Owls Gathering: Autumn Equinox

Autumn Equinox marks the turning of the wheel and officially occurs this year on September 22 2014 at 10:29 PM.

The word equinox comes from the Latin meaning ‘equal light’, which occurs twice in the calendar year. This is the time when both the Southern and the Northern hemispheres receive an equal amount of sunlight/day and darkness/night. Autumn Equinox, gives a nod to its counterpart, the Spring Equinox, which traditionally occurs around March 21^st. For those of us living in the Northern hemisphere we can expect shorter days, longer nights and colder temperatures.

The Wheel of the Year

Autumn Equinox is observed as the second of three harvest festivals. The first falls on August 1^st and the 3^rd on October 31^st. Autumnal Equinox is considered ‘Thanksgiving’ or ‘Harvest Home’ within many modern Pagan traditions and is celebrated as such. The blessings of the gods, the balance of light and dark in the world and within ourselves is observed.

The ‘Other’ Thanksgiving

Mainstream Thanksgiving on this continent was first celebrated in the year 1607 in Jamestown. The famous ‘Thanksgiving’ we learned about as children involving pilgrims and native people which lasted over three days, occurred in the autumn of 1621.

The official date of Thanksgiving within the United States as we know it today has been celebrated at different times and in different states depending on the president in office at the time.

George Washington first proclaimed a ‘Day of Thanksgiving’ on Oct 3^rd1789 and declared the 26^th of November to be the day to give thanks. However, different northern states over the following years celebrated on different days or not at all depending on their governor at the time. Abraham Lincoln set the date in 1863 as the last Thursday in November proclaiming that it should occur annually throughout the country in order to accommodate those who worked in government departments.

During Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s term in office, Thanksgiving moved to the last week in November, there being five weeks in November that year, and this was done in the hopes of boosting a weak economy during the final years of the Depression. But the new date change affected millions of Americans and a vote as to the proper date was called for by both political parties. Unfortunately one could not be agreed upon and the term Franksgiving (Franklin/Thanksgiving) was coined creating the brief celebration of two Thanksgivings. The democrats bowed their heads and gave thanks on November 23^rd while the republicans enjoyed their feast on November 30^th.

Finally in the year 1941 congress voted to ‘split the difference’ firmly proclaiming the National holiday would be observed on the Fourth Thursday in November; the house agreed and order once again reigned.

Shared Symbols of the Season:

Whichever thanksgiving one prefers and regardless of the month or date, we are all in agreement I believe that symbols for this, a time of gratitude, are harvested gifts of the earth, the waning of the light, and the introspective colder months to come.

Festive decorations include harvest gourds, colorful fall foliage, cider, wine, apples, pumpkin pie, seeds, nuts and a hearty meal shared with family and friends.