Vernal Equinox + Full Moon in Libra

​Today is the Vernal Equinox, Ostara, the first day of spring. It is a time for celebrating new life, the crocuses sprouting up through the muddy earth of late winter, the return of birdsong, the buds of new leaves and flowers just beginning to sprout at the tips of branches. It is the midway point between the solstices, when the hours of daylight and nighttime are equal, the balanced place as we journey into longer days and the abundance of light. As the Sun moves into Aries—the sign of its exaltation—there’s a burst of energy, the spark of an ignition, the rush of sprinting into something new. Aries is a cardinal fire sign, and in many schemas, it is considered the first sign of the zodiac. It craves freedom and self-sufficiency, charging ahead into new situations and projects, blazing its own path, without necessarily concerning itself with the follow-through or outcome. With springtime beginning to blossom all around us, it certainly feels like the time for new beginnings, new experiences, new ventures, new loves, and new perspectives. But remember that Mercury is still retrograde until March 28, asking for patience, careful review, reflection, and in some cases delay. The equinox is a time of balance, and part of what we’re balancing right now is looking forward and looking back, processing what we’ve said and done as we dream that which is yet to come. With Mars—the ruler of Aries—in Taurus, our drive for erupting into the new may feel tempered by the grounding energy of slowing down, paying attention to body and earth, and finding our footing on solid ground.

Today is also the Full Moon in Libra, the sign of the scales, ruled by Venus. The Moon is gathering up the light of the Sun as it carries us into this new season, and sending it back to us in all its glory. The day and night might be equal, but the light will be constant. This lunar cycle is coming to its climax, reminding us that although some things are just beginning, other cycles are coming to their fullness or completion. We live within and between all of these processes, all of these cycles, and this full moon invites us to consider how we might use all this initiatory energy of the start of spring to also bring process that have already been unfolding into the light. Libra is a cardinal air sign that holds many perspectives and points of view in harmony. It is associated with beauty and grace and justice, and it understands that the more perspectives we can see and the more stories we can hear, the more beautiful our world might become. Justice will never emerge from a single point of view; the full flowering of justice requires us to reach out and listen to others who are not like us, and to find how multiple experiences and truths co-exist.

Blessings on this first day of spring and this full moon.