Spring Equinox
RITUAL: Morning Routine | SEASON: Spring | HOLIDAY: Spring Equinox
March 20
Spring Equinox is the first day of a new season. Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. It’s a time for a fresh start!
Out with the old, in with the new!
Spring has officially arrived in the Northern hemisphere! In the past, we’ve celebrated the first day of Spring on March 21st. However, astronomers recently started saying that Spring now starts on March 20th, in all time zones across North America.
Today marks a balancing point. On March 20th, there are equal amounts of light and dark. Twelve hours of daylight are followed by twelve hours of night.
The equinox occurs twice a year, once in the Spring and again in the Fall. On this day, when day and night are the same length, Yin and Yang energy are in perfect balance. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, health and wellness are determined by how balanced the Yin and Yang energy is in your body. And achieving and maintain personal energy balance is what I help my private coaching clients do in The 8 Elements Mastery monthly membership.
Spring Equinox is also the astrological new year. The sun enters 00 degrees of Aries, the first sign of the western zodiac. This “First Point of Aries” marks the beginning of a new annual cycle.
Spring Mornings
People often make annual resolutions to wake up earlier so they have time for an elaborate morning routine. While mid-winter is not the time to wake up at the break of dawn, Spring is a good time to start waking up with the sun. If you can, set your alarm to gently wake you up before sunrise. That way you’ll have time to get some lemon water or a warm beverage to enjoy as you watch the sun rise in the East, either outside or from a picture window.
Spring is also a good time to create a morning routine that starts a bit earlier. Your morning routine can be long and super productive, slow and peaceful or short but very effective. Do the things you enjoy and will look forward to each morning. Do the the things that will make you feel accomplished or prepared for the day.
A balanced morning routine includes habits that honor all four aspects of being human. We are physical, emotional, mental and spiritual beings. To begin, make a list of things you can do in the morning that will honor your needs in all of those areas.
Your personal feng shui element is primarily physical, emotional mental or spiritual. Physical elements might like having morning sex or going to the gym and working out first thing in the morning. Emotional elements might like journaling, watering their plants or being creative in the kitchen. Mental elements might like to read a chapter of their book or contemplate their own thoughts in an infrared sauna. Spiritual elements might like giving themselves Reiki, meditating or having some alone time while the house is still quiet.
Whatever you choose to do in the morning, try habit stacking. For example, when you go outside for some morning sunlight, take your Vitamin D supplement. Or, while you’re waiting for you water to boil for tea or your coffee to finish brewing, do some gratitude journaling. Utilize those few minutes to write down at least three things you appreciate about yourself, others or your life. Combine your grounding with your morning qigong or tai chi practice by doing it outside in the grass. While you’re drinking your coffee, read or write your morning pages. While you’re walking, listen to music, a podcast or an audiobook.
Try adding one new thing to your morning routine this Spring. Before brushing your teeth, try oil pulling. With your first glass of water in the morning, take some chlorella or liver detox herbs on an empty stomach. Before taking a warm shower, try dry brushing or body tapping. While you’re doing your am skincare, add some gentle gua sha or cooling ice rolling. While you’re doing some gentle stretching, add some qigong exercises. While you’re meditating, add some breathing exercises.
Spring Greens
One of the things you can do to be in synch with nature is to eat fruits and veggies that are in season. They taste better and studies show they have more nutrients in season. Spring is the time to eat lighter and fresher foods. They will nourish the changing needs of your body as the weather warms up and the days get brighter.
So, visit your local farmer’s market to find fresh produce in season. Look for:
Artichokes
Asparagus
Beets
Carrots
Fennel
Greens: Arugula, Dandelion Greens, Endive, Sorrel, Spinach, Watercress
Herbs: Chives, Dill, Mint, Parsley
Peas
Leeks
Morel Mushrooms
Nettles
New Potatoes
Radishes
Rhubarb
Scallions
Spring Onions
Sprouts
Strawberries
Swiss chard
Turnips
Eat more greens on a daily basis. Add some micro greens to your avocado toast. Sauté some asparagus to eat with your scrambled eggs sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan. Have a side of fresh Spring mixed greens or arugula with your mushroom omelet or spinach and feta quiche. Add spouts to your sandwiches. Cook with fresh herbs, add them to salads or make your own green goddess blended dressings. Make a green juice with celery, green apple, cucumber, ginger and lemon.
Spring Cleaning
Spring really is the time to do a thorough and deep clean of your home, inside and out. Clean all the windows to let the sunlight in. And wash all of the curtains. Power wash the exterior of your home. Steam clean the grout if you have tile or any areas with build up of soap scum or hard water deposits.
Spring Celebrations
Spring can be a time for a lot of personal growth. Intend to learn something new or master an area of study. Prioritize practicing your music, reading books or working on a trade.
Do something today to celebrate Spring today! Buy some fresh flowers. Make a fresh green juice or salad. Prepare a Pasta Primavera with fresh Spring veggies.
Acclimate yourself to the new season by greeting the morning sun. Become a morning person, at least during the Spring months. Honor your morning routine. Sit or eat outside in the morning sunlight to help attune yourself to the Spring daylight.
Renew your personal style. Get a new haircut or some fresh makeup. Put on a new Spring dress.
Perform a ritual. Write an intention on a piece of paper and plant in the soil. Practice a grounding meditation outside in nature.
Spring clean. Declutter and donate anything you don’t need. Refresh your home with something new. Get some new linen sheets for your bed or a fresh new bath mat or some hand towels.
Eat Spring greens and fruits and veggies in season. Eat sour foods like yogurt and grapefruit and pickled foods like kimchi and sauerkraut. Or, pickle your own red onions or other veggies, like carrots and cucumbers.
Start drinking more herbal teas. Take some medicinal herbal tinctures. Make an herbal infused vinegar for salads. Or, make a compound butter with fresh herbs.
Plant a seed. Or, plant a garden! Plant some herbs or flowers in some pots.
Happy Spring Equinox!
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Dara Eden is the author of HER Rituals for the Divine Feminine, a periodical guide created in December of 2021. The 8 Elements, her life’s work, provides guidance about how to honor the essential needs and highest values of your personal feng shui element. Inspired by an Internet challenge designed for men, she created 365WISE, a daily self-care practice that supports women in honoring their needs and listening to their inner wisdom.
In HER Rituals, she offers insights, ideas and intuitive guidance about ways to honor your needs, values and unique expression of the divine feminine.
HER Rituals is a Womb Wisdom KeepHER’s guide to cyclical rituals for sovereign women. It provides insightful information, inspirational ideas and intuitive guidance on daily and seasonal rituals you can practice as a form of self-care. Read about ancient wisdom and philosophical principles, holistic approaches and traditional skills, slow work and intentional living, embodiment practices and immersive experiences.
