(I am pronouncing Wuruma as WUH-ruh-muh.)
Wuruma Spring falls on or around the 1st of August and is on the Wuruma Wheel of the Year.
The Wuruma Wheel applies to the seasons occurring on the NSW Central Coast. It is not on the Southern Wheel of the Year, which is the European-based Wheel as celebrated in Australia. (See Wheel links below or in the side-bar.)
In 2009 I celebrated Wuruma Spring in mid-August. There were few golden wattles in bloom locally on the 1st of August and the real start of spring comes when the wattles bloom.
The official national Wattle Day is on the 1st of September. So those celebrating the Wuruma Wheel or their local Wheel might celebrate on the 1st of September or just watch their local wattles and celebrate when they start to bloom.
I did not have the energy for a full festival and formal ritual seems out of place on the Wuruma Wheel anyway.
Instead, I cleared off the top of my bookcase and covered it with a green cloth. I put a big bunch of golden wattle in a vase. Wuruma Spring occurs during the Wuruma season (the windy season) so I marked that by collecting all the fallen feathers I could find from native birds. I scattered them around the vase, lit a candle at each end of the bookcase and left it at that.
So my first Wuruma Spring had no ritual at all, unless you count setting up the wattle and feathers. But it was good to have found a way to mark it.
The Southern Wheel & the Wuruma Wheel
Wuruma Spring is not marked on the Southern Wheel. The Southern Wheel is based on the European and other northern hemisphere Wheels.
The next festival on the Wuruma Wheel is Wuruma Ending on or around the 30th of September. Followed by Wuruma Beltane around the 15th of October.
Wuruma Wheel explanation & dates
About Wattles
Wattle Day
