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Hello, friends!
With the Equinox coming up, it’s time for another Ritual Prompt.
I send these prompts out on the equinoxes, solstices and cross-quarters. These are for any of you who would like to weave in more ritual into your life. I craft these prompts based on my academic research on ancient religion, folklore and pre-patriarchal wisdom traditions.
The equinoxes are astronomical events that have been deeply significant in mythology, ancient pagan festivals and the worship of specific nature-based deities cross-culturally. During these two points in the year, day and night are nearly equal in length. This symbolises a powerful time for transition, change, renewal and the restoration of balance.
balance and duality. It marks the shifts in nature and is a time of transition and change,
All in all, the equinoxes are powerful times for renewal and the restoration of balance.
The equinoxes are astronomical events that have been deeply significant in mythology, ancient pagan festivals and the worship of specific nature-based deities cross-culturally. During these two points in the year, day and night are nearly equal in length. This symbolises balance and duality (light/dark, life/death, masculine/feminine). They mark the shifts in nature and are a time of transition and change, one hemisphere toward growth, and the other toward decline. Many of the myths involve Underworld journeys in which deities descend and return from the Underworld (Persephone, Inanna, Mabon, I’ll get to those!).
All in all, the equinoxes are powerful times for renewal and the restoration of balance.
Suggestion for every ritual:
Set up an altar with symbols of the season. Ideally this is done with natural objects gathered from the land on simple walks and later returned back to the Earth.
Bee magic:
During every ritual prompt, I will place a prayer pot with the names of anyone who would like to be included in it by my hive. This will fortify your prayers. If you would like to be included, please send me your name (and out of interest, where you’re joining from and anything else you’d like to tell me/the bees/fellow readers!)
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
Spring Equinox
During the Spring Equinox, the light begins to overtake the darkness. It is a time of renewal, fertility and balance.
In the Germanic folk tradition, Oestre was a goddess associated with Spring, the dawn, and rebirth. Her symbols include the hare and eggs, which later influenced Christian Easter traditions.
In Greek mythology, Spring is announced by Persephone’s return from the the Underworld. Demeter’s joy at the return of her lost daughter brings new growth to the land.
In Phrygian and Roman lore, Attis, a vegetation god, dies and is resurrected around the Equinox, symbolising rebirth and renewal of the land. The Roman festival of Equirria was in honour of Mars, the god of war. It involved horse racing in preparation for the upcoming campaign season.
In Druidic and Celtic worlds, the Spring was known as Alban Eilir, meaning “Light of the Earth” and was a time to celebrate balance and the sowing of new crops.
The god of light and purity in Norse mythology, known as Balder, also returns from a period in the darkness and his return symbolises the return of life in the world.
To this day, the Spring Equinox marks the Persian New Year, a pre-Islamic Zoroastrian festival marking the rebirth of nature.
THE RED EGG
One of my personal favourite practices is painting “Easter Eggs” red. This practice predates Christianity and has deep roots in rituals of regeneration, pagan fertility rites, solar worship and blood symbolism across various ancient cultures. In many Indo-European and Middle Eastern traditions, the egg symbolised the cosmic egg - the source of creation. The colour red represented fertility, vitality and the life force.
It was sometimes associated with fire worship and solar deities like Ra (Egyptian), Mithras (Persian), and Balder (Norse).
Red eggs were buried in fields or placed in homes to ward off evil and bring prosperity.
Ancient Ukranian and Slavic pagans painted eggs (pysanky) as offerings to nature spirits for a bountiful harvest.
In Thracian and Balkan traditions, red eggs were used in spring fertility rituals to bless livestock and crops. And in some Slavic and Balkan traditions, red eggs were linked to ancestral bloodlines and protective magic.
Among the ancient Persians, red eggs were exchanged during Nowruz, the Spring festival celebrating renewal.
But red eggs are older still. They would have originally symbolised menstruation, the blood of birth and female feritlity, connecting them to goddesses like Inanna, Ishtar and Cybele.
The Phrygians and Romans died their eggs red in honour of Attis, the vegetation god who dies and is resurrected as Spring.
When Christianity spread, many of these traditions were adapted into Easter customs, the red egg becoming a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. During the Orthodox Easter meal, for instance, families crack red eggs against each other in a game called tsougrisma (Greek) or pysanka traditions (Slavic countries) to symbolise the breaking of Christ’s tomb.
One of the most famous Christian legends about red eggs involves Mary Magdalene.
After the resurrection of Jesus, Mary Magdalene is said to have traveled to Rome to meet with the Emperor Tiberius. She presented him with a plain egg, saying Christ is Risen! Tiberius laughed and said, “A man rising from the dead is as impossible as that egg turning red!” Miraculously, the egg turned red, proving the truth of Christ’s resurrection. Because of this story, Mary Magdalene is often depicted holding a red egg in Orthodox iconography.
