Many of us resist the coming of the darkness of fall, but when we can see this special equinox as a time of celebration and letting go—rather then holding on to what was—we can fully enjoy it and open to the gifts it wishes to offer.
This is a time to rejoice in the harvest of our lives—the one we once sowed and now reap—and to embrace this season’s beckoning into longer nights. Holding a bouquet of our bounty in full arms, this is the moment to understand the blessings we have received and give thanks.
The autumnal equinox is a beautiful expression of the balancing of the dark and the light, and the intimate dance that each of these have in our lives. It is the time when the sun makes its golden path across the equator from North to South, and it is this occurrence that causes our day and our night to be almost equal in length (The day for this equinox will be approximately eight minutes longer.)
The word equinox comes from the Latin, aequi, meaning “equal,” and nox meaning “night.”
This moment of balance—where the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are equally illuminated—is not just happening in our exterior world, we can also find it occurring within our own selves. Knowing that the duality of light and dark exists in us, and in all of humanity, the equinox calls us to find balance between the two. After the great light of summer, we must learn how to welcome the depth and mystery of fall.
This is a precious time that has been celebrated by mystics and revelers since the beginning of our experience on earth. It has been seen as an opportunity to unite the various parts of our selves.
All us who desire to be in the light must also know that to experience our own brightness, we must first face our darkness. This is the chance we get with the arrival of fall. Our going inward is a preparation for our outward spring to follow. We must come back home to stillness first.
This is a time to reflect and to ruminate. The nature of darkness is to slow us down, to allow us to pause, and to give us some space to process our lives.
The equinox asks of us an inner preparation process, a readying for the greater darkness to come, and for us to understand that more magic and creativity lies in the places of ourselves that we have not yet seen.
This changing of season, within and without, is nothing to fear. It is a regular part of our cycle and that of the natural world—for really both of these cycles are one. We are closely connected to nature, and must remember that we are the sacredness in all of life, and it is the sacred in us.
Knowing that everything that ends is allowing space for what will come to begin. In nature, the equinox is represented by the ending of the growing season. Welcome now, the realization of whatever needs to be put rest and laid fallow in our lives.
In Eastern tradition, the yin and the yang, represent the masculine and feminine qualities of ourselves—and in many Western philosophies, the masculine and feminine represent the light and the dark.
We can imagine, like the fluidness of the yin/yang sign, we too are flowing from light to dark and then back again. The yin is representative of the receptive energy, and the yang is representative of the active, doing energy. So as the light leaves and the dark arrives, we are heading into a juicy, receptive time.
In this dance from light to dark, we get the chance to learn to sway beautifully between both, and to dip lovingly into our own unknown.
The celestial happenings of the equinox are supporting us in our dance. If we have a tendency to be extroverted, this is a time to look in. If we often choose introversion and stillness, we will want to get out and move.
But before our next germination and growth period, a hibernation must occur—so let’s find a way to celebrate this annual change.
Head down to the beach or out into the woods for a warming bonfire. Use the equinox as the opening of a portal to the next stage of our lives. Raise a glass, make a fire, write a list of all that we have been blessed with, burn words we would like to let go of—and finally, cleanse with hot Epsom salt baths.
Work with the seasons as they make their transitions, externally and within.
At this sacred time of celestial equ-union, join forces with the dark and light—the yin and the yang, the masculine and feminine—and know that this work is about the realization that all is one.
Enjoy the magic!
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Author: Sarah Norrad
Image: Instagram @taraluther22
Editor: Yoli Ramazzina
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