What strikes me about March is first the haze of pinks, browns, and pale greens that spread over the forest as buds begin to open. Then, later in the month, the iridescent green of the new growth as all the leaves burst forth. March is all about moving from the grey and brown of Winter into a world of color and beauty.
March was named after the Roman god Mars, who is analogous to Greek Aries. Aries is also the first sign of the zodiac, headstrong, confident, and motivated, and the sign of Aries begins in March. This is no coincidence.
Here in Georgia, I’ve seen robins and chickadees, cardinals and geese, and the frogs are even starting to sing in the swamp again. We still have some freezing temperatures overnight, but my husband is eyeing the weather to see when he can start planting a garden for the year. I’ll just assist, as I tend to have a black thumb, but he’s proven to be remarkably proficient at growing green things. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does this year.
The daffodils and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. I’m waiting patiently for our apple tree to bloom, and I think that will signal that Spring is truly here to me. As it is, I’ve started listening more to my Spring playlists, which include a lot of dub and reggae, perfect for a nice evening with the windows open when weather permits.
Birthstones: Aquamarine and bloodstone
Lunations:
March 9, 1:48pm EST Full Moon (Virgo) (Super full moon)
March 24, 5:29am EST New Moon (Aries)
Astronomy:
March 10- Mercury goes direct
Celtic Tree Month:
Ash (Feb 18th- Mar 17th): Mastership and power, psychic/prophetic dreams, strength, harmony, being in tune with your surroundings, heals loneliness of human spirit by forming a link between gods, man, and the dead, key to universal truth and cosmic wisdom, tree of initiation.
Alder (Mar 18th- April 14th): Balance, reawakening fertility, accelerated growth (good time for business or creative ventures), harnessing your hidden potential, balancing practical and mystical, release, foundations, determination, confidence, facing things you’ve been avoiding.
Holidays (mundane):
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
Holidays (Pagan):
March 19: Spring Equinox/Ostara
Themes and general activities for the month: Awakening, excitement, planting seeds when the frost passes, watching the weather, Spring cleaning, tilling the soil, preparing space for new growth to come in the Spring, shaking off the cobwebs, spotting the first flowers.
Herbs I’m using: Husbear has been growing fresh basil and oregano, and they’ve been finding their way into our cooking. Also, we have wild chives growing in our yard, and they stuck with us all Winter! They’re great in soups.
Stones I’m using: Aquamarine (March’s birthstone, indicative of all things watery), kyanite (cleansing, clearing, balancing the energy bodies), chrysoprase (for opening, like the heart chakra or the buds on the trees)
Goddess of the Month: Isis. Her keyword is ‘rebirth’. Aren’t we all reborn right about now? Feeling our new skin, caressed by warmer Spring breezes, feeling ourselves open as the world opens, creating ourselves anew?
3 card reading
First, we start with 4 of Water reversed. So we’re feeling alive and engaged, active and excited. That’s a great way to wake up after a long Winter!
Next, we see The Moon. So we’re also feeling deep in our intuition. We’re noticing hidden things and just knowing more than what we should be able to know, and it’s a great feeling. We’re also connecting to the night more as the evenings get a little more mild and tolerable.
Finally, we have 6 of Earth reversed. So we’re feeling like we’re on top of the world, and we don’t need help from anyone. This is never true, and this is a call for us to connect with the people in our lives who have our backs. Don’t get so moonstruck that you forget your friends!
The special guidance card is Manipura, or the Solar Plexus chakra. Now is the time to work our will in the world and manifest what it is that we want. With the help of the energy we’re feeling from the 4 of Water reversed, the intuition of The Moon, and our friends from the 6 of Earth reversed, we can do anything! It’s all about motivation, passion, and courage right now.
Spring, The Sweet Spring
By Thomas Nashe
Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king,
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The palm and may make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
In every street these tunes our ears do greet:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to witta-woo!
My personal tides and goals: I’ve been working a lot at this new gig, and while I’m enjoying the money, I miss having time to write and pursue my other projects. So that’s my big goal right now, I want to start writing for pleasure again. I have another book that I want to release soon, I just need to finish it, and I have a sprawling, enormous, choose-your-own-adventure that I’ve been working on for a few years now. So I want to carve out some time and brain space for those.