Reawakening Nature, March 2021
Celtic Green Man by Karen Cater. www.HedinghamFair.co.uk
The month of March ~ spring, reawakening nature, St. Patrick’s Day, GREEN. There are more shades of green than any other color according to color expert Kate Smith. Green, a close second to blue as the most common favorite color, has both positive and negative associations. Think rebirth, renewal, calmness, nature, cleanliness, balance, freshness, prosperity, the heart chakra, and progress, but also green around the gills, green horn, green with envy, green-eyed monster, green behind the ears. The image above depicts the Green Man, an ancient figure, also called a folitate head, that is carved into many medieval churches and other buildings around the world. These highly decorative, “pagan” heads with sprouting leaves, branches, flowers, nuts, vines and berries are associated with the renewal of spring and fertility. The magnificent Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland hosts more than 100 Green Man images throughout its buildings. Check it out at https://www.rosslynchapel.com/. For the Irish among us, or just the partyers in general, many of us sport our green on March 17th in honor of St. Patrick, but you may not know that historically Saint Patrick Blue, not green, was the color of this saint. St. Patrick used a green shamrock as a way to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish early converts to Christianity. Thus wearing a shamrock was a way to display that a person was a believer. This practice eventually morphed into people wearing green clothing to join in the festivites of the day. For more fun and inspiring info about all things related to designing and living with color, visit Kate Smith’s website at https://www.sensationalcolor.com/.
The spring or vernal equinox will occur on March 20th at 5:37 a.m. EDT in the northern hemisphere (the same day ushers in the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere). This day also marks the New Year according to ancient Indian and Persian calendars. On this day there will be equal amounts of light and dark reminding us to focus on balancing all aspects of our lives. Let the old stories, the old pain, the old fears go to make room for new stories based on possiblitity, renewal, rebirth and love. We balance our respect for the lessons of the part of the cycle contaning darkness, harshness, limit, struggle and death with our respect for the part of the cycle where we experience light, new beginings, rebirth and growth, going deeper into understanding our own Divinity.
For this month, I pulled four cards using both the Rider-Waite-Smith traditional Tarot deck and the Magical Times Empowerment Cards by Jody Bergsma. If you like these empowerment cards, check out Jody’s other beautiful art work at http://www.bergsma.com/.
The Death card, a Major Arcana card, is perhaps the most misunderstood card in the entire Tarot deck. While it does speak of an ending, it also is all about the transformative process and change which is a constant for us. Death is a necessary and inevitable part of the life cycle and the hero’s journey, sure, but this card is also very much about our own conscious decision to let go of any circumstances or relationships which are not in alignment with our best lives, our higher purpose. As we welcome spring, clear away anything in our lives that is holding us back or getting in our way. Spring cleaning time! Open the windows! Knock off all the dust, declutter the closets, shake out the rugs, not just literally, but also metaphorically - you get the idea.
The Rebirth card pairs well with the Death Card as it encourages us, like the Phoenix, to rise from the ashes of our past and move toward the positive changes that are ahead of us. We can always begin again. We can always find new inspiration. We have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves every day. Did I ever tell you I want to jump out of an airplane? Skydiving! There’s a good reason why I haven’t told you that.
The Ace of Wands, a Minor Arcana card, is all about new opportunities, potential, possibilities, growth, rebirth – just look at all those little green shoots that are pushing their way out into the light. This ace relates to our energetic, personal and spiritual growth. If we have slumped into stagnation during the dark, cold winter months, it’s time to revitalize! What projects or dreams have we put off? Time to start thinking about them, redesigning them, and letting the creative ideas flow to us so that we can live our passion. Make a plan. It doesn’t have to be perfect plan, just get started and move forward with it. You can always tweak it later. Take that course you’ve been wanting to take, learn something new. Say “yes!” to the opportunities that are coming your way. Sure, I’ll take that call from Oprah!
The Anticipation card reminds us to open our hearts to the changes that are coming. Instead of being resistant or fearful of change, think about all the possibilites the change brings with it. Think about the what ifs. Think “it’s already happening and I am going with the flow.” Change brings potential and growth, so “face the fear and do it anyway!”
On a final note, perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “Beware the Ides of March.” In ancient Roman times, March 15th was known as the Ides of March. This day was made famous by Shakespeare in his play Julius Ceasar. JC went to see a woo-woo person, known back then as a “soothsayer,” who told him to be careful on March 15th. JC laughed it off, but guess what, his entire Senate conspired to assassinate him on that very day, proving the woo-woo person right. My sweet little Nessie was born on March 15th. I think the only thing to beware about her is her snoring. See you next month!
