The Spring Equinox: Birth, Life, and Resurrection

The following guest sermon was submitted by ULC Rev. Torre Huffines. All ULC Ministers are invited to contribute their own sermons for consideration/publication. To submit a sermon, please email it to sermons@ulc.org.

Every year, as the frost begins to thaw, the robins begin to nest, and the daylight gradually lingers longer, we know that spring is on the horizon. The Spring Equinox comes with a surge of new life and beginnings. Each of us will wake to a bright and nurturing sun that assures us of the vitality of life. This moment is not just one of the sun’s light returning to a world settled in darkness. It brings with it the power of time, fertility, and prophecy.

Humanity has regarded the spring, or Vernal, Equinox with a hope in new chances, a sense of restored vitality, and perseverance of a prosperous year ahead. We have not come far from the days of old where the Spring Equinox signified the soil was once again restored and rich enough to nourish the seed of a far-off bounty. Much like the farmer, we feel a deep, inherent conviction to tend to the world in a way that can yield promise for the future. Plenty of farmers, environmentalists, and astronomers still place much significance on this astronomical event, but is there a deeper insight we can gain by looking at the ancient myths and symbolism that surround the coming of Spring?

Many spiritualists from diverse cultures have regarded the Spring Equinox with additional importance based on the mythological character of the event. In many cases, we recognize that survival in the ancient world was dependent on the sun’s warmth and light. This initial, primal relationship to the sun sets the precedent for all sun worship and deification to come. More specifically, the seasons were mythologically considered to track the sun’s life and death throughout the year. However, the Spring Equinox symbolized its rebirth or resurrection.

The mythology of this seasonal period mostly surrounds the matriarchal goddesses either involved in birthing light, humanity, or the sun. This is in part because of the natural world around us being nurtured and brought into life once more which is a quality that humanity has often attributed to the female energy of life and creation. The Greek Goddess Eos – herald of the dawn – is said to come just before her brother Helios. In Ancient Egyptian myths, the Goddess Isis gives birth to her son Horus during the winter solstice. Sound familiar? To call out the obvious, we can see the connection once more in the mythos of Mother Mary where she is with Jesus, the son of light, at his time of birth, death, and resurrection.  

Another aspect to the mythological importance of this period is rooted in the concept of resurrection. We can recognize how the springtime, with a surge of vitality, heralding of sunlight, and many other telltale signs of the sun’s return can be signified as the resurrection of the sun. With it comes the symbolism of a new chapter, a fresh start, and greener pastures. There is a deeper wisdom as well that comes from the spawning of new life at this time. The sun is not just born anew. It is also set free of its past. It is thrust into a new moment, phase, and period.  If we as people and spiritualists have come to harmonize with this moment’s profound wisdom, then we too can experience this sense of rebirth.  

This brings us to the prophetic nature of the Spring Equinox. Regardless of beliefs (even the lack thereof) the world around us, both in myth and nature, shows us that life is an eternal experience. The sun’s light, the seasons, and thus the cycle of time all move in a triad of birth, life, and resurrection. As that cycle continues, we can trust that every chapter ends with a beginning.