The autumnal equinox is a traditional time of Thanksgiving celebrations around the world. Fall is the time to harvest and also the time to take stock of what you personally harvest. If your returns this season are not what you expected, now is the time to reflect, find balance and look for what you must change within yourself to ensure greater success in the next year.
Join the flow of times and add your appreciation for all that you have experienced and received in the past year, and your joyous expectations for the year ahead. You are setting your own future in motion now with a powerful surge of energy during the transition point. Do not miss it. Very soon everything changes.
From the Equinox onward, the night lengthens and the days shorten. All life turns inward. You are moving from your more masculine, action-oriented “Yang” self into the realms of the inner world, the “Yin” and your intuitive, receptive and creative feminine self.
Autumn Equinox: Scientific Facts
“Autumn” is a derivative of the Latin “autumnus”. Equinox literally means “equal night”. Day and night are every 12 hours, and the sun rises in the true east and sets in the true west. The Sun seems to “stay still” and finds its balance before continuing. After the equinox, you will see the fastest change in the apparent motion of the Sun.
“Everyone must take
time to sit and watch
the leaves turn. ”
Elizabeth lawrence
As the nights lengthen and cool, the trees change to their autumnal colors. Harvest time is the time to harvest fruits, vegetables, and grains for the winter. The abundant harvest is symbolized by the horn of plenty or the horn of plenty brimming with autumn bounty and great parties, music and dancing.
The autumnal equinox, in the northern hemisphere, is the point at which the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south. In the southern hemisphere the opposite is seen, and there is the time of the spring equinox.
The equinoxes are points that move in a westerly direction known as the “precession of the equinoxes.” It takes 25,800 years for the equinoxes to pass through all the constellations of the zodiac. That time period is historically noted in the Vedic and Mayan texts as a prophecy of great world changes … such as the Age of Aquarius.
Autumn equinox in history and myth.
Stories and myths are the stories of a culture, some of the religious texts and some of the verbal traditions. The truths, wisdom, and teachings of the time are embedded in parables, songs, and dances. The Wheel of the Solar Stations has changed, passing one more year once again. His time is circular, not linear, there is no end without new beginnings and there are no new beginnings that do not end. It is the flow of good fortune into an ever-expanding future and the flow of eternal life.
Stories and myths of the inner journey
There are many wisdom teachings that speak of the same inner journey, and they all take place around the autumnal equinox. They are from different cultures and times and yet they speak of the same cycle. An example is the myth of Persephone.
The Greek goddess Persephone
In Greek mythology, Persephone (Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the fertility of Mother Earth and, at the same time, was the Queen of the Underworld.
The history: Persephone, the daughter of Earth Mother Demeter, is kidnapped and becomes the wife of Hades who rules the underworld. In the anguished search for her daughter, Demeter withdrew from the land (hence the winter and the wilting crops) until Zeus ordered Hades to return Persephone. Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds, forcing her to return to the underworld for a season each year.
Its myth explains the natural processes, with the descent and return of the goddess causing the change of seasons. But there is more to the story.
Mystical meanings
Persephone is a Greek life-death-rebirth deity or “resurrection” deity. She is a God who is born, undergoes a death-like experience, spends time in the underworld, and then is reborn.
The winter months (soon to come) are a time to “go to the interior or the underworld” and reign there as the almighty ruler. Mystery schools used the seasons as imputations for personal growth and change. Like a god, you set your life in motion from your inner world, and what you imagine, dream and speak, is fulfilled.
When Demeter and her daughter were united in the spring, the Earth flourished with vegetation and color, but for a few months each year, when Persephone returned as Queen of the Underworld, the earth once again became barren. Those who remain on the surface of life in the fall also find their future barren.
Some of the other traditional autumn stories include the victory over ignorance of the Hindu or Vedic goddess Durga; Mabon’s Celtic or Wiccan history reflects another era of balance between the worlds of life and death, and of external consciousness and internal knowledge. Mabon talks about the need for periods of rest, which allow you to assimilate, review and incorporate your experiences from the past. The Corn Maiden is a Native American story about changing life cycles. These are ideas about the power and wisdom of this time.
