The spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is around the corner, and with it, energetic and seasonal shifts. If you haven’t had a moment to sit with yourself and make resolutions, create goals, or set intentions for your year, this is a great time to do so.
While we can reset any time of year, the equinox is when day and night are of equal length: a time that resonates with balance, integration, and growth. It’s a marker of the end of winter and the start of new life. This particular spring equinox takes place days after a full moon, which can illuminate what’s working for you, and what isn’t.
The equinoxes and the solstices have been honored by cultures all over the globe for thousands of years. As we are nature, our shifts are even more supported when we embody the seasons. You may already feel ripe with more motivation, and even more available to court optimism.
(Meredith, Tara, and Viva wearing the Waffle Henley Top)
Over the past few years, we’ve been upended relentlessly— including our energy, beliefs, routines, dreams, and center. We aren’t the same people as we were, our needs and wants are different.
Rituals help us clear out old energy, focus our awareness, and kickstart new cycles. They help us carve out space to name what is most important to us currently, and initiate necessary shifts in energy, behavior, belief, and mindset.
Below you’ll find an idea for a reset ritual, designed for the spring equinox, which you can feel free to adapt to your needs or practice.
Cleanse, Clear, and Center
(Meredith, Tara, and Viva wearing the Waffle Henley Top)
What I do leading up to a ritual is almost as important as the ritual itself. Preparation is important, specifically, having a clear intention, space, tools, and time. It’s incredibly useful to prep by rearranging or reorganizing your home, schedule, and sleep hygiene in the weeks before a ritual.
This is great because it “pre-paves” the ritual by nodding to your subconscious and the universe (if that resonates with your belief system) that movement is occurring. For those of us with trauma, who need more notice before attending to big shifts — an “easing into” instead of a cannonball, tends to be more supportive.
I usually follow a process I call the 3 C’s formula, which involves cleansing, clearing, and centering.
Cleanse: 3-5 days before the ritual, consider tidying and cleaning your home. If you’re able to, donate clothes you don’t want to a local thrift store.
Clear: Clear up any lingering to-do’s that clutter your brain space, like appointment making or bill paying — especially ones that correlate to your intention.
Spend some time clearing your energetic field, space, and time. Get clear on your intention. Write it down, bring it into your consciousness.
Center: Ground yourself by doing some light movement, connecting to nature, or laying on the earth. Name your intention and center it in your body.
The 3 C’s acts as a mini-reset within itself! By following this formula, you’ll most likely already be feeling reset.
What You’ll Need
(Viva wearing the Waffle Henley Top and Jogger in Cloud)
In preparation for this special ritual, you’ll want a few candles: a black candle, a light candle, and a candle that resonates with the color of the intention you’ll be setting. Naturally, you’ll also want some matches or a lighter.
Since spring is all about fresh starts, think of items that symbolize resets and new beginnings — like seeds. You’ll also want to collect items that resonate with the equinox, like eggs, blooming flowers or buds, sunstone, or bunnies.
Otherwise, have several pieces of paper, a pen, a bowl of fresh water, and a fireproof bowl with a little water in it at the ready.
Choose a Setting
(Meredith, Tara, and Viva wearing the Waffle Henley Top)
Before the ritual, pick a time and place. It can be out in nature, provided you’ll feel safe and private. It can also be in a room where you have a table or altar.
The spring equinox is on Sunday, March 20 at 8:32 am (PST), so try to time it as close as you can. Try to give yourself at least an hour for your ritual.
Make a plan for later that day that resonates with your intention: have fun! Nap! Treat yourself! Have a dance party! Sign up for a class or join a group! Start an important habit, routine, or practice!
Set the Scene
Place the candles in the center of your surface, with the black to the left, the white to the right, and the colored one in the middle. Put the bowl of fresh water in front of the white candle, and the fireproof bowl in front of the black candle.
Place the symbolic items you’ve collected around the candles in a way that feels good to you. Take some deep, grounding breaths through your belly and out your mouth for at least 30 seconds. Imagine any tension or tightness leaving your body on the exhale.
Begin Your Ritual
State your intention as you light the candles, from left to right, three times.
Release fears: On a piece of paper, write down all the fears you’re releasing. Give thanks in advance for your strength. Share gratitude that the universe is supporting you in the process of letting go.
Use the black candle to burn the pieces of paper, then put them in the fireproof bowl. Take some deep breaths, yell, pound on the floor, or take some action to move these ending chapters farther away.
Invite support: Write down everything you’ll need to make your intention grow: patience, structure, friends, discipline, fun, etc. Invite the energy of the equinox to help you! Hold up your paper so that the white candle flame glows through it and read it all out loud, in the present tense: “I have patience, I am disciplined, etc.”
Reset: Focus on the middle candle. Call your intention in, out loud. Spend some time visualizing your intention and its outcome. Memorize it in your body. Move your body, sway, dance, and imagine the energy of your intention moving throughout your energy field.
Using your breath and movement, become a magnet to fresh and welcome change. Then, imagine some of the energy leaving your crown and flowing out into the universe, paving the way towards your intended outcome. Clap, stomp your feet, jump up in down; take any intuitive movements that will help you reset.
Post-Ritual Care
(Tara wearing the Waffle Henley Top in Soft Brown)
Put the ashes of the burnt paper in the trash or flush them down the toilet. Put the paper from the bowl of water at the base of a tree, or use it to water your garden or houseplants.
Burn all your candles down to the end, but avoid leaving an unintended candle burning. You may wish to sit in the same spot for a few days following the ritual, journaling or meditating to your lit candles.
In the days and weeks that follow, stay focused on your intention. Do everything in your power to move towards growth and self-love every day.
Sarah Faith Gottesdiener is an artist, writer, and host of the podcast Moonbeaming.