Equinox

In less than an hour of my writing this post, the vernal equinox will occur. I have an egg ready to balance at 12:15, though I already know it will fall over. It's a myth. Even the idea that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres have an equal amount of daylight on this day is flawed. There can be as much as a 17-minute difference. Just call me an iconoclast. Sorry.

"Equinox" means "equal night." Another term for this phenomenon is "equinoctial point." Perhaps the more interesting word here, however, is "vernal." For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 is the date of the vernal equinox, also marking the first day of spring. But in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the first day of autumn. And still, the March 20 event is referred to as the vernal equinox! And September 23 will mark the autumnal equinox, whether you are celebrating the first day of autumn in the North or the first day of spring in the South! Stuff like this can make purists crazy.

While multitudes flock to Stonehenge in England on this, one of the four days of the year with "open access" and a day to celebrate all things pagan, the better place to be is Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. On this day, a shadow is cast on Kukulkan, a feathered snake god guarding a Mayan pyramid. The shadow causes the body of the snake to join the head at the base of the pyramid. Google it for a video.

If you cannot be in England or Mexico or anywhere else at all (especially if you are in the path of this month's fourth nor'easter), there are several things you can do to celebrate the equinox. (I know, I already spoiled the egg-balancing thing, didn't I?) Today is considered a day to be reborn, so go ahead and reinvent yourself. You can also cleanse your blood with a beverage made of dandelion and burdock. Yum.

Hug a bunny. Or act like a bunny. If breeding like a rabbit isn't on your agenda, you can just start your spring cleaning. Or get your freak on . . . because it's spring, and you know where a young man's fancy turns, right? Rumor has it that a woman's fancy might go there, too. And age doesn't matter.

You can create your own pagan rituals in celebration of Ostara, the goddess of dawn and fertility. (It is said that her name was "Christianized" into "Easter." Hmmm.) Put a wreath of plastic flowers around your head, tie some long and colorful ribbons to your belt, and take your shoes off. Make up a dance. Have a glass of wine (unless you really want the dandelion/burdock thing). If you don't have a harp or lute lying around, a kazoo will do.

As for me, I'm heading to a tiki bar for a cold one. And I've got somebunny to hug, too. Happy Spring!