Spring - It’s him
It’s him
Loops lets flutter spring so blue,
flutter freshly through the skies;
odor-sweets from earth arise,
memories of yore so true.
Violets by now in dreams,
wanting soon to come.
– Hark, sounds far a harp so gently beams!
Spring, hence there thou art!
Yet I’ve heard thee hum!
Eduard Mörike (1804-1875)
Gentle and reliable, it returns, reminding us of the new beginnings that always courageously follow when winter fades away. It's almost like a miracle when the first snowdrops emerge from the pale ground, ushering us into the season of growth and blossoming.
Nature awakens once again, tantalizing our senses with scents, colors, and vitality that inspire us out of our perceived wintering back into community. Add a blue sky and gentle sunshine, and we feel the vitality spreading powerfully from head to toe, from heart to heart.
Spring is the time of awakening, falling in love, growth, and the fulfillment of the promise of cyclicality: Everything begins anew, and after the cold of winter comes the cheerfulness of spring.
The quality of gratitude may manifest and be lived in this season, as well as that of surprise and humility.
In this article you will be tuned into the the symbolic and cyclical significance of this season, which invites us to go into expansion, to be bold and to connect our heart with the blossoming nature.
THE SACRED FESTIVALS OF Spring
Spring Equinox
The Spring Equinox heralds the new beginning, the awakening, and the sprouting, celebrated on March 20th/21st. The goddess of spring takes us into the rebirth of the cycle of seasons with each of her steps, awakening nature, and fields become fertile grounds.
More daylight falls on the Earth, which among other effects stimulates the production of the hormone "serotonin" in humans, charges our vitamin levels, and thereby brings our holistic system into new vigor and vitality.
You will surely recall other religious festivals that resonate with the themes of new beginnings and resurrection and are celebrated in the spring. What unites them all is the celebration of triumph over darkness and cold, thus reviving the memory of the cycle of light, renewal, and birth.
Fertility is seen as the central theme of this nature festival, and according to Carl Gustav Jung, the goddess can also be seen as the mother archetype and the embodiment of resurrection. This divine energy of spring is described as a maiden who freely and wildly follows her heart, bravely entering into the new.
Symbols of spring include not only hares, revered for their great fertility, but also eggs. If chickens are allowed to live without artificial light, the longer daylight now contributes to their laying eggs again, thus bringing new life into the world.
The Spring Equinox also marks the beginning of the new astrological year and the transition from the clarifying, transcendental Pisces season to the powerful Aries, represented as the first of the 12 sun signs in astrology.
Beltane - Walpurgis Night
A true fertility festival where we are allowed to leap over our own shadows and indulge in lust, joy, sensuality, and connection. Originally celebrated on the 5th full moon after the winter solstice, it has no fixed date. Meanwhile, the night from April 30th to May 1st has been set.
At this festival, young couples jump over the broom to celebrate their "engagement." Together, they now spend a year minus one day as a community, and if this union endures, the wedding takes place. One reason why the month of May is so strongly associated with weddings.
At the same time, this night is also known for the gathering of wise women at ritual, powerful locations for ceremonies and festivities.
Christianity and the associated witch hunts truly demonized this night and regarded it as a symbol of unwanted rituals. It was believed that the witches flew on their brooms through the air to the Brocken in the Harz Mountains (the Blocksberg) to unite with the devil. This was also taken up by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his work "Faust." In the scene "Walpurgis Night's Dream" in the second part of "Faust," this is described as a demonic festival celebrated by witches, demons, and other supernatural beings. The scene also takes place on the Brocken in the Harz Mountains and is used as a symbol for the dark sides of human life and nature.
The Brothers Grimm also devoted a fairy tale to this story: "Walpurgis Night," in which a witch helps a young woman who has been raped, rejected, and impregnated. During Walpurgis Night, the young woman is visited by an old woman who warns her of the consequences of her actions. Out of fear, she returns to the father who rejected her and receives forgiveness. From today's perspective, it becomes very clear how evil the actual narrative is and how misogynistic it is colored. A poignant quote from the fairy tale is: "Be content with your fate, no matter how hard it may be, it will change."
