What does the Spring equinox, a famous pregnancy and the tax year have in common?

Once again we have passed the Spring equinox. A day poised in equal halves when the amount of daylight equals the amount of night. This pivot to lighter days is what we’ve longed for all winter...

Hibernation is over, spring is here and the warmth of summer firmly in our sights. For me there is a sense of joy in the ‘just-in-time’ banishment of the blue dogs of February and the wild green salads of fresh, verdant young leaves: wild garlic, sorrel, pink purslane, primrose, ground elder, golden saxifrage… a communion of spring. New beginnings! Yesterday was also World Rewilding Day as well as the equinox.

In the medieval farming calendar, this was the time when the first crops were planted. (The 15th to 24th of March is now Permaculture Week.) Rapidly following Ostara, the Celtic and pagan name for the Spring Equinox is Lady Day on the 25th of March. In the Christian calendar (from 1155), it marked the annunciation when an angel told Mary she was pregnant with the Christ child – exactly 9 months before Christmas day on 25th December. All these festivals and traditions celebrate the prospect of new life. Ironically, Lady Day was once later on 5 April (until we lost 11 days when the Julian calendar was abandoned and the Gregorian calendar adopted in 1752). As conception marks new life, Lady Day was celebrated as the start of the new year. Now the Old Lady Day marks the end of the financial tax year. Something I find it hard to celebrate!

I love these markers of time because they also call us to do the inner work necessary to thrive. For me, this involves taking time out from the busyness of the work; from the captivity of smart phones; the manacles of my desk and computer! The turning of the wheel calls me to seek solitude and attend to ‘who I am’ not ‘what I do’. For me, the best way to do this is to be outside, fully immersed in the natural world, with time to listen. Listen? To listen to the voice of soul when reunited with the spirit of the world, is the only way I can explain this. Reunited is a misnomer really because we are indivisible from the natural world around us. But humans have come to believe we are separate which, certainly the way we live nowadays, divorces us from the natural rhythms of life. The voice of nature is drowned out. It may whisper in our dreams if we are not too exhausted to hear them, or the morning alarm doesn’t banish them from our minds. We may even stop believing in anything we cannot reduce to a material fact.

Over the years, nature is what has grounded me again. The ‘rewilding’ of myself has kept me sane and aware of/aligned to purpose in my life. 

Rachel Carson said in The Sense of Wonder “Is the exploration of the natural world just a pleasant way to pass the golden hours of childhood or is there something deeper? I am sure there is something much deeper, something lasting and significant. Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexation or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.”

Whatever or whoever we ascribe the voice of the world to, it is vital. Call it the collective subconscious, the great spirit, our ancestors, nature, god or goddess, it doesn’t matter. The point is that we are ‘more than’ just the sum of our biology. Strip everything else back, take the modern world away, and we instinctively reconnect and the dialogue begins. 

Dialogue? If I speak to you of talking trees and animals you may think I’ve flipped. Lost my passion for science and love of logic; finally affected by the family crazy genes; or taking mind-altering substances! Obviously I don’t mean that trees have developed mouths, tongues and mastered the English language. What I do know is that dialogue with the spirit, in nature, does happen. It ‘speaks’ through the inhabitants of the natural world, often via signs and symbols, in a way that illuminates our lives. This is not only my personal experience but that experienced by humans – mystic and just plain vanilla – since the baby steps of evolution. These experiences can have such an immense power of transformation on our interior that they alter our sense of self and understanding of our lives, in the flash of a moment. 

My way is not rushing off on a Friday afternoon to an ayahuasca weekend to indulge in the tradition of another culture. We have our own deep roots here hidden in this land. I don’t feel the need to lick a toad or kiss a frog to grow spiritually. What I do need though, is to put aside plenty of time: time to prepare; then to listen; and then to reflect on, understand and integrate what I have learned, so that my life does change. So that I can take the truths of ‘what is important’ and ‘what moves me’ back into my daily life. 

I am drawn to wilderness. To leave the busy world and camp in wild places to do attend to soul work. My life, like so many others, has often been tough. Sometimes almost too hard to bear. Yet, in the words of Victor Frankl “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” 

I am inviting you to join me at the end of June for 5 days at the Summer solstice – my next personal retreat. Switch off your phone and some time out of your life for yourself under the stars and out on the fells of the Lake district. A group of 12, we will grow into a new community and spend two days exploring how the natural world engages with our psyches, with me as your guide and mentor. Then a solo day, spent alone, fasting with just water, listening to the voice of the world. In the final two days we gather again, bringing our stories back to the community, with plenty of time and space to be witnessed and heard. You can find more details here on my website.

