All About the Autumnal Equinox
on making numerological magic this weekend!
What’s up, swimmers?! This eclipse week has been a doozy! How’re you holding up?
You’re finding me smack dab in the middle of eclipses, yes, but also weddings! So many beautiful beloveds are pledging themselves to each other this month, which feels seasonally aligned and magical. It’s also meant a ton of travel, so part two of Making Art From the Heart of Service—which resonated with so many of us!—will be coming next week, as will the final audio forecast of the year for paid pals!
But first, because time is an endless swirl, this weekend brings us another turn of the wheel, and another seasonal threshold to cross—the autumnal equinox.
Happening this Sunday, September 22nd, the autumnal equinox is determined based on the position of the Earth’s equator in relationship to the center of the Sun. From the Latin meaning “equal night,” the autumnal equinox is the second time in the calendar year that the Earth’s orbit makes a right angle with the Sun, thus creating a nearly perfect balance between day and night.
Some witches choose to observe the autumnal equinox over the course of multiple days, with feasts, festivals or rituals running from September 21st-24th. Thanks to variations in the Gregorian calendar, this period of time encompasses the full range of possible dates that the equinox could fall on. As The Old Farmer’s Almanac reminds us, "Because of leap years, the dates of the equinoxes and solstices can shift by a day or two over time, causing the start dates of the seasons to shift, too.”
Themes of the autumnal equinox include harvest, abundance, gratitude, balance, and rest. It reminds us to give thanks for nature’s continuous generosity, while also acknowledging its cycles and seasons. Winter may be on its way, but for now, light and dark can be found in equal measure. Gather your cherished kinfolk, break bread, drink wine, give thanks, and make prayers for the fallow seasons ahead.
A NOTE ON MABON: The Witch’s Wheel of the Year encompasses the yearly cycle of the eight festivals, or sabbats: the solar equinoxes and solstices, plus the midway points between them. Though it has roots in many schools of religious and secular thought, the Wheel as we know it today was dictated by neopagans and Wiccans in the 1970s. Like the Gregorian calendar, it’s a man-made amalgamation of various themes and traditions, which we can still work with in our magical practices. If the Wheel speaks to you, Mabon is the festival that falls in the month of September.
NUMEROLOGY + THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX
To work with the most precise number magic of the autumnal equinox each year, you’ll need to calculate the numeric energies present on that specific day(s) by adding the month and the day to the current year, and reducing until you get a single digit.
THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX 2024 — 09/22/2024
September 22nd (9+2+2 = 13, 1+3 = 4) is a 13/4 day, which rules rituals and traditions, beliefs, structures, family and ancestral roots, death, composting, and turning over.
September 22, 2024 (9+2+2+2+0+2+4 = 21, 2+1 = 3) is an overall 21/3 day, which is represented by The World in the tarot, and offers us the chance to freely communicate with spirits, as well as tune into the story of the year, the season, and the current or changing chapter of our life.
The autumnal equinox is a great day for magic and mystery every year, but especially this one, as the ruling numbers of 3 and 4 have us focusing on ritual magic. Allow these numbers to guide your intentions and ceremonies. For example, if you’re planning a traditional feast, could you set the table for four, or use a square or rectangular table? Could you invite family—blood or chosen—into your ritual work, or make offerings to your ancestors? Or perhaps your altar could include the Empress and the Emperor, or the Death card—the third, fourth and thirteenth cards of the tarot’s Major Arcana, respectively—or three or four items that represent the spirit of the changing of the seasons?
Here are some additional ideas for crafting and observing the autumnal equinox from both a magical and numerological perspective. Consider how you could incorporate these items into your altar or ritual work, and get as creative and witchy as you want!
MUNDANE AUTUMNAL MAGIC
Clean out your closet • Perform a cord-cutting ritual • Take that digital class you purchased, but never took • Go through the junk drawer • Have a yard sale • Look at your monthly subscriptions and cancel what you do not use or enjoy • Volunteer at a local organization • Learn about a community initiative that interests you • Take a batch of cookies to a neighbor and say hello • Prioritize overdue yard work • Reflect on your goals for the year and commit to one that you haven’t yet tackled • Burn seasonally scented candles • Make a to-do list • Toss out your to-do list • Make a joy list • Connect with a deity or archetype that speaks to you • Throw a dinner party • Try a morning stretching routine • Research new herbal helpers to incorporate into your diet • Find new methods of joyful body movement • Open the windows • Breathe deeply • Meditate for nine minutes • Listen to a musician’s entire body of work • Practice letting go
PRACTICES TO PILOT
The Feast or The Setting of the Table
Invite loved ones over for a feast of seasonally harvested foods (see the below list for ideas), and toast over red wine or a potion made of pomegranate or beet juice. Decorate your place settings in autumnal colors (also below), and allow yourself to get creative with the decorations!Participate in a Harvest
This can be literal or metaphorical. If you live in a more rural area, see if you can volunteer at a farm or farm-stand. If you’re in a city, see if there’s a community park that’s hosting a CSA or other program that supplies fresh foods. For a more metaphorical experience, be sure to give yourself your flowers by grounding yourself in your current cycle. See the next step for more details.
Reflect on the Year Thus Far
You can start on January 1st, the spring or vernal equinox, the summer solstice, or even the most recent new moon that took place on September 2nd. What goals did you set at any of these points in the year? What’s come to fruition and is ready to be acknowledged? What’s still ripening on the vine? What needs to be cut back or composted in order to make space for what’s yet to grow?
FOOD FOR THE HORN OF PLENTY — Acorns • Pine cones • Seeds • Apples • Pumpkins • Gourds • Grapes • Onions • Potatoes • Carrots • Root vegetables • Leaves that have changed colors
Pomegranate is another fruit that is associated with the autumnal equinox, due to its mythological connection to the Greek goddess Persephone. Now, Persephone is typically exalted as the goddess of the spring, which is the part of the year that she dwells above the ground. But on the autumnal equinox, she heads to the Underworld to rejoin her husband Hades. In many versions of her story, it’s the pomegranate itself that played a part in tying her to him and his kingdom down below.
The pomegranate is a perfect ally as you shift from one season of life to another. Looking at the bulbous fruit, you’d never know what lies within. It appears dry and somewhat brittle on the outside, but once you crack it open, its insides are dripping with juicy jewels. You may even find yourself cracking open in order to find or harvest your treasures. Throughout this process, one must be gentle, as to not crush the supple seeds. But once the fruit gives, it’s generous in its bounty. Rippling, flowing, tumbling out, seemingly-never ending. An entire universe packed into its flesh.
COLORS TO GET CREATIVE WITH — Rust • Copper • Orange • Brown • Yellow • Gold • Dark Green
PLANT PALS TO PLAY WITH — Yarrow • Rosemary • Sage • Mugwort
STONES TO ADORN YOURSELF WITH — Amber • Citrine • Sapphire • Jasper
Mix and match. See what lights you up or gets you excited. Set an intention and ask for items, colors or crystals that wish to be included in your seasonal craft to make themselves known to you. Permission yourself to do what feels right and natural. It doesn’t have to be involved or picture perfect. It just has to be intentional.
In the process of composting, the rotting flesh of the fruit gives way to new life and new nourishment. Say a prayer today for that which is being composted in your life. May it bless you in new and rhizomatic ways.
SENDING YOU ENDLESS BLESSINGS FOR THIS NEW SEASON
This is such a supportive piece. Love the mundane autumnal magic section. Thank you!
THIS IS SO GOOD