Are you wondering what the spiritual meaning of the Autumn Equinox is? Autumn Equinox represents a lot in the world. It is the equilibrium of day and night and this represents the light and darkness in our lives. The symbol of the Autumnal Equinox is a double spiral. It illustrates the in-breath and out-breath, the point of balance between the worlds, the inner and outer journey.The long summer nights have passed and we are now in a season of transition. Known to many as Mabon (pronounced May-Bun), the autumn equinox is not widely celebrated in the U.S., as it marks the melancholic end of warm weather. However, many cultures around the world have traditional celebrations to mark the advent of shorter days and colder weather.

Even way back when, people would perform rituals to cleanse out old energy in both themselves and in their homes. At a deeper spiritual level, the equinox is thought to represent the period of struggle between  light and dark, life and death.

As the sun begins to sink lower in the sky and the night becomes chilly and darker, before we even notice the changing of colors with our eyes, our senses tell us that the energy of summer has come to an end in the northern half of the world.

The Autumn Equinox is a meaningful time of year to honor the harvest. Whether that be a “real” harvest of the things planted in your garden or the harvest of efforts and intentions for your life path that you set earlier in the year.

The word “equinox” comes from Latin and means “equal night,” referring to the roughly 12-hour day and 12-hour night that occurs only on the two equinox days of the year. On the equinox we honor the balance and interaction of the light and the dark, and we may feel gratitude for the changes that come with the passing of time.

The Autumn Equinox is the first day of the autumn season and occurs when the sun passes the equator moving from the northern to the southern hemisphere. The North Pole begins to tilt away from the sun. Day and night have approximately the same length. The Autumnal equinox falls near 22nd September each year. This year it is on the 23rd.