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Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 19, 2012 at 11:48am

For Wiccans and some Witches, Ostara is a fertility festival celebrating the birth of Spring and the reawakening of life from the Earth. The energies of Nature burst forth, leaving behind Winter death to replace it with the new light and life of Spring.

It is at this time when light and darkness are in balance, yet the light is growing stronger by the day. The forces of masculine and feminine energy, yin and yang, are also in balance at this time. It is the time when the World is awakening, trees budding, flowers stretching their leaves out to the sun. It is a rebirth of the world after the cold Winter months. The Vernal Equinox is also a festival of Fertility of the Earth, the crops, the plants and trees.

In 2012 Ostara occurs on March 20th at 1:14AM Eastern. This lesser Sabbat is celebrated on the Vernal or spring equinox on or around March 21st.

Ostara signifies the time when the Great Goddess, who was a virgin at Imbolc, is now joining with the Sun God, she conceives a child which will be born at Yule.

In keeping with the Wheel of the Year Ostara is a time to celebrate new beginnings and opportunities. Ostara is seen as a time of renewal so it is also an excellent time for “Spring Cleaning” not only to clean the physical realm but also to clear away negative influences as well. One way of clearing unpleasant energies from the home might be to hand wash all the floors while rubbing in a “clockwise” direction as this is thought to bring in positive energies and encourages growth.

This is a time of beginnings, action, planting spells, and of tending the gardens. This is the start in the Pagan year of spring, at least among Wiccans and Celtics. The first flowers are praised and the God and Goddess thanked for the true return to happier times for all. Feasting and socializing are the important factors in this holiday as well as the celebration of the return of color to the natural world. In the Christian calendar, again to draw early worshipers, they marked this as the final days and rebirth of Jesus (when according to history he died in June!)

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 19, 2012 at 11:48am

10 Tips and Facts For Ostara/Easter

By Francesca Ashcroft

Ostara, Oestra, Eostre or in fact Easter. Call it what you like, it's time for the spring equinox - and the fun that follows! Ostara is actually a Pagan festival and was gleefully anticipated as it marks the end of the gloomy winter months and heralds in the warmer days and lighter evenings. It meant that the land would once again become bountiful, the lambing season was in full swing and the bleak winter months were coming to an end. So, what is the traditional way to celebrate Ostara? Here's 10 tips and facts!

1) The Goddess Ostara lends her name to this festival. She represents fertility, renewal and balance between the day and night.

2) Eggs were painted and carried by children, a tradition we maintain they were eaten (if they were cooked!) at the end of the day.

3) It was the hare, rather than the rabbit, that was depicted as the symbol of fertility due to their prolific mating at springtime.

4) Yellow and green are the traditional colours for Ostara. Daffodils display these perfectly and are used to decorate Wiccan altars or are simply carried at festivals. Otherwise, yellow and green candles are perfect.

5) Cooking and lively feasts were a popular part of all Pagan festivals and Ostara is no exception. As mentioned above, eggs were important ingredients but so were herbs such as thyme and mint.

6) This is also a time for planting seeds and beginning a glorious time of growth. Herbs are popular now that fewer of us are farmers by profession! Seeing as there is also quite a lot of rain at this time still, it really helps to garner the energies of the earth if you water your seeds with collected rainwater - particularly if they're indoors.

7) Ostara is a lunar festival and the full moon brings forth powers of intuition, creativity and protection. Witchcraft or Wiccan spells cast during this time will usually have to go a full moon phase before bringing results.

8) The symbolism of Ostara is renewal and regeneration. So emotionally it is a time to let go of the past and to only focus on the path ahead. It's a time for making plans and adopting a positive frame of mind. And if you really feel good about embracing change, you can do a bit of spring cleaning too!

9) Walking is also very popular at this time of year. It brings with it an appreciation of the changes in the landscape and provides the simple joy of being able to be outside after the confinement of winter.

