Autumnal Equinox – The Calendar of Life

Today is officially the first day of autumn as we embrace the equinox with 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Days, weeks and months pass in the calendar of life.

Summer still lingers with the blue sky and warm breeze, but cooler days are just around the corner – we have already begun to see leaves turning brown, berries in the hedgerows and evenings drawing in.

Equinox is the day or time when the sun crosses the celestial equator, and the resulting day and night are of equal length. It is also known as the equinoctial point and this happens twice a year in September and March.

Looking more closely at the science behind the equinox, the reason the daylight and darkness hours are equal, is because the tilt of the Earth’s axis and Earth’s orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis is inclined neither away from nor toward the sun.

Animals begin to hybernate, birds migrate, scenery wears it’s golden colours, we begin to see misty mornings, warmer clothes are sought and comfort food abounds, We begin to plan for the festive period and yet amidst the chaos of the pandemic the world is experiencing this year, it’s comforting to know that the world keeps turning and the seasons come and go like clockwork, providing stability and pattern to our lives.