The 2020 fall equinox was September 22. In my experience, it seems like people get especially excited about the coming of fall, especially young women like me. This season personally makes me happy because it signals the impending arrival of winter, my favorite season. Even as a lover of the coldest pole of the year, however, I think there is a unique happiness to be found in this transitional time between summer and winter.
Our word “autumn” comes in part from Latin autumnus, meaning “autumn; fruits of fall, or harvest.” Likewise, “equinox” comes from Latin aequinoctium, literally “equal night.” This references to the fact that day and night are of equal duration on equinoxes. I think these two etymologies point to two essential characteristics of this fall: rest and balance.
Ancient Greeks observed Thesmophoria in the fall, which was a women’s ritual honoring Demeter, the goddess of grain. The timing of this practice comes from the myth of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, who was abducted by Hades. Zeus was able to reunite Persephone with her mother and mediate a compromise between Hades and Demeter, but because Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed in the underworld, she was obliged to return there for three months out of the year. To the Greeks, these months constituted winter: the months wherein Demeter mourned the absence of her daughter and therefore neglected her duties as goddess of grain. Women participating in Thesmophoria would hold rituals to contemplate Demeter’s loss and, finally, hold festivities (pomegranates were essential) to celebrate fertility.
If you want to pay homage to Ancient Greeks this autumn, you could call your mom in remembrance of Demeter’s devotion to her daughter, or just have some pomegranate seeds! To me, contemplating the past like this is a way to situate ourselves as small actors in the unimaginably large story of humanity. People in Ancient Greece thought of fall as a time to rest and contemplate as well as a time to celebrate the fruits of their labors. I think the transitional nature of fall represents balance. I hope we can all take a moment of pause this fall to reflect on how far we’ve come and brace in courage for the future.