HAPPY AUTUMN EQUINOX!

In the name of ALLAH, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

HAPPY AUTUMN EQUINOX!

The Autumn Equinox falls on 22nd September each year in the Northern hemisphere (and spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere). The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. The Autumn equinox occurs in the Northern Hemisphere around September 22, when the Sun reaches the southbound celestial equator. This vernal equinox also marks the beginning of autumn, which lasts up to the winter solstice, according to the astronomical concept of seasons.

On the Gregorian calendar, the southward equinox (also known as the September or autumnal equinox) can occur as early as September 21, as measured at Greenwich (Universal Time). While it usually falls on September 22 or 23, the date can vary for several reasons. Calendar vs. tropical year: Earth takes approximately 365.25 days to orbit the sun, but the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a common year. Leap years: The Gregorian calendar uses leap years to correct for the quarter-day discrepancy, which resets the date of the equinox every four years. Gravitational influences: The gravitational pull of other planets and the Moon causes minor irregularities in the Earth's orbit, contributing to the small variations in the equinox date. The last time a September 21 equinox occurred was in 1000 C.E., but it is predicted to happen twice in the 21st century: in 2092 and 2096.

 At the Autumn Equinox, when the sun begins its descent into the dark half of the year, Mabon's imprisonment and eventual liberation mirrors the cycle of death and rebirth, light going into darkness before eventual renewal. As the Equinox is a time of balance, it is often linked with justice, weighing, and discernment. Welcome to Mabon — what Wiccans call the autumnal equinox — a celebration that straddles the line between the warmth of summer's end and the encroaching cold of winter. It's that magical time when day and night stand in perfect balance, a brief pause before darkness takes the lead.

 The September autumn equinox also serves as a reference for calendars and celebrations in many human cultures and religions. Today, 23rd September, is the Autumn Equinox ~ a sacred turning point where day and night stand in perfect balance. From this moment forward, we begin our descent into the darker half of the year, where we’re invited to slow down, turn inward, and honor all that has ripened within and around us. This is a time to offer deep gratitude for the blessings of the harvest; both literal and spiritual. What have you nurtured and grown this year? What is ready to be honored, released, or composted as the Earth begins her sacred rest?

Ritual Inspiration:

– Create an autumn altar with leaves, apples, corn, acorns, or dried herbs

– Light a candle in honor of balance, release, and gratitude

– Write a list of everything you are thankful for this season

– Take a walk in nature and collect seasonal offerings with reverence

– Prepare a nourishing meal with seasonal foods like squash, root veggies, and warm spices

– Reflect on what balance looks and feels like in your body, home, and spirit.

Vernal equinox, two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length; also, either of the two points in the sky where the ecliptic (the Sun's annual pathway) and the celestial equator intersect. What does the fall equinox symbolize? This move from DIY to playing nice with others is mirrored in the astrological shift from Virgo to Libra. “Virgo rules over the 6th house of everyday routines and habits, while Libra rules over the 7th house of partnerships.

 Thus, the autumn equinox symbolizes Persephone's descent into the underworld and the beginning of the darker, colder months. It is a time of balance and transition, reflecting the duality of light and dark, life and death, and the eternal cycle of nature. The autumn equinox represents the precarious balance of light and dark, sun and shadow, Solas recommends a similarly balanced manifestation practice. Take note of where the sun rises — that is due east. Every morning at sunrise after the autumnal (fall) equinox, you will notice that the sun is moving a little bit to the right, or toward the south at sunrise.

“Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself. The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world's oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white silence of winter.” (From Shauna Niequist from "Bittersweet")

Tonight the earth stands in balance.

Light and dark face one another as equals.

This is the Autumn Equinox, what some call Mabon, the second harvest.

It is the pause before the long descent into winter, a reminder that change does not always come with force. Sometimes it arrives quietly, asking us to gather what nourishes us and to release what has already run its course.

The trees do not cling to their leaves.

They burn bright. They let go.

