picture from Ascension Earth

I’m sat here with lots of whirling thoughts in my head.. The moon is in Cancer today conjunct my Jupiter in my third house. (any astrology buffs out there know what that means) In plainer terms it means I’m moved to communicate (commune) deeply (Cancer is a water sign associated with feelings). The conjunction of Jupiter only heightens those feelings and expands them. The third house is to do with your local environment and communication. It’s easy for me to write stuff so all this blogging I do comes pretty naturally for me. I work in fits and starts and always on inspiration. I prefer not to force it as it just doesn’t feel good.
The name Easter is derived from the Saxon Eostre (Eastre) The Ancient Saxons in Northern Europe worshipped the Goddess Osetre at the time of The Spring Equinox. The Goddess represents the sunrise, Spring-time fertility and the renewal of life.
ostara
Sat here munching some Scottish oatcakes and some rather yummy “cheese” from a company called Vegusto – for any one you that know me I don’t eat dairy (it makes me feel weird and my body really doesn’t deal well with it) I’ve had some Equinoxal thoughts over the last week though have been too exhausted to get them down here.
The Vernal/Spring Equinox is a time of change, which I welcome gladly. It’s like a pivot point in time. The Sun finally moves into Aries, a time of dynamism and thrusting forward fearlessly! That all sound a little intimidating  yet if we have no courage our lives begin to stagnate and we live in a smaller fear bubble too scared to try anything new. I’m all about change, which is unusual for a Taurean. It’s my dare-devil Aries Rising and Venus in Aries that get me into trouble!
It’s the official start of Spring and it’s been a long, long time coming… I have some good things in the pipeline though everything feels like it’s dragged on and on this Winter. I usually enjoy the Winter and become hermit-like ( I love solitude and being in peace, meditating) This year has felt unbearably dull. I’ve had some nice things happen over the last few months yet I have had a yearning for about a year and a half for much bigger, fun things and I’m slowly finally achieving those goals. Sometimes you have to wait until you are ready for them.
Even though life can be dull, lifeless and tedious. It’s our connection to life that’s skewed not life itself. I’ve been looking after myself and working too much, so now I’m on holiday, my inspiration pops out at the first chance it gets as I’m no longer feeling exhausted. Feeling that way dulls all your senses and hopelessness can creep in. It needs to be addressed by taking care of yourself, that doesn’t mean going to Spa Day or having a massage ( though they are both wonderful things to do) It means taking care of you in a way that’s right for you. Yes we all don’t have a lot of money, so simple things like learning meditation from a good book that you got out the library or watching videos about it on YouTube are all free.
I’m currently reading Mindfulness in Plain English  by Bhante Gunaratana and it’s inspiring as it cuts all the jargon and is a joy to read. Here’s an excerpt from the book:
As your mindfulness develops, your resentment for the change, you dislike for the unpleasant experiences, your greed for the pleasant experiences and the notion of selfhood will be replaced by the deeper awareness of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and selflessness. This knowledge of reality in your experience helps you to foster a more calm, peaceful and mature attitude towards your life. You will see what you thought in the past to be permanent is changing with such inconceivable rapidity that even your mind cannot keep up with these changes. Somehow you will be able to notice many of the changes. You will see the subtlety of impermanence and the subtlety of selflessness. This insight will show you the way to peace and happiness, and will give you the wisdom to handle your daily problems in life.
The challenge or adventure as I prefer to call it, is to seize the day and make it your own. I learnt a long time ago that doesn’t come to you in isolation. It’s about taking care of each other along the way rather than going it alone. My dear friends, I have a few of them, have been there for me many times and I cherish them back as life would be unbearable otherwise. I’m all for quiet peaceful times as I’m actually quite introverted in many ways. Yet to go through life with just yourself makes no sense as it  reinforces the idea of separation – there is none, get over it!  The duality of The Vernal/Spring Equinox; everything is interdependent and interconnected with everything else.

Page 53 Mindfulness in Plain English  by Bhante Gunaratana

I learnt that in fascinating detail on my Permaculture Design Course last year. I’m sat here finishing this blog post and I’m hearing early evening birdsong for the first time.. those birds know what’s going on!
There are two equinoxes every year – in March and September – when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. Seasons are opposite on either side of the equator, so the equinox in March is also known as the “spring equinox” in the northern hemisphere. However, in the southern hemisphere, it’s known as the “autumnal (fall) equinox”.  Taken from Time and Date website
image
So, Welcome To Spring! it is coming slowly, I’ll be out in my garden again soon, “doing Permaculture” I like to mulch my garden before all the mad Spring growth starts. My life mirrors that too:
I’m learning about
Trust,
Better Planning
Excitement
Integrity
and most importantly receiving
(More of that in another post when I’ve worked more with those qualities/jewels)
I’m preparing in good Taurean, patient fashion for the months ahead, laying down my mulch and clearing and sorting. As when the growth shoots up in true Aries style, I’ll be ready.
Music listened to while writing:
David Bowie The Next Day (Deluxe Version)
The+Next+Day DB