Yielding to the Metamorphosis at the Spring Equinox
The Spring Equinox is a time of rebirth. For many it feels like a welcome relief after the dark and trying winter, but for others it can feel like this time of year brings changes that we’re not ready for. The early spring is a liminal period, a time when both death and life are equally present. We are transitioning from a collective Death cycle to a Rebirth cycle, which is not altogether a comfortable process. Metamorphosis seldom occurs without pain, but the amount of discomfort we experience directly correlates to whether we resist or allow the rebirth.
what is the Spring Equinox?
The Spring Equinox (or the Vernal Equinox) is one of two days in the year with equal hours of light and darkness (hence equinox, meaning ‘equal night’); the other being the Autumn Equinox. It is the first day of spring - the season of rebirth. This sacred moment of transition is widely celebrated in a festival called Ostara, named after the Germanic goddess of spring. Regardless of what we call this lunar handover, it is the commencement of a new season, a new cycle, and for many who still observe the old ways, a new year. In fact, until the modern world switched from the using the lunar Julian calendar of antiquity to the solar Gregorian calendar between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Spring Equinox was celebrated as the New Year.
Whether we subscribe to Christianity or observe the nature-based Wheel of the Year festivals, it’s undeniable that there is a symbolic overlap between the Spring Equinox, a festival of rebirth, and the Christian high holiday of Easter, also a festival of rebirth. In fact, this entire season is a threshold between Death and Life; it is the ultimate liminal space. In agricultural tradition, or even for those of us with the humblest of container gardens, this is the time to plant new crop seeds. It’s also the time to plant seeds of intention for what we would like to create in the upcoming cycles. However, like our crop seeds, intentions need time to grow. They must be tended with devotion and patiently awaited.
The Wheel of the Year illustration by Kelly Louise Judd (used with the artist’s permission)
Being in the Void
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: healing is not a linear process. Life is not linear. Nature is not linear. Even the weather is not linear. Being human means not knowing what is just around the corner. This fact is what makes life particularly challenging for anyone who has experienced trauma, adversity, or chronic anxiety. Personally, I’ve always found the month of March to be the most trying, despite the lighter days. To me, the period around the Spring Equinox is shrouded in liminality. A time when both death and life are equally present. As the snow thaws, we see evidence of the winter’s decomposition process while the new blossoms start to bud. This yin-yang experience reminds us that no death happens without a birth and no birth happens without a death.
To create space for the new, something old must leave. To begin again, a cycle must end.
As I write this, I’m also living it. Just as my life and career seem to be turning a corner, I’m facing the reality of losing a parent and what that means for the next chapter of my life. What will it be like to move from living with trauma to living with grief? There have been times where I’ve been so angry at the injustice of this - how can the universe restore in one area while destroying in another? When I get swept away in these human albeit myopic thoughts, I’m reminded that this is the way of nature. Just as we don’t make one underworld journey in our lifetimes, we continuously descend to heal and transform and then emerge, only to repeat the process again when a new wound calls for our attention, neither nature nor spirit nor humanity follow a linear path. We flow in cycles of Life, Death, and Rebirth just as the earth does. This is nature’s rhythm and the reason I believe adopting a non-linear approach to life is beneficial to mental, physical, and spiritual health is because living this way is what it means to flow instead of resist.
“Hope keeps us moving in the direction of light…It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by change, especially since we’re still processing the lessons from winter…if you feel pulled in too many directions, slow down.”
-Fiona Cook, The Wheel of the Year
The Transformation
Recently, I re-read a book that continues to have a profound impact on me - The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer. This incredible memoir sets out the extraordinary yet circuitous path the author took to achieve his soul’s purpose and desire. In a nutshell, he gets there by surrendering to the universe entirely, saying ‘yes’ to serendipitous opportunities and ‘no’ to anything that would divert his attention from the soul to the ego. However, the path of surrender was not without discomfort. It’s called the Surrender Experiment for a reason. At every juncture the author had a choice to resist what was or accept it, regardless of whether it was his preference or not. In states of surrender Singer experienced metamorphosis. Like a caterpillar’s body shapeshifting in the chrysalis, metamorphosis is painful. It’s death yielding to birth. Reflecting on this unavoidable fact, Singer made the following observation which has been swirling in my mind over the past month:
“No matter who we are, life is going to put us through the changes we need to go through. The question is: Are we willing to use this force for our transformation? Even very intense situations don’t have to leave psychological scars, if we are willing to process our changes at a deeper level.”
Rebirth is an uncomfortable experience, there’s just no way around that, but the amount of suffering we experience is entirely related to whether we resist or allow the transformation. Notice that I personally don’t say ‘surrender’ or even ‘accept’ - I prefer the word ‘allow.’ Some argue that we don’t get a choice in the rebirth process, but I don’t believe that’s true. Sure, we can’t stop a baby once it’s in the birth canal, but we can certainly stop ourselves from being reborn if we resist it enough. If this wasn’t true none of us would know individuals who refuse to evolve no matter how many crises or suffering they experience!
So, the question is, are we allowing ourselves to evolve, to be reborn, to transform, or are we resisting the metamorphosis that these periods of liminality offer and stay stagnant? Don’t know the answer? Here’s a great way to tell - how much pain are you in?
Next Steps
If you find yourself struggling in in-between periods or feel called to evolve, feel free to schedule a no-commitment Discovery Session during which we can have a short chat about how how Integrated Therapy can serve you.