In truth, these witches and druids did not rise on their brooms through the air but through a hallucinogenic flying ointment that caused a psychedelic effect and thus enabled traveling through dimensions.
This custom was condemned, persecuted, and condemned as pagan by Christianity.
What remains to this day are the symbols of new beginnings and the more conventional and supposedly romantic expressions of love: the setting up of the maypole - when a man wants to make a love offer to a woman or more clearly formulated: wants to display and offer his potency through the tree, the phallic symbol.
Likewise, the big fire is lit, through which people jump for cleansing, protection, transformation, and again the symbol of fertility and union. Mostly at the so-called "dance into May."
In my hometown, other sometimes harmful, sometimes romantic pranks are played. One morning on May 1st, a young woman woke up and found a chalk line in front of her front door, drawn through the entire village onto the street, leading to her romantic partner's house.
The Element of Spring: Air
The element of air is traditionally associated with spring.
Lightness, agility, communication, openness, and the alert mind - everything seems to come back to life with the first rays of spring.
"Man survives three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minutes without air."
Our lungs fill with air, which is then processed by our whole system as an extremely essential and valuable component for our vitality.
The form of air varies from a warm, gentle breeze and can transform into destructive tornadoes and hurricanes in the blink of an eye.
Fresh wind necessitates movement and transformation and is not always invisible. Think here of sand dunes, the waves in the sea, and the matter that can be eroded and moved by storms. Even we can sail with a tailwind, whether literally or symbolically.
Think of your sense of smell, which receives new stimulation through blooming and thriving in the spring and can perceive the element in new qualities. In fact, it is also the season in which many people are confronted with challenges in the form of allergies by breathing in the spring air, as if the system were overwhelmed by this new, seemingly sudden abundance.
At the same time, the winds carry these pollens to places where they are welcome and only waiting to be transformed into precious and enriching plants and fruits. Air also invites us to trust this wind and surrender to it, to float, and also to consciously let go of the ground under our feet - for a new perspective, to find exactly the starting point that will be a good breeding ground.
Sometimes it takes fresh air to reconsider the topics from a bird's eye view, then we can "make air" for ourselves through language and expression and relieve ourselves holistically.
Air also stands for freedom and expansiveness, which can inspire us in feeling and thus stimulate ideas, creativity, and thinking.
In the sky, we symbolically find the world of dreams, desires, and spirituality - yet hardly any element judges us as harshly as the Swords in the Tarot.
This element revolves around knowledge, thinking, intellect, analysis, and strategy, often portrayed in dramatic symbolism. The tarot cards often admonish us to reconsider and rethink, urging us to learn a new structure of thought and belief, and thus gain a new perspective. Here, we are alerted to conflicts, struggles, and losses, while clarity, decision-making, and communication are also implied.
In the Major Arcana, The Fool represents new beginnings, joie de vivre, and adventure, traditionally associated with the element of air, Uranus and Spring.
Astrology and Tarot Cards for Spring
Aries and The Emperor
The powerful Aries is the first zodiac sign in the astrological calendar and begins on March 20th/21st. It represents an archetype that impulsively ventures into the new and is present there. The planet Mars is considered the traditional ruler of this zodiac sign and can be associated with drive, courage, assertiveness, and aggression.
Interestingly, it is The Emperor associated with Aries in the Major Arcana. Strength, control, and comic father. He is the authority, order, and the rational. The natural leadership, determination, and initiative are further clarified here. Think again of spring, which also progresses with determination and security, initiating the new cycle - knowing well that sunlight will favor its expansion and growth over months.
Taurus and The Hierophant
The Taurus season begins on April 20th, associated with the planet Venus. Love, abundance, sensuality, and material pleasures are omnipresent when these archetypes are revealed. Appropriately, May is also called the "month of bliss" and is initiated by the Beltane festival, celebrating passion and lust. The bloom is in its full splendor, and spring is at its peak - who wants to think of transience here? It is almost understandable that persistence, constancy, or stability may prevail here. This season is associated with the element of earth, thus humility, connection to nature, and the intense lived experience of connecting material beauty with spirituality.
