Happy Fucking New Year
Do you feel that? Feels like a lot… less. A lot lighter. It might even feel like your own sanity has just started to drizzle back into the crevices of your mind. Yay. The dark is finally being quieted down with the rise of the sun and the staying of the sun- out for longer. Now my lack of sanity can be seen in broad daylight because well, we’ll have that now. Longer and warmer daysss. Renewal. Rebirth. The return of light. This is the new year. You have been lied to about everything and this is one of those things. Happy fucking new year.
Spring is quite literally when life begins. The days are warmer and longer and quite frankly more bearable. The birds and bees are out and ABOUT. The wild flowers are blooming. Seeds are being planted in an agricultural sense… why wouldn’t we plant the seeds of our life now, too? Why do we plant the seeds for our futures in the form of New Years resolutions in the beginning of winter? We just push our intuition and instinct to the side as humans all the time and this is one of the ways we do that. Or did. Because spring is your new year now. Please dont ignore that feeling in your nipples. It is spring and it is the new year. The start of something new. Whatever you want that to be. Whatever is calling.
this image is from @cult.class on instagram
The spring equinox: vernal equinox
In Latin, “ver” means spring and “nox” means night.
This is the astrological start of spring in the northern hemisphere. The sun crosses the celestial equator, creating nearly equal say and night lengths globally. It’s as if earth is holding its breath, practicing yoga and breath retention, and moving through Kumbhaka- a pranayama technique involving retention after inhalation (Antara) or exhalation (Bahya).
Each day from the spring equinox (my hero fr) will get longer all the way up until the summer solstice (another hero). Longer freaking days. We can finally stop holding our breath and breathe fully. Life is here. The three year long annual winter has come to a close.
The sun enters Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. And with this information I wish you a happy fucking astrological new year, babe.
@hopehealingarts
The spring equinox has been and is still recognized as the new year in many cultures and civilizations across the globe. It has long been seen as a time of renewal for the individual, for the communities, for nature…
Each year the tradition of the Holi festival is carried on in India and Nepal- a brilliant Hindu festival of colors celebrating the arrival of spring, the triumph of good over evil, and the love absolutely legendary love between Radha and Krishna. Everyone dresses in white and they paint each other with bright colored powders made from plant extracts (not red 40!), water guns, balloons filled with colored water. Millions celebrate together each spring. Bon fires are lit to commemorate the win of good over evil. India has really always known what (the f) is up.
Thousands are also gathering in the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá each year to witness “The Serpent of Life”. The beautiful optical illusion that can be seen as the sun sets on El Castillo, a temple to the feathered serpent god Kukulkán built around 1000 A.D., making it appear as though Kukulkán is slithering down the temple.
Each year the Persian new year coincides with the spring equinox and the start of the 13-day festival of Nowruz (Persian for “new day”). Nowruz originated 3,000 years ago and is still celebrated by millions today in Iran, Central Asia, and Middle Eastern countries. This is a secular holiday rooted in Zoroastrianism. A pre festival ritual is an extremely meticulous spring cleaning: “khaneh tekani.” This is done to purge a home’s negative energy. Another pre ritual is jumping over fire to symbolically cleanse this past years negative energy and experiences. Participants prepare the ceremonial Haft-Seen table that houses seven symbolic objects starting with the letter “S” in the Persian language.
In Japan, Shunbun no Hi (Vernal Equinox Day) has always marked a time of reflection and renewal. The religious roots of this holiday can be traced to Buddhism and Shinto beliefs. The public holiday is part of the seven-day Haru no Higan period that honors the spirits of deceased ancestors and loved ones and sates back 1,000 years.
Each year in Zurich, Switzerland locals explode locals an 11-foot-tall snowman-like effigy. Even though this tradition is now held on the third monday of April, the ceremony is still held to say goodbye to the winter and hello to the warmer months. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages. They even say they can predict the upcoming weather- if the snowman explodes quickly it’ll be a very warm summer.
The Babylonians were the earliest recorded civilization to center their new year around spring (approx. 2000 B.C.). They created their lunisolar calendar to begin each year with the first new moon after the spring equinox. They felt their agricultural process should begin in spring, a.k.a. planting seeds. They held a 12-day new year celebration in nisannu (March-April) called Akitu to rejuvenate life.
Renewal. Growth. A return to light.
January 1st is definitely the start of the calendar year that is used in western civilization (the Gregorian calendar). But the spring equinox is the new year. Says nature. Says culture. Says a woman (me) so it’s true. India says, so it’s true as fuck. Renewal. Growth. A return to light. The birds are chirping again and the bugs are out. We have the desire to go outside and the desire to start new projects. Go with these desires. Start anew. Change your perspective. Take this how it resonates and fly with that. And consider taking yourself outside of the pot this spring and planting yourself in a bigger space fit for your expanding consciousness, or perhaps- letting yourself grow naturally no pots no limits. In the realest sense, its time to throw ass in the sun amongst the wild flowers and budding greenery.
Happy fucking new year.
