It’s Fall Already? The 2025 Autumnal Equinox

What is the Autumnal Equinox?

As many of us learned as children, the Earth doesn’t stand up completely straight as it rotates around the Sun. Instead, it’s tilted at a 23.4° angle. This is why, during its yearlong orbit around the Sun, one of the Earth’s poles will face towards the Sun and the other pole will face away from the Sun – providing different seasons for different hemispheres. However, at two points during the year, the Sun illuminates the northern and southern hemispheres equally, which is where we get the word equinox. For us in the northern hemisphere, September marks the transition through the autumnal equinox into the fall season. This year, the autumnal equinox falls on Monday, September 22nd at 2:19 PM Eastern Time. This is the start of fall, according to our calendars. Yet, in many more nature-based cultures, the equinox marks the season’s peak, rather than the start. However you see it, we hope you celebrate this year’s autumnal equinox as another beautiful rotation around the sun that we’re lucky enough to experience.

 

Autumnal Equinox Throughout History

Many cultures throughout the world have observed and celebrated the Autumnal equinox for millennia. Many ancient civilizations celebrated harvest seasons at the start of the autumnal equinox in an effort to ensure bountiful autumn harvests. For example:

• Ancient Romans celebrated a holiday known as “Ludi Romani, where they performed dramas, played games, and feasted to celebrate and honor their harvest deity, Ceres.
• The Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Mexico, are well known for their awe-inspiring and masterfully designed pyramids. There, a pyramid known as El Castillo was built to look like a serpent’s shadow is slithering down the pyramid steps on the equinoxes. This serpent is thought to represent a feathered snake-like deity who symbolizes rain, wind, and knowledge – all things we hope to have in bounty.
• Ancient Greeks celebrated the Festival of Thesmophoria around the autumnal equinox. They celebrated this as the time when the goddess Persephone left the above-ground world (symbolizing spring and summer) and went back to the Underworld to be with her husband Hades (symbolizing autumn and winter).
  Many of these ancient traditions share a similar thread of acknowledging and celebrating: Balance, Harvest, and Reflection.

Equinox celebrations around the world

Celebrating the equinox isn’t just a thing of the past. Many cultural traditions all around the globe still acknowledge and celebrate the autumnal equinox. Many still focus on similar themes as ancient celebrations: Balance, Harvest (physical preparation for winter), and Reflection (spiritual preparation for winter).

• Modern Pagan/Wiccan Traditions celebrate Mabon, a modern name given to the ancient celebration of the Autumnal Equinox. Pagans marked the passing of a year as a wheel of time. They celebrated autumn by giving thanks, spending time with loved ones, and creating gratitude altars. They decorated these altars with seasonal foods and plants to symbolize respect for balance and gratitude for abundance.
• On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, typically near the autumnal equinox, many Asian countries celebrate Mid-Autumn Festivals. Celebrants center these festivals around the Harvest Moon and involve family reunions, gratitude for bountiful harvests, and moon appreciation. During these celebrations, mooncakes are baked and eaten, beautiful paper lanterns are lit, and many nights are spent moon gazing.
• Members of the Cherokee Nation celebrate Nuwatiegawa (Great New Moon Ceremony), a Thanksgiving celebration on the night of the new moon closest to the equinox. It also marks the start of the Cherokee New Year. During Nuwatiegawa, families get together for communal feasts, ceremonial dances, and purification rituals – all in an effort to bring about a healthy and happy new year.

 

Autumnal Equinox and Herbalism

The autumnal equinox marks a time of powerful, energetic, and seasonal shifts. These shifts, of course, impact natural medicine, specifically herbalism. Herbalists use this is a time of year to focus on balance, harvest (both the physical and the spiritual), and preparation (nourishment). They factor the autumnal equinox into their practices in a number of ways.

• Many herbalists see the equinox as a time of second harvest. This is when we can best harvest roots, berries, seeds, and late-blooming herbs. For example, we harvest hawthorn berries in the autumn for their heart and circulatory benefits. We collect fall-ripened elderberries to support the immune system throughout the winter. And, floral herbs like goldenrod bloom in the early fall so we can collect and dry for use throughout the winter. These herbs tend to be especially beneficial for immunity, digestion, and grounding. All of which are incredibly important throughout the winter.
• Herbalists shift a lot of their focus to remedies that support immune and respiratory health (elderberry, echinacea, thyme, and sage), digestion (bitter herbs, ginger, fennel, and cardamom), and liver and lymph function (burdock and yellow dock).
• The transition from summer to winter is also a great time to practice self-care rituals. You can use herbal baths or steams (rosemary, mugwort, or pine), smoke cleansings (cedar or sage), or plant meditations (sitting in silence with a particular plant or herbal tea.)

Getting excited for Autumn? Read more about Embracing the Fall Transition here! Also, check out some of our Favorite Fall Recipes!