The Surfacing of our Roots
Ancestral Thoughts on the Vernal Equinox
Today, the day and the night are equal. This offers us a time when we can find balance.
Within this balance, my thoughts flow to a time when our phones did not send us a reminder, an app did not explain the energies of this sacred time, nor did we have books to tell us about it. Instead, we felt it within our bodies. Noticing the shifts in the land, how the animal’s behaviors changed, and we saw the weather begin to warm.
In time, with this connection to the shifts, we paid attention to the stars, the placement of the sun, and the moon. We noticed how the shadows grew shorter, then longer again, and we created temples and sacred places to observe these returning themes.
Within these returning themes, and within these sacred places, we envisioned sacred deities, giving us somewhere to place our intentions. Sometimes in silence and sometimes with others, we shared our whispers and prayers. A way to make sense of a hard winter and a way to look forward to the sun’s more prominent return. A way to validate our existence as we are equally connected to the soil and stars as everything else. Balanced within the beautiful flow of nature.
Within these thoughts, I turn to the past. Looking behind me. Turning my head to see what walks behind me, as if I am walking home and feel a stranger’s presence, the mere energy of them calling me to turn around.
As I turn I am reminded of the past, and what this seasonal shift meant. How it was a time of fertility, and a time when the roots that once slept begin to awaken. A delicate time for if we planted too soon, a sudden frost could kill, and if we planted too late, we could miss a fertile period.
How it took generations, in each place our ancestors lived, to grow acquainted with the soil. To know the language of the land, just as well as the language of the people. How the plants that we grew, resonated best with our bodies. How the medicines we created were also our food. How the plants that offered us poison, could offer us healing. How we respected our organic surroundings like we respected our elders. The land speaking to us each year. Some years blessing us, and others offering us lessons.
Let this day of balance remind us of our roots and where we each have come from. Let it remind us that our connection to our body, our connection to others, and our connection with our life path is best felt within. Just like the roots that grow dormant in the winter, we are awakening. Every year a gift, or a lesson.
Let the lessons of this past winter, carry you into this next season. Offering you growth, connection, and nourishment.
Equinox blessings,
Annie