They trust the roots to remember.

As night falls, may you also find your balance.

Rest knowing that both light and dark are keeping watch over you, and that even in the quiet, something new is already stirring.

May this, AUTUMN EQUINOX Day, bless us with peace, perspective, and presence. May we be held by the Earth as she teaches us to let go gently and trust the next season of our becoming.

 May your family find a balance that includes

time to watch

the green leaves turn golden &

the last hummingbird sip from

a still-blooming nasturtium.

May autumn help you together

make space to feel

the sun shift

its light -

to see the silken milkweed 

seeds burst from their pods.

May your family notice &

savor every little,

beautiful goodbye.

There is some sense when

autumn begins,

that the world is being

smothered by a colorful blanket.

Trees lose their emerald

radiance; the edges

of their leaves turn yellow,

orange or scarlet. Days grow

shorter and shadows

linger. The nights come

with a chill like bathwater

left in the tub too long.

Flowers that bloomed in lush

profusion on my front

porch droop like tired children

fighting sleep. Vidalia onions

and garden tomatoes disappear

from grocery store shelves,

replaced by pumpkins and oddly

shaped squash.

When autumn arrives, winter

Is only a frozen breath away,

bringing cold

and slush, runny noses and hacking

coughs, gray mornings

and twilight afternoons. It is the season

that swallows summer

like it never was—as if young girls

in sundresses were never kissed

in the moonlight,

or baseballs never soared

over a fence. There were no barbecues

or mosquito bites, sandals filled

with sand on the deck. Autumn

shakes the summer

from our minds until it falls like leaves,

skittering down an empty street.

Taken from Thread Count (AuthorHouse, 2006... https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=1599).

 The full moon is rising

And the day is dim

The autumn season’s

About to begin

The ground below our feet

Thickens now with dew

The light and dark equal

As the season starts anew

The harvest is rich

The apple boughs thick

Berries red and black

We’ll eat until we’re sick

A steaming pie in the oven

The spices in the air

Cinnamon, cardamom,

And that ripe and juicy pear

The season is beginning

Can you feel it rising now

The glow in the autumn morning

As the summer takes a bow

The leaves are changing colour

Falling soft now to the ground

The birds are flying south

To warmer shores they’re bound

There’s a hint of summer sun

In the flowers still a’bloom

Reds and yellows peering still

But that autumn’s coming soon

So we’ll curl up and watch the rain

Walk through the crisp, cool day

Wrap up tight against the chill

And delight in the colour display

The autumn’s falling now

Can you hear it on the wind?

Hunker down now, my friends

As the darker days set in.

Foggy puffs o breath intae

a sky o watery blue,

dewdrop webs glisten, canopies tae the secret world of the Wee Folk.

Only three plums left,

wan batch o juicy brambles,

rosehip itchycoos, bright and jolly in the hedge and the ivy’s just getting goin.

We’ve aiples coming oot wur ears,

shaggy inkcap dissolves intae words yet tae come.

The Equinox approaches as a meteor streaks across the nicht.

Barefit cauld on porcelain

oor hands clutch cool metal haundles atween rooms,

it’s time tae change the duvet again.

The Autumnal Equinox By Franklin Price

The Autumnal Equinox

Is but two days away

The traveling Sun is half-way South

Will not be there to stay

The leaves on trees are changing

Soon most of them will fall

Putting hosts in hibernation

It's their heed to nature's call

Winter views will soon appear

Such wonders for the sight

The shapes of empty branches

Roosting resting birds from flight

The birds will soon be gone

Green grass will turn to brown

Winter winds will chill the air

 Snow will be falling down

Springtime buds will then appear

To fill the waking trees

Replacing Winter's emptiness

Renewing life that's sure to please

Returns then the heat of Summer

The Seasons' cycle now is done

I thoroughly enjoy them

Sure I'm not the only one

It's still an awesome happening

These aging eyes to see

The changing of the Seasons

Glad it happens annually