10) In the northern hemisphere, Ostara is celebrated between the 20th to the 22nd March and varies every year due to it being a lunar festival. For those in the southern hemisphere, it is the 20th to the 22nd of September

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 19, 2012 at 11:04am

Beyond Eggs: Ways to Celebrate Oestara-
~by Melanie Fire Salamander

The wheel of the year turns; the days get longer, dawns earlier. The Spring Equinox, Oestara, approaches. You want to celebrate, but how? The same way you did last year? Nah, boring. Or maybe you’ve never planned an Oestara ritual before. Maybe it’s a holiday you’ve always gotten stuck on: You understand Imbolc, you understand Beltaine, but Spring Equinox — what do you do then? Following are some ideas to get your imagination ticking.
First, as with any Sabbat, consider whether you want only to celebrate the time of year and the goddesses and gods of spring or also to perform magick to accomplish a goal. If you want to perform magick, what goals do you and your co-ritualists have, and how do you work for those goals in magick appropriate to the time of year?
Whether you perform magick or simply celebrate, your Oestara rites begin with understanding the time of year. If Litha, June 21 or thereabouts, is Midsummer, Oestara is Midspring. It’s the second of the three spring holidays, Imbolc marking spring’s first glimmer and Beltaine spring’s height and power. If Imbolc is about inspiration, Beltaine about consummation, Oestara is about growth. At Oestara, the seed that stirred at Imbolc sprouts and pokes its head above ground. At Oestara, you can begin to feel spring: The crocuses and daffodils are out; the cherries blossom. The air smells of wet earth and flowers; earth and air begin to warm. You see the tall spring cumulus, feel the first spring wind, greet kite-flying weather. You can make your Oestara ritual part of this burgeoning spring, celebrating Earth’s fertility and the fertility in your own life.
You can also consider Oestara as a time of balance between light and dark. Night and day equally divide the 24 hours now; the dark half of the year gives way to the light. You can perform rituals to ask for balance in your life, and to honor both dark and light.
You can also work with Oestara as the first quarter of the Sun-year, parallel to the first quarter of the Moon. It’s a time to start new things or to consolidate beginnings. If the first inspiration began at Imbolc, now is the time to pour on nurturance and growth. You can also plant new seeds now. Symbolic associations for Oestara include the element air, the direction east and the time of dawn.
In a related association, this time belongs to the Maiden and her parallel the Young God. Other gods and goddesses concerned with Spring Equinox include the Greek wine-god Dionysos and his Roman counterpart Bacchus; the Greeks held Dionysia at Spring Equinox, when the new wine made the previous harvest was first drunk. The Norse at equinox celebrated the feast of the goddess Iduna, bearer of the magick apples of life, symbol of the light half of the year. We get the name of the holiday from the Germanic goddess Eastre or Oestara, whose symbolism is similar to Aphrodite’s, whose associations include Near-Eastern Astarte and Indian Mother Kali and whose consort is the lusty Moon-Hare.
On the day before the equinox, the Greeks and Romans honored wisdom goddess Athena and her counterpart Minerva. Rhea, mother of Greek Sky-Father Zeus and an aspect of the Great Mother, has her feast day March 15. March as a whole is sacred to the Roman god Mars and his Norse equivalent Tyr, and to the Anglo-Saxon Earth-Mother Hertha.
To celebrate Oestara, you can do any of the following, or use these ideas as a springboard.
Get out in Nature.Take a walk around your neighborhood or favorite park. See which plants are sprouting, which budding, which blooming, which still are in the grips of winter. Feel the air; smell the scents of Oestara.
Clear a space for a garden, or start flowers, herbs or vegetables indoors.It’s too early in this climate to plant fruits and vegetables; frosts can happen as late as April in the Northwest. But you can clear weeds, grass and rubbish from the spot where you plan a garden, or you can start seeds indoors. Check with your favorite garden store what flowers and vegetables might best be started now.
Pick up litter at your favorite park or beach.Help the earth rejuvenate by getting rid of the mess. Even an hour of cleanup can make a big difference.
Ritually color hard-boiled or blown eggs.Eggs, a potent symbol of fertility, figured in pagan spring worship long before their appropriation by the Christian Easter. Ukrainian pysanky, blown eggs with patterns drawn in wax and dyed, are pagan amulets for fertility, prosperity and protection. Pysanky have come to us basically unchanged in form from the hunter-gatherers of Eastern Europe.
For your own rituals, you can draw in crayon or white wax on hard-boiled eggs symbols that represent things you want in the coming sun-year, or write on the eggs these things’ names, or both. You can then use Easter-egg or natural dyes to color the eggs; your wax symbols and writing will stand out against the dye-color. Next, raise energy in ritual for your goals, charge the eggs with that energy, then peel and eat the eggs, taking in the things you want to manifest. Alternatively, you can mark and dye unboiled eggs, then crack tiny holes in both ends with a pin and blow out the matter inside, keeping the eggshell on your altar.
Perform oomancy (divination by eggs).To perform the most common form of egg-divination, separate egg whites and yolks. You then drop the white into hot water and divine from the shapes it assumes.
