At the equinox the Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the southern hemisphere. twice a year the sun’s rays shine directly over the Earth’s equator. The sun rises and sets exactly due east and due west on the equinoxes. Instead of the Earth tilting away from or toward the sun, its axis of rotation becomes perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the Earth and the sun. From Autumnal Equinox to Winter Solstice (December 22) the nights get longer.
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| Mucha |
The Autumnal (Southward) Equinox, Sun enters Libra (Sun at 0° Libra), Maybon (Holy Day), September 22-23, 2018, 01:54:02 AM UT/GMT September 23, 2018
3:54:02 PM Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time September 22, 2018
The Equinox in other time zones:
September 23, 2018
UT/GMT 01:54:02 AM
UK 02:54:02 AM
September 22, 2018
EDT 09:54:02 PM
CDT 08:54:02 PM
MDT 07:54:02 PM
PDT 06:54:02 PM
HST 03:54:02 PM Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time 2018
The Wheel Turns Toward Darkness.
The energies of the Dark Gods and Goddesses begins to increase and gain attention. The balance described by the Taoist symbol of Yin and Yang reflects the Equinoxes but an imbalance begins at the point of Equinox as night begins to overtake daylight's duration. The processes of inward turning gain significance. Persephone returns to her throne with Hades in the Underworld.
As I grow older, and if not wiser, at least more knowledgeable, I understand more about the Wheel of the Year and the astrological implications of my birthday, and of all other birthdays the year long. The Sun is the core of being, the source of life on Earth and of the energetic (if not biological life) on the rest of the system that orbits Sol. The place of the Sun in the Tropical Zodiac is what determines your "Sign."
With this very, very basic astrology that verges perilously close to what I've called Signology, I grow ever more deeply toward a ritual appreciation of life and living. I grow closer to the sacredness of life, my respect for the mystery deepens, my connection to the chimera of the ancient gods increases. These are not the gods and goddesses of traditional and ancient devotion, but symbols arisen from the rhythms of the heartbeat of the solar system, of what some traditions know as "the Word."
There is that continual heartbeat of creation, the Sun. The Sun's communication with us has developed and will continue to develop over time. Our lives on earth are quite brief though and one earthly life will simply experience the Word as regularly as a heartbeat.
While the heartbeat may slowly alter over eons of time, Earth's relationship with the Center cycles rhythmically through the Centuries. That essential relationship of Earth to Sun establishes a core pattern that is the basis of Tropical Astrology. That is not to say that other orientations, other methods of astrology are inferior. In fact, I find Constellational Astrology (Sidereal and Jyotish for example) more intellectual, you might say more scientific (I wouldn't but some would).
The gift of increasing information by observation and experience seems to work in both directions for me. One direction is toward detail and technique and the other is toward a very Earth-oriented, you might say Pagan appreciation (I would say that, but only in the most basic ways beyond the approaches of specific groups or tribes like Wicca, Heathen, Thelema, or what have you).
My understanding of the Wheel of the Year or Season Cycle reaches to the roots of most beliefs and religions and even to modern physics. I find solid support for my understanding in several branches of physics, especially: quantum mechanics, special relativity, stellar, galactic and extragalactic astrophysics, cosmological, evolutionary, bio, cellular, particle, experimental, theoretical, atomic, molecular, mechanical, condensed matter, optical, mathematical, and gravitational wave astronomy (I may have left some out).
"Because night and day are nearly in balance, the equinox is a great time to work on personal balance. This is the perfect time of year to re-evaluate where you are and take the steps necessary to get your personal and spiritual lives in order."
--Nasco
And just a reminder, in a few weeks, on November 4, 2018, Daylight Saving Time ends – turn clocks back one hour, 2:00 am becomes 1:00 am.
