Fall Equinox
It's All About Balance
It’s almost here—the Autumnal Equinox, the official beginning of autumn. It’s a moment in time that humans have marked for millennia. This year it happens on September 22 at 8:44am EDT.
Why is this? Why does fall arrive at such an odd moment, and not at, say, noon or midnight? Well, it’s the precise instant at which the sun crosses the “celestial equator”—an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs when the Sun’s center passes through the line, going from north to south. Of course, the Sun isn’t actually moving, it’s the planet beneath our feet that’s spinning wildly, constantly. At 8:44 on that brisk September morning, the Earth rolls a tiny fraction of a degree on her rotation, and just like that, it’s fall. (Unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case it’s the start of spring. It’s all in your point of view.)
In summer, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. In winter it’s tilted away from the sun. The Equinox is when the planet is halfway in between the tilts, if you see what I mean. The word “equinox” comes from the Latin words aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, “night.” This is the time when day and night are of equal length. Balanced.
But what does all this matter, really? We think that day length doesn’t matter to us humans. But we’re much more tightly bound to the rhythms of light and darkness than we realize. (It’s why the Daylight Savings change knocks so many people for a loop.) We’re tied, as all animals are, to nature’s cycles of light and dark.
I mean, think about it. How do geese know it’s time to head south? What makes groundhogs start thinking about napping? How do leaves know it’s time to blush red?
It’s not just the weather. Temperature is a wildly unreliable indicator. We have blizzards in April, thaws in January. You’d go crazy if you tried to figure out the season by the thermometer. No, it’s not so much temperature as day length, the subtle change in the amount of light that triggers a host of behaviors in both plants and animals. In fall, they sometimes get a bit confused. The little frogs known as spring peepers peep in fall, and birds sing their springtime mating songs. It’s because the day length in September is the same as it was in March, at the Vernal Equinox.
So right now the days and nights, the light and dark, are in balance. The equinox is all about balance.
Seems like that’s what we all need these days–a chance to get our balance. To figure out what’s going on and where we stand, as events go whirling past us with the speed of crazed comets. We lurch from tragedy to comedy and back again. Seems like no sooner do we adjust to one upheaval than another crops up.
And the election, always the election, looming ever closer. Early voting started in Pennsylvania on Monday, September 16. In many states it will begin in a matter of days. It’s not just looming closer, it’s here.
What can we do to ensure that our world stays in balance? Consider making a donation—even $5 makes a difference, as campaigns gauge support by the number of people donating as well as money raised.
Several House races are essential to control of the House of Representatives. I’m rooting for Mondaire Jones, who held office in 2021 and 2022, and who is battling for New York's 17th Congressional District, a Hudson Valley swing seat that will help decide which party controls the House next year. He’s recently been vocal in his support of gun control legislation.
Or throw a few bucks at perhaps the most important race of 2024, a close second to the Presential one: Jon Tester’s run for Senator of Montana. I know, Montana, right? Not a state that’s in the news a lot. But it’s a must-win for control of the Senate. Donating directly to his campaign lets him buy ads in crucial rural districts. Jay Kuo of the substack The Status Kuo (which I find very helpful) says: “Montana is a state that went heavily for Trump, making Tester something of a political unicorn. His race is winnable, but it’s the toughest in the country.” A win for Tester would be a huge step towards a blue Congress, which we desperately need to balance the red Supreme Court.
Balance. That what this election is all about. Balance and light.
Dear Friends,
Are you counting the days till the election of 2024 and wondering what to do about it? I hope you’ll continue to check out The Optimistic Activist.
Every week I post some ideas for doing something. How to get out the vote, spread the word, and support progressive candidates. Ideas for simple but effective activism. As easy, as practical, as do-able as I can make them.
Together, I think, we could really make a difference.
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future.”
--Noam Chomsky
