What An Equinox?

          Happy First Day of Fall!   This day is also known as the Autumnal Equinox, (equinox means “equal night”).   It’s the first day that has equal parts of day time and night time.   For example, sunrise, at least, where I am in New England, was at 6:31am and sunset was at 6:42pm.   (It’s never exactly 12 hours due to the way it is measured).   Tomorrow’s times are exactly the same.

          “Wait,” you might be thinking.   “Did you say, ‘the first day’?”   Yes, I did.   Neither one of the equinoxes nor the solstices lasts for only 1 day.   The Winter Solstice, known to some as Yule, and some others as Xmas, lasts for 4 days.   It starts on December 21st and ends on Xmas day, when the sun begins rising higher into the sky again.   The Fall Equinox begins on September 21st and ends on the 23rd.   You might be wondering why this is important.   Well, as I said, for these three days, or so, there is an equal balance between day and night.   When the equinox is over, the day time starts getting even shorter.
          As you can see in the image of The Wheel of the Year, in the Celtic tradition, something big happens about every 6 weeks.   These people liked to celebrate.   For them, though, the celebration of the Equinox was also known as Mabon, which is similar to our Thanksgiving, (this may be where the tradition originated).   This celebration was, also, sometimes called Second Harvest.
          The similarities between Mabon and Thanksgiving are quite a few.   For instance, the celebration itself is more family oriented.   Also, participants dress in their finest garments.   The symbol for Mabon is, sometimes, shown as a cornucopia filled with fruit or gourds.   It is, also, considered a period of relaxation and reflection.   People, often, walk through the woods, pouring libations and “thanking” the gods, such as Pamona, goddess of orchard and garden fruit.
          It’s funny to think about how thousands of years ago, people knew the importance of celestial events.   The meanings seem to have gotten lost since then.   Some of us still celebrate a holiday of “thankfulness”, but few people still practice or possess the idea of Balance that the ancient Celts did.   Perhaps their thinking was, “If nature can balance itself, why shouldn’t we?”   Do you agree?   Spook on!