What Is So Important about the Fall Equinox ~ September 24, 2024

Sunday, September 22 ~ Fall arrived in the Northern Hemisphere as the Sun was rising over the equator.  This happens at the Spring Equinox as well.  We had equal day and equal night all around the Earth on the 22nd.  Following the Equinox, our nights in the Northern Hemisphere will be a little longer each night and our days a little shorter until the Winter Solstice in December.  The opposite happens in the Southern Hemisphere.  The days grow longer and the nights shorter which is their summer. 

The Fall Equinox followed the Harvest SuperMoon which was also a partial eclipse.  This SuperMoon was called a Harvest Moon because it was the Full Moon closest to the Fall Equinox.  It was a SuperMoon because it was closest to the Earth in its orbit.  It was 14% bigger and 30% brighter!

The Full Moon closest to the Fall Equinox is called the Harvest Moon because the difference in rise times from one evening to the next after this date is the smallest for the whole year!  The brighter, fuller phases of the Moon appear at approximately similar times, providing light later in the day for gathering the harvest.  It was the abundance of bright early-evening moonlight on those consecutive days that traditionally lit the fields.  This was especially important before the Industrial Revolution when harvest depended on crews to bring in the crops using hand tools and horses or oxen.

Since the Industrial Revolution, combines and other harvesting equipment have lights and continue running long after sunset.  Now harvest crews come through, following the ripening crops so local farmers do not often work together in the same way our grandparents and great-grandparents did during harvests, or cattle round-ups, or sheep shearing.  

We have also lost a sense of connection to Creation, to the awareness of New Moons, Full Moons, eclipses, or “shooting stars”.  We no longer stand in a pasture with horses grazing, watching an amazing Sunset.  We have lost the sense of magic in an afternoon rain that settles the dust on a dirt road.  We don’t stand on the edge of a cornfield, listening to the ripe ears of corn whispering in the evening breeze.  We have definitely lost some of the magic of living on Earth.

This is a kind of magic that can’t be conveyed on a screen, but needs to be “felt” and experienced with all our senses.  We live so much of our lives indoors, in front of a screen, even having dinner mostly engaged with a screen.  We have lost that sense of “belonging” on the Earth.  And, we have also lost some of our sense of community.  Sharing allegiance to a favorite football or baseball team is fun and entertaining.  But, it is not the same as working together to build a barn, tend a community garden, harvest peaches from a neighbor’s orchard, or move cattle from one pasture to another.

Communities are not always perfect and can become entangled in all sorts of dubious pursuits.  But, the alternative is not a good choice either.  Because of the way we live, caring for each other and caring for the Earth takes extra effort.  We need to make time for Sunsets, for watching a lunar eclipse, even a partial one.  We need to find better ways to feed people who are hungry or who need winter clothing.  We can remind ourselves to provide plants for pollinators and native trees for birds.  It does take a bit of extra thought and effort.  And, it is always worth every bit of thought and effort!

Caring for Creation and caring for people who are struggling is a direct investment in the Future.  We are setting a pattern of compassion and consciousness in the World.  We are sharing goodness.  Our actions speak so clearly about our priorities that we don’t need to say a word!  We are walking Blessings into the World and we are Blessed!

Thank You for everything you are doing every day to make this world a better place for Everyone !!!

Have a Wonderful Week …

Mary Christopher