The Autumnal Equinox don't get no respect ...

At this very moment, at the Autumnal Equinox, we're getting our last equal dose of sunlight. for the year. night and day are in balance for the last time this year.Think of it: from now until nearly Christmas, the night hours will steadily overtake the daily round, until at the Winter Solstice it will seem that the darkness has won, leaving us a short, even miserly amount of daylight.

So, how do we celebrate the Equinox? With a yawn, apparently. When I got up this morning, there was just a smidgen  of light to be seen, and my body, already thinking of hibernation, wanted to remain in bed. As to real celebration, forget it: I wanted to attend an Equinox observance, but have been unable to find one nearby.

Why is this? The Autumnal Equinox comes and goes -- don't blink, or you'll miss it. Digging in for a new school year, kids are already thinking about Halloween (remember those pumpkins our kids made out of orange construction paper? I still have some of those somewhere). In the trees, there might be a tiny hint of color, but the real colors of autumn have not yet arrived (the picture in the upper left is a tease). In the stores and malls, some merchants are already decorating for Christmas; autumn has been forgotten.

Pagans and Wiccans are a bit better at marking and reverencing the passage of time than most of us, and for them the Autumnal Equinox is known as Mabon,  and is one of several harvest festivals. It's an opportunity to give thanks for the earth's fruitfulness, and to prepare for the coming months of increasing darkness, when the earth will no longer produce our food.

Read more here, and have a thoughtful Autumnal Equinox.

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