Perform love or other divination with apples.Apples are a Northern European pagan symbol of spring and of love. You may recall from childhood two forms of love-divination by apple, using the seeds and the stem.
To divine whether someone loves you by apple seeds, choose and eat an apple thinking of your loved one. Next, split the core and count the seeds chanting this rhyme: One I love, two I love, three I love I say, four I love with all my heart, five I cast away; six she loves, seven he loves, eight they both love; nine s/he comes, ten s/he tarries, eleven s/he courts, twelve s/he marries. To divine the first letter of your spouse-to-be’s name, twist an apple’s stem while chanting the letters of the alphabet. The letter at which the stem breaks is his or her initial.
Both these love-divination techniques can be adapted to other uses. To adapt the former, alter the rhyme with words suiting your situation. To adapt the latter, you can simply chant yes and no while twisting till the apple stem breaks; you can also chant “yes, no, maybe” or use words more specific to your situation.
Meditate on the imagery of the seed.Consider a seed and how it relates to the earth, how it falls from its mother plant into a rich loam made from the breakdown of other dead plants. Consider how the seed is influenced by sun and rain, by the energy from sky and earth. Or contemplate as a seed an idea or situation in your life, then imagine the seed breaking open and sending out roots and sprouts. Study what these roots and sprouts look like, where they find barriers and where they grow most strongly.
Perform magick by planting a seed to grow with your spell.A traditional love-spell runs as follows. (Of course, you shouldn’t perform this spell to draw a particular person, but rather to draw the right person toward you.) Just after the New Moon, plant the seed of some sturdy plant in a pot. Water thoroughly, and charge your spell by raising energy and saying over the plant: As this root grows, and this blossom blows, may my true love be inclined toward me. You can adapt this spell to any purpose naturally achieved over time, such as the success of a business.
Meditate on the season’s flowers.Around us now bloom crocuses, daffodils and early tulips. You can find or purchase cut or living flowers and meditate on them. Sitting before the flowers, consider what is growing in your life. Flowers are the sexual organs of plants; consider what this says to you.
Perform magick to give back to the earth.Raise and send energy to return to the Earth, our mother, some of the bounteous energy and fertility She gives to us.
Meditate on the Moon-Hare.Rabbits provide an obvious symbol of animal fecundity. Meditate on the Moon-Hare, the animal the early German tribes and the Aztecs saw on the face of the moon, and see what comes to you about literal or creative fertility in your own life.
Honor the spring or Earth goddess or god of your choice, or a goddess or god of balance.To honor balance, venerate Roman Janus or his female counterpart Jana, or any pair of twin goddesses or gods. You can also honor goddesses and gods of spring or fertility now. Greet Oestara with rites like those of Aphrodite; drink new wine in honor of Dionysos; celebrate warlike Mars, deep and fertile Hertha or ever-young Iduna. Likewise, you can honor the Maiden, either sole and free or ripe for consummation.
Light around your house pairs of white and black candles, symbolizing dark and light.Each time you pass a pair of candles, you can honor the balance of light and dark we find this time of year, and the balance of light and dark within yourself.
Light a bonfire at dawn on the Equinox to honor the light half of the year.Not only did ancient Northern Europeans burn such fires, but also the Mayans.
Meditate or perform ritual at dawn or sunset.These liminal times are particularly significant now when we balance between dark and light.
Meditate or perform ritual for balance in your life and in the earth’s life.Meditate on that ancient Eastern emblem of balance, the Yin-Yang symbol. Consider what is dark and hidden, rightly or wrongly, in your life, and what is daylit. Consider how you best can create balance, honoring both sides of yourself. Likewise, contemplate what you see as dark and light in the world around you. Meditate upon what this year will bring, dark and light, and how best you can take right action in the world. You can also use these symbols actively, raising energy and asking that balance come to your life.
Do a ritual denoting the passing of the year’s dark half.Medieval Bohemians, after honoring the Christian savior on Easter Sunday, performed a ritual for his pagan rival on the following Monday, or Moon-day. Village girls sacrificed an effigy of the Lord of Death in the nearest running water, singing “Death swims in the water, spring comes to visit us, with eggs that are red, with yellow pancakes, we carried Death out of the village, we are carrying Summer into the village.”
As an updated variation, you can create an effigy of the dark half of the year and imbue it with the things of winter you’d like to leave behind. You can then either burn it in a bonfire or drop it in the nearest watercourse. (In the former case, you’ll want to make the effigy’s components flammable, in the latter biodegradable.) To return with the spring, bring back to your home greenery cut with respect or water from the stream.
Use the energy of the time of year as you would the first quarter of the moon.You can use the energy of this time of year to fuel any new project or goal.
Meditate on beginnings, on the East, on air, on dawn. This station of the year reflects these traditional associations. In meditation, note how these symbols connect organically and how you relate personally to them.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 19, 2012 at 11:03am

