BORN ON THE IDES OF MARCH

I was born on the Ides of March.  Most of us know the Shakespearean phrase “Beware the Ides of March,” as the warning to Julius Caesar that he ignored and thus wound- up dead, as in assassinated! I decided that any negative connotations relating to the date of my birth does not sit well, and so I began research to find out exactly what the “Ides of March” was and if any positivity could be derived from this discovery.

As it turns out, there is a great deal of positivity attached to this auspicious date. Our calendar is based on the Romans’ calendar, and they did not number each day of a month from the first to the last day. Instead, they counted back from three fixed points in the month: the “Nones” (the 5th or 7th, nine days inclusive before the Ides); the Ides (the 13th in most months, but the 15th in March, May, July and October); and the Kalends (1st of the following month). The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar which works out well for me because my two favorite numbers are 4 and 7 and I was born at 7:44 a.m. The date in Roman times was filled with religious observances because the Ides is the time of the full moon reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar.  In the earliest calendar, the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the year!  

Now this is getting good because I then can go the the symbolism of the full moon for more in depth positivity.  Did you know that the full Moon being a circle symbolizes the image of wholeness and strength?  The Chinese associate the full Moon as the essence of femininity and Yin. To Buddhists, the full Moon represents spiritual power.  Many cultures view the cycle of the Moon, and the apex being the full Moon, as a controlling factor of the rhythm of time. When the Moon is large and full, we marvel at its grandeur and revel in the realization of our individual power that is at the peak of clarity.  The full Moon is a time to celebrate growth, take note of what progress you have made, and reflect on how far you have come. All of this knowledge about March 15th makes me feel uplifted. Yes, because of mindset and some determination, you too can turn the way you view something around!  The positive essence of the date of March 15th  is more than joyous for all the reasons discovered because I sought to pursue the quest. I hope Shakespeare will not mind if I tweak his phrase a little from ” Beware the Ides of March” to “Rejoice in the Ides of March”, a time for celebrating all that has been, and all yet to be.

Linda Joy Walder