Preparing for the Fall Equinox

09-22-2009 at 16:18 CDT

That's the exact date and time of this year's fall Equinox. So what's the big deal, why is it so important?

Several things both astrological and astronomical happen. First, the length of daylight and length of night time are exactly equal, 12 hours of each. Since the beginning of spring (the Spring Equinox) we've been enjoying days that are longer than nights. The length of hours of sunlight grows a bit each day until we reach the longest day of the year at the Summer Solstice in June. From then until the Fall Equinox, the days slowly, little by little, shorten. After September 22 this year, the days will continued to be shorter than the nights with our longest night occuring on the Winter Solstice in December.

The Fall Equinox is also known as the second harvest festival, harvest home or Mabon. There are three harvest fests, the first being the beginning of August which is also known as Lammas or the Green Corn Harvest Festival. Here in Iowa, I would prefer to call it the Sweet Corn Harvest Festival and this year's corn was especially sweet (I've already frozen many quart bags to enjoy this winter! For all your folks in other parts of the country, you have my sympathy in eating the regular old canned or frozen corn you buy at the store...there is NO comparison!)

The fall festival, because of days and nights being equal, is also a time to prepare to get things back into balance again, readying for the long winter.

How do I do that specifically? First, I make sure that the pantry and freezers are stocked for winter with all my favorite goodies from the wonders of summer here in Iowa...sweet corn, raspberries, good Iowa beef, and catfish I caught myself are among all the things that I make sure I have stored away.
This is a photo of me a after one particularly decent fall catch I got in about a 3 hour period of time from Beaver Lake just north of Dexter, Iowa.

Secondly, I check to make sure my family has the clothing it needs to prepare for the oncoming cooling in Fall and deep cold of Winter. The heavier wool winter blankets get put back on the beds. Hats and scarves, winter coats and boots all come back out of storage. Mismatched gloves and mittens are accounted for and warm wool socks need to have their mates. Above are some of the baby socks I've been knitting this week for my granddaughter Inara. She's going to be a year old in December.

Emotionally and spiritually, it's the time where I look back on the past nine and a half months to see if there's anything I wanted to accomplish this year that didn't get done. Now's the time to make sure that I wrap up this year in a good way. I go through my mental list of hopes and dreams for this year and see what still hasn't been finished, and look to see what's truly important to still fit in before winter hits.

I also sit back and evaluate my pace of life right about now. Am I rushing things, or lagging way behind. Am I in physical balance health wise and what needs to change or shift? Do I need to simplify more things to be able put my emphasis on myself, friends and family in a gentler way? Am I working too hard, or not as efficiently as I should? What am I doing to keep my own personal balance going each day or each week. How will that shift as fall begins the slow but steady trod toward the cold chill of winter.

So, now is the time of evaluation and seeking balance for me, planning and appreciating everything that I've been given, shown or taught this past year and determining how I want to draw 2009 to a wonderful and balanced close.