The Coven Avalon - Spell-A-Day
Simple Ostara spell

Items needed: An altar bell, 1 yellow candle and 1 green candle and whatever spring decorations for your altar or workspace you fancy.

"My feelings were sleeping
And now can awake
The cobwebs I’m sweeping
A clear path I make"

"For the love that’s within me
To move forward once more
Communication is my key
So I open the door"

Ring the bell once

"‘Tis ajar
I go through it
And forwards I go
My courage in hand
My words will aflow"

"I give my love freely
At the chime of the bell (ring once)
And welcome it back to me
And let my heart swell"

Ring the bell a 3rd time and make it nice and loud!

*The Coven Avalon claims no rights to this artwork, or any on our page. If this work belongs to you and you would like for us to remove it, please contact us and we will certainly do so. Blessings!
The Coven Avalon -- Spell-A-Day ... a daily posting of magickal spells for every need!
By: The Coven Avalon

Comment by Mystickal One on March 15, 2012 at 12:24pm

I plan on celebrating by planting herbs and flowers and honouring the garden fairies by leaving them special treats....

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 15, 2012 at 12:11pm

Spring Traditions around the World:

While Pagans and Wiccans are celebrating Ostara, and Christians are observing Easter, it's important to remember that the dawning of spring has been observed for a long time in many other cultures as well. Traditions vary widely from one country to the next. Here are some ways that residents of different parts of the world observe the season.
Egypt:

The Festival of Isis was held in ancient Egypt as a celebration of spring and rebirth. Isis features prominently in the story of the resurrection of her lover, Osiris. Although Isis' major festival was held in the fall, folklorist Sir James Frazer says in The Golden Bough that "We are told that the Egyptians held a festival of Isis at the time when the Nile began to rise… the goddess was then mourning for the lost Osiris, and the tears which dropped from her eyes swelled the impetuous tide of the river."
Iran:

In Iran, the festival of No Ruz begins shortly before the vernal equinox. The phrase "No Ruz" actually means "new day," and this is a time of hope and rebirth. Typically, a lot of cleaning is done, old broken items are repaired, homes are repainted, and fresh flowers are gathered and displayed indoors. The Iranian new year begins on the day of the equinox, and typically people celebrate by getting outside for a picnic or other activity with their loved ones. No Ruz is deeply rooted in the beliefs of Zoroastrianism, which was the predominant religion in ancient Persia before Islam came along.
Ireland:

In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated each year on March 17. St. Patrick is known as a symbol of Ireland, particularly around every March. One of the reasons he's so famous is because he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and was even credited with a miracle for this. What many people don't realize is that the serpent was actually a metaphor for the early Pagan faiths of Ireland. St. Patrick brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle, and did such a good job of it that he practically eliminated Paganism from the country.
Italy:

For the ancient Romans, the Feast of Cybele was a big deal every spring. Cybele was a mother goddess who was at the center of a Phrygian fertility cult, and eunuch priests performed mysterious rites in her honor. Her lover was Attis (who also happened to be her grandson), and her jealousy caused him to castrate and kill himself. His blood was the source of the first violets, and divine intervention allowed Attis to be resurrected by Cybele, with some help from Zeus. In some areas, there is still an annual celebration of Attis' rebirth and Cybele's power, called the Hilaria, observed from March 15 to March 28.
Judaism:

