The word Equinox comes from Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night), which literally means “equal night”. This is the day when the Sun crosses the celestial equator and we experience 12 hours of daytime and 12 hours of nighttime. It happens due to the Earth’s axis tilting zero degrees in relation to the Sun which happens twice a year, once in March and once in September.
Various ancient cultures around the world would honor the Spring Equinox based on their traditions. So, to honor my ancestors I felt called to share Pre-Christian Armenia’s celebration of Spring equinox.
Did you know that Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity over 1,700 years ago.
Here are some history facts if you are interested in learning more:
However, I was interested in pagan Armenia with its endless colors, pantheon of Gods, and rich traditions. This is where I learned about Amanor.
Amanor was an ancient Armenian New Year Celebration that occurred twice a year, during the Spring and Autumn Equinox. Participants were invited to the ancient temples, where the priests would perform the New Year's ritual as a symbol of renewal, regeneration, and rebirth.
All who participated were offered a blessing upon meditating on these two questions:
In the past year, what in your life has passed?
From that death, what seed has emerged to bring new life?
Afterwards, they were given two strips of black and green fabric as an offering for the New Year. The black stood for all that has passed, and the green for new life and new beginnings. Once the offerings were made, participants were anointed with fresh parsley and were given an egg as a symbol of new life.
For me, the Spring Equinox represents a moment of balance of light and dark, masculine and feminine, death and birth. A time when animals come out of their dens with new cubs and see the sunlight for the first time in a few months. The sound of the seasonal creeks and its fauna birthing with life. The blue sky with occasional floating cloud, and the birds singing in the morning outside my window. A remembrance of growing up in Armenia when the energy of the Spring was marked by the first sight of the snowdrop flowers “dzntsaghik” at the local bazaars where I would get them for my mom.
Like the snowdrop flowers after a cold winter, we are all coming to life from the stillness of our dens. Welcoming the warmth of the sun on our faces, the soil under our feet, and the waters of our oceans. Emerging from the season of death, into the new beginning as newborn children of Earth. As we commune with spirits of the ancestors, what seeds do we feel called to plant this year? Have we asked ourselves those two questions? Do we know which parts of us have died and which want to be born?
I believe in interconnection of all that is in this world we live in. In all its simplicity this day is the reminder to walk with seasons of the Earth, birthing, maturing, shedding, dying. Being aware of what season we are in and use the energies of the planet to move through us the weaving of the ancestral song that resides in our hearts. I hear that song as a reminder that times of sorrow are passing. I am planting the seeds of new beginnings, joy, celebration, community, and love.
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