World Traditions of the Autumnal Equinox
The Autumn Equinox is also known as the First Day of Autumn: Harvest House, Harvest Tide, Mabon, Alban Elfed, Autumn Equinox, Autumn Equinox, Cornucopia, Feast of Avilon, Feast of Dionysus, Hunter’s Night , Second Harvest Festival, Harvest Wine and Witch’s Thanksgiving.
The first cusp of Libra was the term Autumn Equinox used by navigators and astrologers. It is the turning point, astrologically, from Virgo to Libra, symbolized by the scale, for balance.
“It was Indian summer,
kind of blue bird day like
we call it in the north,
warm and sunny, no
a breath of wind;
the water was blue,
the banks a bank
solid gold “.
Sigurd F. Olson
American natives Honor this harvest season with banquets, bonfires, as well as drums, dancing, storytelling, and various traditions of different tribes. The Chumash month of Hutash is a ceremony of the autumnal equinox sun that is celebrated during September.
Harvest festival
The rites of the European harvest revolved around the end of the grain harvest. In rural England, Harvest House was held on the last day of harvesting. The “Harvest Queen” was a doll made from the last sheaf of the harvest, tied with ribbons and brought home to store for the next spring planting. It was believed to have the “life force” for abundance in the coming harvests.
The harvest dinner was a dinner of thanksgiving and celebration. The house was decorated with rolled wheat pods or corn stalks, wicker cornucopia stuffed with fruits and nuts, gourds, gourds, acorns, and grapes.
Druids celebrate Mea’n Fo’mhair
The Autumn Equinox is a time to thank the Green Man or the God of the Forest. Offerings of the harvest of herbs, ciders, and wines were given to the trees, their consorts, and in their honor. The tree is a symbol of the divine feminine and when the tree sheds its leaves, it turns inward, towards the realm of the Goddess.
The Celtic festival of Samhain
Ancient Celtic peoples occupied much of northern Europe, including parts of France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and England, as well as many outposts in the contiguous regions. The Samhain fire festival was the origin of many modern Halloween customs and marked the end of fall and the beginning of winter.
“Listens!
The wind picks up
and the air is wild
with leaves,
we have had our
summer afternoons,
Now for the eve of October! ”
Humbert wolfe
On the eve of Samhain, October 31, the separation between this world and the “other realms” was penetrable. Witches flew on broomsticks and fairies, ghosts, demons, and goblins roamed the earth.
The hidden inner wisdom
Samhain is also known as the season of gateways. For the initiate, the festivities also mark the 3-day portal to both the future and the past. Samhain is a mystical path to the inner mysteries of the god and goddess within each person. Furthermore, it is the “thinning of the veil” or a gate between the realm of the living and that of the dead. The shaman and medicine of many native traditions share this wisdom and practice.
Halloween is an adaptation of Samhain.
Today Celtic celebrations are observed all over the world. The custom of asking for sweets and the symbols, parties, fires and celebrations remain popular.
Autumn equinox season: mixing the old with the new
Roman Catholics in Europe still remember their dead ancestors on All Saints’ Day, the first of November.
Bonfires continue to celebrate the end of the fall season. The Celtic custom of lighting fires on the Isle of Man on Halloween continues today.
“The winds will blow
its own freshness
in you, and the
assault their energy,
while worries will fall
away from you like him
autumn leaves “.
John muir
Join the festivities.
Visit Mother Nature in her lush robes of gold, red and orange. Feel the changes in the season and in life. Harvest Festivals are a universal expression of the desire to celebrate and thank Mother Nature’s abundance.
Now is the time to discover your own mystery and wisdom.
Take a moment and pay attention to your life path and purpose. If you want change, now is the time to reflect on your past and commit to discovering new approaches to your future. It is in the quiet and inner time of winter that your Wisdom will emerge as your Inspiration. Then your wisdom becomes part of who you are. Gather your experiences and prepare to go on an inward spiral journey. In this way, he becomes the seed of his own Good Fortune.
Quick good fortune: “Let yourself be carried away by nature and find your way to success and happiness now.”
