spring equinox

Chichén Itzá, also known as the Temple of Kukulkan in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula

March 20th in the Northern Hemisphere is the spring equinox, one of two cross-quarter days in the year with perfectly equal day and night. Spring equinox is linked to rebirth after the winter season and is widely celebrated as marking a new year throughout the world by cultures who maintain a close relationship with the cycles of the year on our Great Mother Earth and in relationship with the movements of the stars and planets.

In her article ‘Rebirthing with the Sun’s Energy’ in Ofrenda Magazine, Maestra Cuahtli Cihuatl says, “The sun is a symbol of the strength, light, and power of one’s own soul. Every morning since ancient times, Indigenous people and other ancient cultures have performed various rituals honoring the external sun, as it reflects the internal and eternal. Waking up before the sun and preparing to greet it is a wonderful way to connect with the light within ourselves. Connecting with our own light enables us to start to see and connect with the light within others - for others are only a reflection of our true selves. We are beings powered by solar energy.”

The photograph above is an image of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, a temple built by the Mayan people in dedication to Kukulkan, who is known to the Mexicah (Aztec) as Quetzalcoatl. Often personified as a deity, Quetzalcoatl is the archetypal representation of attributes embodied by the planet Venus. Mesoamerican cosmology is predicated on a profound understanding of astronomy and mathematics, and the temple is built in perfect alignment such that on the equinoxes, the sun will illuminate the undulation of Kukulka, the feathered serpent’s, descent.

On this day, take a moment to honor the sunrise and plant the seeds for what you wish to cultivate and grow in the coming year. Ometeotl.