THE RITUAL:
Decorate your home on the days leading up to the Equinox with fresh flowers, painted eggs, and bring something red in (red table cloth, red eggs…)
Choose your temenos: a place for your ritual that is significant to you - a park, garden, bee hives, a lake, the sea…
On the morning of March 20th, wake up at sunrise and go to your temenos to greet the sun, a symbol of the return of the light and warmth.
Light two candles - one dark, one light - symbolising the balance between duality.
Offer milk, honey and fresh fruit to the nature spirits like Oeostre, Persephone or Attis.
Meditate on what you want to renew or grow in your life.
Paint a pre-boiled egg red, adding any symbols of your choosing.
Write down your list of intentions, prayers and wishes and bury them with the egg.
Collect water from a natural source (rainwater, spring water, sea water or moon-charged water) and bless your home and altar by sprinkling it around to clear stagnant energy (the origins of spring cleaning!).
Physically plant seeds or flowers in your garden or a pot inside. As you plant, visualise new beginnings or projects and your prayers taking root in your life.
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
Autumn Equinox
The Autumn Equinox represents harvest, gratitude and preparation for winter as the darkness begins to overtake the light.
In Welsh myth, the god Mabon was a divine youth associated with light, wisdom, and the second harvest (after Lunasa in August). His myth tells of his disappearance into the Underworld and his later return, symbolising the cycle of death and rebirth. The festival of Mabon is a modern-rendition by Pagan and Wiccan traditions in the British Isles. It is named after the Welsh god and honours the harvest and the balance of light and dark. In the Druid tradition the day was known as Alban Elfed, “Light of the Water” and marked the transition into the darker half of the year. Offerings of cider, bread and the last harvest crops were given to spirits and deities like Cernunnos (the horned god of nature) and the Morrigan (goddess of fate and transformation). Rituals were often performed at bonfires to seek wisdom and honour the Otherworld.
In contrast to the Spring Equinox, now Persephone descends into the Underworld, marking the beginning of Demeter’s mourning and the dying of the earth. Her departure marks the decline of vegetation, as Demeter’s grief causes the earth to wither and lead to winter. This was the time of the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred rites dedicated to Demeter and Persephone that focused on death, rebirth and the mysteries of the afterlife.
In the Sumerian myth of Inanna, the goddess also descends into the Underworld, paralleling the seasonal shift into winter.
The Norse associated the autumn Equinox with the waning sun and the coming of Ragnarok (the end of the world). Balder, the god of light and purity, was tricked into dying and descending to Hel, much like Persephone. His death symbolises the fading sunlight, and the Equinox marked the final harvest before the darkness of winter. In Anglo-Saxon culture, Harvest Home was a festival of thanksgiving for the last grain harvest before the coming of winter.
In Ancient Egypt, the Equinox symbolised judgment and balance tied to the stories of Osiris and Ma’at. Osiris, the god of the dead and resurrection, was believed to return to the Underworld at this time, preparing to judge the souls of the dead. The Weighing of the Heart ceremony occurred in the afterlife - if the heart was lighter than Ma’at’s feather, the soul moved on to paradise. The changing sun was linked to Ra’s daily journey through the Underworld as the nights grew longer.
THE RITUAL:
Gather seasonal fruits, nuts and grains (apples, corn, pumpkin, bread) to create a harvest altar to honour nature’s abundance
Choose your temenos: a place for your ritual that is significant to you - a park, garden, bee hives, a lake, the sea…
On the sunset of March 20th, go to your temenos and make a fire
Light two candles - one dark, one light - symbolising the balance between duality.
Offer a libation of cider, wine, mead, bread and/or honey to the fire as an offering for the spirits of the land and our ancestors who paved the way for us.
Write two lists: one with the things you want to release as the days grow darker (bad habits, fears, regrets, addictions…), one with the things you want to nurture in the coming months (wisdom, new projects, self-care, skills…).
Burn the “release list” in the fire and place the “nurture list” on your altar.
Sweep your home to remove old energy. Burn sage, rosemary or mugwort to cleanse your space.
Let me know how you get on! And don’t forget to send me your name if you would like me to add you to the prayer pot.
Equinox blessings to you and your life!
NB: Please adjust any of these rituals to suit you, your lifestyle, belief systems, and general capacity.
Upcoming offering
A reminder to send in your questions for the next round of Oraculum if you would like to receive seasonal oracular guidance. The deadline to send in questions is coming up on March 19th.
I had a beautiful experience with this ceremony. I did spring cleaning with my alter and sprinkled it with water from our creek. Planted some shells and flower petals from past offerings on my alter along with seeds and the red egg. Seeds in a circle around the egg. A piece of smooth driftwood from the ocean to mark the spot. My flower vase wrapped in my favorite red lambswool scarf. Thank you so very much Gabriela for creating this ritual and sharing the history behind it. Sending love and blessings. 🙏🏻❤️🌗🌻from New Jersey, the Garden State”
I'll be joining you from the green hills and wild coastlines of Portugal. Thank you dear, sending you oceans of love your way.