Wicc'ed
Ways~Spring Into...Spring!
By Kat Clark Art By Sue Miller
At last, the glorious Vernal Equinox is upon us! Time to put out the pumpkins and candles and… no, wait. Wrong feast… OK, time to paint eggs and hide baskets of… whoops! Naw, wrong religion… So we decorate the May pole with red and white ribbons… er,um... I guess not quite yet.
Gods! So what do we Pagans do to celebrate the Spring? There is that old trick of trying to balance an egg on one end at the exact moment the Equinox happens, but that’s not really a spiritual observance (and a little rough on the eggs, if your timing is off). It seems the symbolic associations of Spring have been scooped up by the Christian church for their Easter celebration (hello Easter Bunny, good-bye fertility symbol), so what’s left?
There are still old, Irish/Celtic folk traditions that go back to the ancient times of vernal celebrations. For starters, the egg was--and still is--part of the observance. They were served at every meal on the day of Equinox, and the shells saved and dried. They would then be tied with string onto a small bush or a limb of a tree and saved until Beltain (the eve of May). At that time, they could be carried through the town and tossed on the Beltain fire, or displayed in the home as a symbol of the Goddess and new life. (By consigning your “May bush” to the Beltain fire, you were setting free the spirit of life and fertility). Just as the eggshells represented the female, so the bush or tree limb symbolized the male creative forces.
There were also “pole dances” held in some villages. These used a strong, tall and straight tree trunk (the predecessor of the May Pole) that could be greased to make it more difficult to climb. At the top of the pole was a cake. This could be an elaborate delight, decorated with every kind of animal around its side. Unwed couples would dance around the pole, after which the young men would try to make it up its length to claim the “prize” at the top. The one who did, brought the cake back down to his female partner, presented it to her, and declared her the Queen of the Feast. This is where the old saying “he takes the cake” comes from!
By climbing the pole, the young man represents the strength and virility of the God, now celebrating the last feast day in his season. By presenting the cake to his female partner, and acknowledging her as “Queen”, she becomes the Goddess. He places all life (as symbolized by the animals) into her hands, as the next feast begins the Goddess season. The cake is then shared with all the dancing couples, just as life flows outward to all from the God and Goddess.
This is also the time when standing stones are decorated with garlands of spring flowers. Any water blessed on this day is thought to have healing powers, and any child born at the Vernal Equinox is said to have the sight--be blessed with psychic gifts.
Finally, the sun was honored at Equinox. It’s rising on this day means we have survived the harshness of the winter and are coming to a point of re-awakening and enlightenment. It was thought to be too prideful to look directly at the sun, so a bucket, barrel or cauldron of water was set nearby. As the sun rose, its rays would touch the water, and the water’s ripples would make those rays dance with joy! This, again, was another way of bring male energy (sun), and female energy (water) together as one.
It’s Equinox. Enjoy your breakfast eggs with your family. Bake a special cake and share it with your friends or neighbors. Watch the sun rise in a cup of water, then drink it down with joy and dancing. The world is about to bloom and change. Join in, and good Sabbat to you!