In the Tarot, The Hierophant embodies this connection to Taurus and the element of earth. In old decks or other languages, this card is clearly attributed to the Pope and associated with the planet Jupiter. This can represent the pursuit of expansion, development, and growth on various levels. This planetary energy is interpreted with the Hierophant as spiritual guidance, teachers, institutions, systems, and traditional wisdom. Knowledge through the pursuit of deep understanding of life, the search for higher consciousness, and the teachings of the universe. The Hierophant can also indicate rigid systems, dogmas, and immobility, as well as inertia and secrets.
"Do not search for a mystery that can be hidden by men. Seek the Mystery within yourself. The Path is in yourself, and Truth is in yourself and Mystery is in yourself." -
P.D. Ouspensky, The Symbolism of Tarot (1913).
Gemini and The Lovers
Gemini is associated with the element of air and begins around May 21st. This archetype embodies versatility, curiosity, and communicative abilities, associated with the planet Mercury. In Roman mythology, Mercury is the god of trade, thieves, travelers, and diplomacy. He is often depicted with winged shoes and a helmet, and is considered a messenger of the gods, capable of traveling between worlds - between humans and gods. Even to the gods of the underworld, to act there as a medium in the role of mediator and message bearer. This requires great skill to process, analyze, and communicate information, thus enabling the recipient to receive the message.
In the Tarot, the card of The Lovers is associated with Gemini. Especially in a love reading, this is a welcome card, as it is immediately associated with a romantic relationship. Which can be true. However, the romantic relationship with another individual is not always meant. More often, speaking from my own work, the card appears when people show unrealized potentials in their connectedness and affection for themselves. Often, it shows the duality inherent in all of us, and the realization that there are aspects within us ready to be acknowledged and loved. The impulse that follows is the work on authentic self-love, which forms the basis for any valuable relationship externally.
Rituals AND inspiration FOR Spring
Declutter, clean, and smudge your apartment.
During times of transition, it always makes sense to declutter your belongings. Determine what is worth keeping, what is ready to be let go of, what is no longer serving you, and which items will be cherished more by another person. Take a look into the corners of your home - the ones where you store items to be sorted out during your free time ;). Dedicate your time and energy to them, make space, and move things around. Clean your house and smudge after your work is done. When it comes to smudging, I always recommend using local herbs and plants. If you don’t have a garden, go to your local market and see what kinds of herbs are sold. You can choose intuitively or connect with herbs that cleanse and dissolve stagnant energy. You might appreciate this practice as it encompasses all elements: Air cleansing: Ventilation / Fire: Smudging / Water: Washing / Earth: Collecting an item from nature for your altar
Work with sound!
Put on a sound healing session and ask the vibrations to cleanse your house. This Sound Channeling was created for this intension.
Establish new routines.
Nature always works in our favor. You can be very sure that you’ll be supported by this fresh and invigorating energy that is in the air when establishing new routines, especially in the morning. How about starting the day with meditation to align with your daily energy? Ask your mind, heart, and body what their priority for the day is. Have a warm glass of water before your coffee (I recommend boiling it the night before). This serves as a gentle "Good Morning" for your digestion and helps your stomach wake up easily.
Take your menstrual blood to a place in nature
What a great moment to start working with your cycle in a different way. It is a very special opportunity for those who menstruate to offer their menstrual blood to nature. A diva cup can help you do so. This is a great way to connect with your own blood, viewing it in a different light and almost harvesting what your body created. Making such an offering feels very intimate and sacred - remember, menstrual blood is an extremely potent and nourishing fluid. To me, it is an enriching practice for the soil, your spiritual being, and embodying the power of a cycle. It can symbolize your connection with the earth and give back what was given to you through food and the blessing of walking on this planet.