Friday is the Spring Equinox; traditionally the first day of spring, there
will also be an eclipse and a supermoon!
There are two equinoxes every year, one in March which will fall on the
19th, 20th or 21st, and one in September, when the sun shines
directly onto the equator and the length of the night and day is nearly equal.
Equinox and solstices are opposite on either side of the equator, in the
northern hemisphere the March equinox is known as the spring equinox while in the south it is known as the autumn equinox.
The word equinox derives from the Latin meaning "equal night", but the
equinoxes don't have exactly 12 hours of daylight.
This is always a time of new beginnings and rebirth, and many celebrations are
held around this time like Easter and Passover. Witches and Pagans celebrate
the spring equinox as it signifies the coming of spring. This is a lesser Sabbat,
a solar festival, which fall on the solstices and equinoxes. The spring equinox is
known as Ostara.
The other lesser ones are the winter solstice, summer and autumn.
The greater sabbats are of course Imbolc , Beltane, Lammas and Samhain.
The changes that happen at this time of year are attributed to the increasing power
of the Gods and Goddesses which are personified as The Green Man and Mother Earth.
The Green Man was born from Mother Earth in the winter and lives until Samhain.
The solar eclipse refers to a phenomenon where the sun and moon line up, so that
the latter obscures the former. On Friday 20th the longest duration of this eclipse
will be 2 minutes and 46 seconds if viewed off the coast of the Faroe Islands.
The next total solar eclipse will be on August 12th 2026.
There are many superstitions and folklore surrounding an eclipse , it is
believed that it brings death, destruction and disasters.
A popular misconception is that solar eclipses can be a danger to pregnant women
and their unborn child. In many cultures, young children and pregnant women
are asked to stay indoors during a solar eclipse.
In many parts of India, people observe fasts during one due to the belief that any
food cooked while an eclipse happens will be poisonous and impure.
Not all superstitions surrounding solar eclipses are about doom. In Italy, for example,
it is believed that flowers planted during a solar eclipse are brighter and more
colourful than flowers planted any other time of the year.
A Supermoon, or perigee moon, happens when the full or new moon does its
closest fly-by of the Earth, making it look bigger than it normally does.
There are many myths surrounding the moon, it has always been regarded
as a source of power especially for women with whom it is most associated.
It is regarded as a source of fertility and has been since earliest times, it was
even thought that women could be made pregnant by moonbeams and women
who desired to have a child would sleep under the light of a moon.
In previous centuries it was believed that a child born at the full moon would
never be healthy and would be liable to moonstruck madness otherwise
known as insanity.
In modern witchcraft the moon is the source of the witches power, drawing this
down from the sky and the lunar phases governs all manner of magical tools,
the summoning of spirits, the preparations of charms and remedies and of
course the casting of spells.
The Goddess worshiped by modern day witches is associated with the moon, her
mate is the Horned God of the woodlands, he represent the beasts of nature and
the horned moon, he is also the lord of life, death and the underworld.
Born at the winter solstice, marries the Goddess at Beltane and then dies at the
summer solstice as a sacrifice to life.