September is the month when the sun crosses above Earth’s equator and moves from north to south bringing with it, you guessed it, spring!
Weather spring begins on 1 September or at the spring equinox on 23 September is a moot point. Who cares? It’s goodbye to those cold dark days.
Being clever Ponsonby peeps, you probably already knew that September comes from the Latin word for ‘seven’ – septem – the seventh month of the Roman year, which began the year in March. The Julian calendar reform (46 B.C.E.) shifted the new year back two months and September became the ninth month of the year. It’s the only month not named after a Roman god or goddess; the birthstone is the resplendent sapphire.
When you google ‘September’, most website entries focus on the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal equinox, describing the month as a time to honor the harvest and the connection with the earth – a period of transition and change as the warmer months begin to fade away and make way for the oncoming cooler months. But while transition and change at this time is relevant to us in the Southern Hemisphere too, honoring harvest at this time is not so. With daylight saving starting on the spring equinox on the 23rd, we look forward to those longer days, warmer evenings and later sunsets and start thinking about planting out – not harvesting – some of our favourites in the veggie or flower garden.
In a spiritual and metaphysical sense, the spring equinox is associated with rebirth, renewal and reflection. It’s also a time of celebration of new life (think new born lambs, the kowhai flower and daffodils to name just a few). Throughout history, cultures have celebrated this turn in the seasons: Aphrodite from Cyprus, Hathor from Egypt, and Ostara, named after Ostara/Eostre, the Germanic goddess of spring and fertility. The latter being a pagan festival with the associated symbols of spring flowers, fairies, butterflies, rabbits and eggs.
The equinox, whether in spring or autumn, is also a reminder of the importance of balance, as a more or less equal amount of daylight and darkness occurs at all latitudes at this time. The word equinox is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night).
While the Northern Hemisphere has its cultural associations with springtime and the spring equinox, here in the Southern Hemisphere there are also many cultural associations in Maoridom. Mahuru is the fourth lunar month of the Maori year – approximately equivalent to September. Although aspects of the tales differ, one has it that the God, Rehua, had several wives, two of them being Whakaonge-kai, representing warmth and light, and Peke-hawani, representing night and winter. The story goes that the two wives were constantly having eternal battles in order to gain the upper hand, but the days of the equinox brought calm as it was the only time when they were equally matched.
Transition, reflection, rebirth, renewal and balance – all things associated with the months of spring and food for thought as we approach the general election next month on October 14 to determine the composition of our 54th Parliament. (William Greig)
In the meantime, this classic poem of nature and joy springs to mind:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
William Wordsworth (1804)
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Published: August 2023