Magic – 3

As I continue actively searching for “moments of magic” in my everyday life, I’m learning quite a bit – including that, in some traditions, the start of spring is viewed as the start of the year.

I like that. Spring begins with the Vernal Equinox, where day and night are balanced. Daylight gets a little longer every day from then until the Summer Solstice, which marks the start of summer on the longest day of the year. Then daylight shrinks a few minutes each day until autumn begins when day and night are balanced again on the Autumnal Equinox. At that point, daylight continues to recede until the shortest day of the year, which is the start of winter on the Winter Solstice.

There’s something so marvellously eternal about that.

Plus, the idea of the year beginning when trees are in bud and flowers are beginning to bloom seems so much more positive than starting on January 1, when so many of us are wiped out physically, mentally, and financially.

I don’t expect to literally reset the calendar, but it was nice to spend some time outdoors listening to birdsong and noticing vibrant flowers. I then spent a little time sitting and pondering what I was willing to set down from the winter and what I hoped would bloom in my life this spring.

Sometimes, magic looks a whole lot like just setting up a calm space and thinking in the dark for a bit.