Spring Equinox

Published March 2025

The first day of Spring - March 20! Sometimes known as vernal equinox, since it’s only the beginning of spring in the Northern hemishere, autumn in the Southern. The word equinox stems from the Latin ‘aequus’, which means equal, nox meaning night. When the Earth’s axis neither tilts towards or away from the Sun is when the equinox occurs. This ushers in the start of the Zodiac calendar with the first cardinal sign of fiery energy - Aries. Did you know that the spring and autumn equinoxes are the only days that the sun rises due East and the sun sets true West?

Cultural Significance

At the ruins of Chichen Itza, the ancient Maya city in Mexico, crowds gather on the spring equinox to watch as the afternoon sun creates shadows that resemble a snake moving along the stairs of the 79-foot-tall Pyramid of Kukulkan, also called El Castillo. The snake descends the pyramid until it merges with a large, serpent head sculpture at the base of the structure.

Watch the shadows shift in this short video by Discovery.

Pyramid of Kukulkan

Image from The Vedanta Traveler