Last Wednesday, when temperatures peaked at 73 degrees Fahrenheit, friend groups flocked outside, setting up picnic blankets across the lawn in front of Wilson Library and lingering for hours.
Some read books, some played ultimate frisbee and others simply basked in the first full day of spring, which came after a few days of cloudy skies and brisk chills.
The vernal equinox, which astronomers consider to be the first official day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs every year between March 19 and March 21. During the equinox, the Earth’s axis lines up so that most places receive more balanced amounts of sunlight and darkness.
In Chapel Hill, student and community organizations are celebrating the season change with a variety of cultural and religious events throughout the next few weeks.
On Wednesday evening, Erin Harker, a self-proclaimed witch and the founder of Durham-based store for modern magick practitioners, the Magick Makers LLC, hosted an equinox-themed social at the Graduate Chapel Hill.
At the event, Harker gave tarot readings related to the concept of renewal that her spiritual practice associates with spring.
Many pagans attach great spiritual significance to the spring equinox because of its connection to the natural world, Harker said.
She also said that the equinox coincides with the astrological new year, which occurred when the sun entered the sign of Aries on March 19.
“The sun is out longer, and it has this kind of transformational quality to it as well,” she said. “Where we just have an opportunity to look at where we want to grow and what direction we want to take for the year, and celebrate the Earth waking up again after a long winter.”
