. However, in reality, the equinox occurs at a specific moment in time when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, the imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s Equator, from south to north. At this moment, the Earth’s axis is tilted neither away from nor towards the Sun, but is more perpendicular to the Sun’s rays.

Each culture that celebrates this special day does so in its own unique and  honourable way. We say goodbye to old patterns and clutter and make way for a fresh, vibrant new beginning. It’s a time for rebirth, growth and fertility. To celebrate Spring Equinox some Pagans carry out particular rituals. For instance a woman and a man are chosen to act out the roles of Spring God and Goddess, playing out courtship and symbolically planting seeds. Egg races, egg hunts, egg eating and egg painting are also traditional activities for the Springl Equinox.

Vernal Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring. This turn in the seasons has been celebrated by cultures throughout history who held festivals for their gods and goddesses at this time of year. Examples are Aphrodite from Cyprus, Hathor from Egypt and Ostara of Scandinavia. The Celts continued the tradition with their own festivities .

Today, Pagans continue to celebrate the coming of Spring. They attribute the changes that are going on in the world to an increase in the powers of their God and Goddess (the personifications of the great force that is at work in the world). At the time of Spring Equinox the God and the Goddess are often portrayed as The Green Man and Mother Earth. The Green Man is said to be born of Mother Earth in the depths of winter and to live through the rest of the year until he dies at Samhain. The Spring Equinox is an important astronomical event for Druids and Wiccans, those who follow earth-based (pagan) wisdom traditions and draw on beliefs following nature adoration. In England, Druid and Wiccan groups often gather at Stonehenge to greet the rising sun on the Spring Equinox, which they celebrate as Ostara. During the Vernal Equinox, visitors are allowed access to the inner circle of the stones until the sun has risen after which it is restricted again. After a period of warm greetings and hugs, visitors hold hands, forming a circle, to take a druid’s vow. Gathering in the center of the stones, the groups will then welcome Spring by giving thanks to the east, west, south, and north by raising their hands and turning to each point.

As the sun slowly begins to rise on the east side of the stones, the pagans and druids stand to quietly watch the rising sun and embrace the new light of Spring.