Tarot for the Spring Equinox Recognize, choose, begin

Spring is a season that arrives twice. First it comes in the air, in that strange way when suddenly the smell changes as you step outside and you can’t quite explain why. And then, only afterward, it appears on the calendar, when there is finally a date you can point to: that is the equinox. It is the moment when light and darkness are equal, yes, but above all it is the moment when the body comes out of its torpor and starts wanting to do things again… at its own pace, because we all know that between March and April it’s hard to keep your eyes open: that sweet drowsiness the proverb talks about, right? But if you’re not careful, if you don’t keep it “trained,” that returning energy can turn into such confusion that it leaves you completely overwhelmed and unable to move in the right way. You tend, more than anything, to make promises to your better self without really understanding where you’re starting from. I asked the cards how to avoid this typical March impasse, and the cards, as usual, didn’t beat around the bush: first you must recognize what you have gained so far, then you must choose what to carry forward, and only at the end take the first step needed to begin a new path. No shortcuts, no alternative routes: the tarot was clear about this.

The spread for the spring equinox: Six of Swords, Queen of Pentacles, Ace of Wands

What to recognize - the Six of Swords

The Six of Swords is the card of transition, like a ferry. Someone is moving away from a difficult shore on a boat that advances slowly across the water. It’s not an escape; it’s a conscious crossing. The swords are still there, acting as a counterweight, they haven’t disappeared, but the direction of the journey has changed. Drawn at the beginning of the spread, this card tells us that winter has left us something, but it’s not just the desire to emerge from a period of cold and stillness: no, it has also left something quieter, a change that hasn’t yet had time to emerge from the snow. Something is certainly different compared to even three months ago, perhaps a way of seeing a situation or a priority that shifted almost without us noticing. This card asks you to recognize it. But here, recognizing means taking an “inventory” of what has changed during the past season, even the small things we might consider a bit uncomfortable. Not everything that survives a dark season comes out the same, and the first act of spring is not projecting yourself into the future, but understanding the present in order to know where you will begin again.

What to choose - the Queen of Pentacles

The Queen of Pentacles is a grounded figure who knows exactly the value of what she holds. She is not a romantic or visionary card: she represents someone who knows herself, who understands what lies within, and who doesn’t waste energy on impossible attempts from the start. She has the intelligence of someone who knows that success is not built on enthusiasm, but on consistent attention to the right things. This card invites us to make a choice of quality rather than quantity. The new season brings an expansive energy that can disperse very quickly: you want to do everything, and right away, but the Queen of Pentacles says no, or rather, she says to choose just one thing you truly want to dedicate yourself to during this period. Whether it’s a relationship, a project, or a hidden desire that needs attention. Not ten things, but one, done well. Because choosing, in this sense, is already an act of strength. It means consciously letting go of everything else, at least for now, knowing that attention is a limited resource. When will we learn to prioritize the right things?

What to begin - the Ace of Wands

The Ace of Wands is creative impulse in its purest form, even before it becomes a project or a strategy. It is that spark that comes before thought, that sudden urge to do something new, which doesn’t yet have a clearly defined shape. For the spring equinox, this card doesn’t speak of grand revolutions or entirely new chapters in life. It speaks of a real, specific gesture: a first step that must be firm and tangible. Writing the first line of what could become a successful novel, going out to explore a place that once frightened you. It must be something that turns intention into something concrete. The Ace of Wands knows that the right moment is created only by acting, without waiting for fate to intervene, before the mind starts creating a thousand excuses and anxieties to avoid action. Spring doesn’t wait, it moves anyway, so you might as well start moving with it.

Rituals to recognize, choose, begin

Recognize what has changed

During or after the equinox, take twenty minutes alone, preferably in the evening, when the sun has already set (even better before going to bed). Take a notebook, any one, and write at the top of the first page: what has changed in me compared to three months ago? Don’t focus only on major changes, write everything, even what seems obvious or too small to matter, because often the most real change hides there, in the thoughts we dismiss first because they seem trivial. If you want to create a more intimate space, put your phone away and open a window slightly: the air of March, as I’ve already told you, has a special scent, and sometimes that’s all you need to return a little more to yourself.

Choose what to carry forward

Make a list of everything you would like to devote energy to between now and June, without censorship or judgment. Then reread the list and ask yourself: if I could carry forward only one of these with true attention, which would it be? Underline it. The rest won’t disappear, but it will remain there, on paper. You can make this choice more “visible” in your daily life, like a real goal, by writing the name of that one thing on a piece of paper and placing it somewhere you use often, on your bedside table, on your bathroom mirror, or even inside your wallet. You don’t need to read it every day; it’s enough to know it’s there, within reach.

Begin with a precise gesture

On the morning of the equinox (or the following one), before even looking at your phone, do one single thing connected to what you chose in the previous ritual. One small action, doable in less than ten minutes, which doesn’t have to be meaningful or symbolic, it just has to be concrete. If you want to add a ritual element, place next to you an object that represents a beginning for you, a key, a seed, even just a piece of paper with the first step written on it, and keep it there, in sight, for the duration of that first action. That’s it, you’ve done it. This spring equinox doesn’t ask you to live up to the season, nor to restart faster than others. It simply asks you to look within yourself honestly, to choose carefully, and to take that first step, even if it’s small, even if you don’t yet know where it will lead. May the tarot and the rituals of this equinox help you find the right beginning, and move from there with a little more clarity than you had just a few months ago.