Of course, you can meditate or spend downtime in nature alone. Each and every walk, hike, and night under the stars is precious. So why in a group? I have often been called ‘a bit of a loner’ and sometimes just feel awkward in social settings, yet I feel strongly that this is such an important place. I have been so enriched by others.

Bill Plotkin in ‘Soulcraft’ writes that “In our healing and growing, we must, inevitably, make peace with our own stories and then tell them to at least one person. The telling is crucial. We must own our true stories. In doing so, we begin again to belong to the world in the way only we can… Story is the very fabric of our lives. Every life begins and ends with a story and, taken as a whole, is a story. Every relationship is a story. Every dream. Every experience. Each soul — whether embodied or not in that person’s life — is a story longing to be told.” 

I have found the embrace of being witnessed so precious. As one of last year’s participants said “The threshold crossing was a profoundly simple yet deeply meaningful way to enter into a dialogue with wild nature. The guides held the space beautifully, supporting our individual intentions as a group and co-creating a meaningful community of complete strangers”.

However, you chose to attend to the spirit that moves through your life, enjoy the start of Spring. Shed off the winter slough and blossom in the sunshine for a while. Savour the taste of spring in wild garlic and nettle soups, spring salads and soon-to-come morel mushrooms. Renew yourself and pray for peace in the world.

Happy Spring Equinox. Mo x

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Further reading:

Everyday Folklore: An almanac for the ritual year, Liza Frank

Wild Mind: A field guide to the human psyche, Bill Plotkin

A Branch from the Lightning Tree, Martin Shaw

The Secret Teaching of Plants: In the direct perception of nature, by Stephen Harrod Buhner.

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Practical matters:

I am going to be away soon, living in the Kalahari with the Ju|’hoansi hunter-gatherers for a month’s sabbatical, so Matt Rooney will be teaching the foraging classes this spring. New dates are here on my website.

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Participants’ experience of the Summer Solstice Crossing:

“Attending the wilderness threshold crossing and guided rite of passage ceremony in the Lake District was a profoundly transformative experience. In nature’s embrace, I re-discovered a deep connection between who I am and the natural world. Free from the distractions of daily life, I was able to tune in and find renewed clarity about this period of my life. The beautifully guided event provided a sanctuary where I could reflect, rejuvenate, and embrace the wonderful possibilities that lie ahead. I encourage anyone seeking change, self-discovery, or a connection with nature’s transformative power to seize the opportunity of a wilderness crossing and embark on a wonderful journey of personal growth”.

“As someone who hasn’t fasted much before & has never fasted whilst spending time alone, I found it a really energising, intriguing & fulfilling experience that left me with a desire to continue the practice when camping in the future. I found it hard to pull away from the fell (that evening sunshine was blissful) & as someone who enjoys food a lot & I didn’t think I would find it so liberating to fast for a day and not be distracted by eating. I found the experience quite empowering. I also found the container of the fell a wonderful place to explore the inner realms.”

“I found the mirroring day very intriguing. It felt quite incredible to give time to each individual person to open up about one aspect of their life.”

“This was an opportunity to give myself space from my daily life. We as a group co-created a safe and welcoming space for everybody to be accepted as they are. This allowed time to reflect upon my life, regain a more ritualistic relationship with nature with my self-phone off.”

“I would recommend this experience to anyone, with all of my heart. Thank you, truly.” 

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Poem for the day:

The Return, by Geneen Marie Haugen

Some day, if you are lucky,
you’ll return from a thunderous journey
trailing snake scales, wing fragments
and the musk of Earth and moon.

Eyes will examine you for signs
of damage, or change
and you, too, will wonder
if your skin shows traces

of fur, or leaves,
if thrushes have built a nest
of your hair, if Andromeda
burns from your eyes.

Do not be surprised by prickly questions
from those who barely inhabit
their own fleeting lives, who barely taste
their own possibility, who barely dream.

If your hands are empty, treasureless,
if your toes have not grown claws,
if your obedient voice has not
become a wild cry, a howl,

you will reassure them. We warned you,
they might declare, there is nothing else,
no point, no meaning, no mystery at all,
just this frantic waiting to die.

And yet, they tremble, mute,
afraid you’ve returned without sweet
elixir for unspeakable thirst, without
a fluent dance or holy language

to teach them, without a compass
bearing to a forgotten border where
no one crosses without weeping
for the terrible beauty of galaxies

and granite and bone. They tremble,
hoping your lips hold a secret,
that the song your body now sings
will redeem them, yet they fear

your secret is dangerous, shattering,
and once it flies from your astonished
mouth, they–like you–must disintegrate
before unfolding tremulous wings.

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