Spring Cleaning & Nawruz

Out with the old, in with the new!

Spring cleaning, decluttering, and purging during the spring equinox.

Time to pull out your fridge, and your stove and get in all the tight spaces you’ve ignored.

Yet, where, when and WHY do we do this?

Well, you can thank Persians, and their equinox tradition called khaneh tekani or “shaking the house” .

Iranians still practice the Persian New Year tradition during Nowruz.

This day always falls on the first day of spring, which in the pagan calendar March 20th or 21st.

Some other traditions you can appreciate during the equinox are:

• Rearranging furniture and decor, to appease house spirits and ancestors

• Changing magical tools and items used on your altar or in your prayer/meditation space

• Give up certain foods and beverages in respect of the changes that will come with spring

• Bring nature into your home by collecting herbs and plants, in an ethical way from the outdoors.

In America, the idea of spring cleaning has always started in media or from our news and entertainment outlets, but they of course have adopted or ‘borrowed’ ideas from other cultures and belief systems.

I think that we naturally follow the rhythms and energies of the earth, and much like our earth mother, we do and act according to her cycles. During the darker and colder winter months we conserve and store our energies, and during the brighter and lighter times we express it!

I hope you find clarity of vision and joy during the coming spring.

- Zachariah The Witch 2022.