One of Judaism's biggest festivals is Passover, which takes place in the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan. It was a pilgrimage festival, and commemorates the exodus of the Jews from Egypt after centuries of slavery. A special meal is held, called the Seder, and it is concluded with the story of the Jews leaving Egypt, and readings from a special book of prayers. Part of the eight-day Passover traditions include a thorough spring cleaning, going through the house from top to bottom.
Russia:

In Russia, the celebration of Maslenitsa is observed as a time of the return of light and warmth. This folk festival is celebrated about seven weeks before Easter. During the Lent season, meat and fish and dairy products are prohibited. Maslentisa is the last chance anyone will get to enjoy those items for a while, so it's typically a big festival held before the somber, introspective time of Lent. A straw effigy of the Lady of Maslenitsa, is burned in a bonfire. Leftover pancakes and blintzes are tossed in as well, and when the fire has burned away, the ashes are spread in the fields to fertilize the year's crops.
Scotland (Lanark):

In the area of Lanark, Scotland, the spring season is welcomed with Whuppity Scoorie, held o

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 15, 2012 at 12:10pm

On Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 1:14 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (0514 UTC), the March Equinox (also known as the Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox) occurs. On March 20, most consider that spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere and fall or autumn begins in the Southern Hemisphere. The sun is directly overhead the equator on the March Equinox at noon on March 20.
Equal Hours of Daylight on the Equinox
On March 20, there are twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness at all points on the earth's surface. Sunrise is at 6 a.m. and sunset is at 6 p.m. local (solar) time for most points on the earth's surface. (This varies, of course, based on time zones, which are much broader regions than local solar time.)

At the North Pole the sun is on the horizon of the earth's surface on the March Equinox. The sun rises at the North Pole at noon to the horizon on the March Equinox and the North Pole remains light until the September Equinox.

At the Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, and Tropic of Capricorn, as with all places on the planet, experience exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on March 20.

At the South Pole on March 20, the sun sets at at noon after the South Pole having been light for the previous six months (since the September Equinox). The sun begins on the horizon in the morning and by the end of the day, the sun has set.
The Beginning of Spring
It has been tradition that spring "begins" on March 20, and the three other seasons begin on their solstices or equinox. However, there is no set scientific standard for the beginning of the seasons. Some consider the months of March, April, and May to be spring; this is especially true for those who study climate.

The beginning of spring often represents a mild transitional climate between the extremes of winter and summer. The areas between the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south effectively do not have seasons because the sun is always high in the sky and thus there is a large amount of solar radiation received throughout the year. Seasonal changes primarily impact the higher latitudes (those above 23.5 degrees).
Balancing an Egg on the Equinox
It is a widely held assumption that one can only balance an egg on its end on the equinoxes but this is simply an urban legend. There is no gravitational or other reasons why one would be able to balance an egg only on the equinoxes. I have personally balanced an egg on its end on an equinox day as well as on a non-equinox day. It simply takes patience.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 15, 2012 at 12:09pm

It's Ostara, and it's a time of year in which many Wiccans and Pagans choose celebrate the balance of light and dark that heralds the beginning of spring. It's a time to celebrate new life and rebirth -- not only the physical embodiment of renewal, but the spiritual as well. Try some -- or all -- of these ideas to ready your altar for Ostara.
Colors

To get an idea of what colors are appropriate for spring, all you really have to do is look outside. Notice the yellows of the forsythia blooming behind your house, the pale purples of lilacs, the green of new leaves appearing in the melting snow. Pastels are often considered spring colors as well, so feel free to add some pinks and blues into the mix if the idea strikes you. Decorate your altar in any of these colors -- try a pale green altar cloth with some purples and blues draped across it, and add some yellow or pink candles to carry the color up.
The Balance of the Equinox

Altar decor should reflect the theme of the Sabbat. Ostara is a time of balance between light and dark, so symbols of this polarity can be used. Use a god and goddess statue, a white candle and a black one, a sun and moon, even a yin/yang symbol.
New Life

Ostara is also a time of new growth and life -- add potted plants such as new crocuses, daffodils, lilies, and other magical spring flowers. This is the time of year when animals are bringing forth new life too -- put a basket of eggs on your altar, or figures of new lambs, rabbits, calves, etc. Add a chalice of milk or honey -- milk represents the lactating animals who have just given birth, and honey is long known as a symbol of abundance.
Other Symbols of the Season

