A Springtime Ritual for Connecting with Nature

(such a sky and such a sun
i never knew and neither did you
and everybody never breathed
quite so many kinds of yes)

~e. e. cummings

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How wonderful to be here in this moment, at the start of Spring...With the Spring Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere), we enter a new phase of lengthening days, warming weather, and natural energy rising from dormancy into full bloom. Try this ritual as a way to be still and connect nature at this special time:

Stand outside somewhere peaceful. Breathe in the air and remind yourself why Spring is special and magical to you. Let old memories of the Springtime arise in your mind. Holding the joyful memories of spring in your mind:

1. Turn and face the direction of the sun. Thank the sun for its grand return to the sky and ask for its blessings upon the land.
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2. Thank Mother Nature for her nourishment and love.
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3. If you have shoes on, remove them and allow the earth’s energy to rise into your feet and gradually up your legs and then through the rest of your body.
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4. Choose the nearest tree and walk over to it, still feeling the earth’s energy undulating in waves throughout your body. Hold your hand out to the tree, fingers up and place your palm against the tree, as if saying hello.
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5. Let the tree’s energy flow into your fingers and palm and then into your arm, slowly meeting and mixing with the energy still rising from your feet. Place your other palm against the tree to greet the tree’s spirit.
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6. Let the tree’s energy fill the top portion of your body, including your mind and heart. At this point, you will feel the earth and tree’s energy meeting and combining. If you cannot feel it physically, feel it with your mind and spirit.
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7. Visualize the energies mixing and filling your body fluidly. This is the spirit of Spring and the soul of nature.

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Wrapping Up the Ritual…

1. To end your ritual, be sure that both of your feet are flat upon the ground and both palms are flat against the same tree. Imagine some of your energy and spirit flowing out from your heart chakra and into the tree.
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2. Think of your solar plexus as sending waves of your energy down through your legs, through your feet and into the earth. This is to give some of yourself to the earth, as you have taken some of its energy in this rite.
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3. Once more, face the sun (don’t stare directly at it), and thank the sun for its warmth and thank the earth for its upcoming gifts to us this Spring.
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4. After you have performed this simple ritual, remember the exchange of energies for the rest of the day. Remember why we love Spring and be grateful for all of the fruitfulness of the earth. If we take, we must give something in return.

~OtherwordlyOracle.com

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—“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"

—"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...”  

~Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden