23 September: Autumn Equinox

Autumn is here. 10 facts about the beginning of autumn.

1. Also known as Mabon, which may have come from the name of a follower of King Arthur, or a Welsh saint, or a Cornish saint. This name may have been first coined by pagan author Aidan Kelley as recently as 1970.
2. Another name for it is Alban Elfed, meaning the light of the water.
3. Celebrations and observances often focus on either the second harvest (eg the church harvest festival services celebrated on the nearest Sunday to it) and gratitude for what we have. A good way to celebrate is to get together for a feast, but for each guest to bring an extra item which can be donated to a food bank or homeless shelter.
4. Another focus of the equinox is the balance between dark and light, and the changing of the season as winter and longer nights approach. The Crone aspect of the triple goddess is acknowledged at this time, as are the goddesses of night, such as Demeter (mother of Persephone), Hecate, Kali and Morrighan.
5. The iconic fruit of the celebration is the Apple, so many customs and observances involve apples, which also represent wisdom and guidance. Pomona, the goddess of apples may be honored along with the list of goddesses mentioned above.
6. Wine making (and drinking!) is also traditional as the grape harvest happens about now, too. The traditional drink for teetotallers is Dandelion and burdock cordials.
7. Many see it as a good time to perform an autumn "spring clean" and to perform ritual blessings on their houses, seeing as they will be spending more time indoors through the winter months.
8. At the equinox, the sun rises and sets directly in the east and west respectively - but afterwards, going into winter, the sun will rise and set slightly further south, until the winter solstice, after which the rising and setting point starts moving north again.
9. The Autumn equinox was the first day of the French Republican Calendar, although this is more to do with the French monarchy being abolished on September 21 1792 rather than with the equinox itself.
10. The nearest full moon to the Autumn Equinox is known as the Harvest Moon. This year's was on September 9, and it was also a "supermoon" because the moon was 800 miles closer to the earth than usual.