Seeds and bulbs
Caterpillars, ladybugs, bumblebees
Symbols of nature deities -- Herne, Flora, Gaia, Attis, etc.
Gemstones and crystals such as aquamarine, rose quartz, and moonstone
Ritual fires in a cauldron or brazier

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 15, 2012 at 12:08pm

A Symbol of New Life:

In many cultures, the egg is viewed as the symbol of new life. It is, after all, the perfect example of fertility and the cycle of rebirth. In early Christian cultures, consumption of the Easter egg may have marked the end of Lent. In Greek Orthodox Christianity, there is a legend that after Christ's death on the cross, Mary Magdalene went to the emperor of Rome, and told him of Jesus' resurrection. The emperor's response was along the lines of "Oh, yeah, right, and those eggs over there are red, too." Suddenly, the bowl of eggs turned red, and Mary Magdalene joyfully began preaching Christianity to the emperor.
Pre-Christian Eggs:

Mary Magdalene and the red eggs aren't the earliest examples of eggs as a spring symbol. In Persia, eggs have been painted for thousands of years as part of the spring celebration of No Ruz, which is the Zoroastrian new year. In Iran, the colored eggs are placed on the dinner table at No Ruz, and a mother eats one cooked egg for each child she has. The festival of No Ruz predates the reign of Cyrus the Great, whose rule (580-529 b.c.e.)markes the beginning of Persian history.
Bunnies, Hares, and Ostara:

There are some claims that the original Easter eggs are Pagan symbols from Europe, but there's little evidence to support this. Instead, it seems to be a more middle eastern tradition. However, in Europe there may have been a goddess called Eostre, whose name gives us both Ostara and Easter. The Venerable Bede describes Eostre as a goddess with fertility associations, which loosely connects her to both rabbits and eggs. Author Jacob Grimm (of Grimm's fairy tales) suggested that eggs were a symbol of early European Paganism.

In some early cultures, the nocturnal hare was actually considered a symbol of the moon. In addition to feeding at night, the hare's gestation period is approximately 28 days -- the same as a full lunar cycle. In European folklore, the rabbit connection to eggs is one based on confusion. In the wild, hares nest in what is known as a form -- basically, a nest for bunnies. When the hares abandoned a form, it was sometimes taken over by plovers, who would then lay their eggs in it. The locals would then find eggs in the hare's form.

The character of the "Easter bunny" first appeared in 16th-century German writings, which said that if well-behaved children built a nest out of their caps or bonnets, they would be rewarded with colored eggs. This legend became part of American folklore in the 18th century, when German immigrants settled in the eastern U.S.

Today, the Easter business is a huge commercial venture - Americans spend nearly $1.2 billion a year on Easter candy, and another $500 million on Easter decorations each year.

Comment by Dept of PMM Artists & things on March 15, 2012 at 12:08pm

The first day of spring is also called the vernal equinox. “Vernal” and “equinox” are Latin terms meaning “spring” and “equal night” respectively.

Is the Vernal Equinox Really Equal?
The idea is that on the first day of spring there are exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, but it rarely works out that way.

There is always a time each spring, and again each fall, when the hours of light and darkness are equal, but it usually occurs before the vernal equinox and after the autumnal equinox.

First Day of Spring--Above and Below the Equator
The vernal equinox, which occurs on March 20 or 21 each year and signals the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, is also the autumnal equinox—the first day of autumn—in the Southern Hemisphere. Conversely, the autumnal equinox in the north, which occurs in late September, is the first day of spring south of the equator.

Fun Facts About the First Day of Spring
Here are a few other interesting facts about the first day of spring:

If you were standing on the equator during either the vernal or autumnal equinox, you would see the sun pass directly overhead, the only two times in the year when that is true.

The two equinoxes are also the only times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west.

In spring, the Earth’s axis is tilted toward the sun, increasing the number of daylight hours and bringing warmer weather that causes plants to bring forth new growth.

There is a persistent myth that at the vernal equinox, and only at the vernal equinox, can you stand a raw egg on its end. There is an equally persistent rebuttal that says it’s not possible at any time to balance a raw egg on its end. Neither assertion is true. With a little patience (or sometimes a lot), you can balance a raw egg on its end at any time of year. The first day of spring has nothing to do with it.

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