The autumn equinox: balancing light and dark
As summer slips gently into autumn, the earth reaches a moment of perfect balance. The autumn equinox, which this year falls on 22nd September, marks the point in the year when day and night are almost equal in length. From this day onwards, the nights will grow longer than the days as we move towards winter.
Across the arboretum, the trees are already responding to the shifting light. Chlorophyll, the pigment that keeps leaves green, begins to break down as the hours of daylight shorten. In its place, yellows, oranges and reds emerge from pigments that were hidden all summer. The woodland floor becomes strewn with fallen leaves, while fungi fruit in the damp leaf litter and animals prepare for the colder months ahead.
It is a time of change, and of slowing down.
Ancient traditions of the equinox
People have marked this turning point of the year for thousands of years. In prehistoric times, communities in the south west aligned monuments like Stonehenge and West Kennet Long Barrow with the rising or setting sun at key points in the solar calendar, suggesting the equinoxes were significant moments for gathering and ceremony.
Later, rural communities celebrated the end of the harvest around this time. The final sheaf of grain might be plaited into a corn dolly and kept until the following spring, symbolising the spirit of the fields. In orchards, families gathered apples and stored them carefully for the winter ahead. These were moments of hard work but also of communal feasting, storytelling and giving thanks for the bounty of the land.
Even today, many people feel a natural urge to pause and reflect at this balancing point in the year, taking stock of what has been gathered and letting go of what is no longer needed before winter sets in.
Celebrate the season with us
Autumn is a perfect time to visit the arboretum and see the woodland transform. Over the coming weeks and months we are hosting a whole host of seasonal events, including mushroom walks, a women’s bushcraft day, and visitor days where you can simply wander and soak up the change of season.
Whether you come to learn a new skill, enjoy the company of others, or simply watch the leaves drift down, we hope you will join us by the roundhouse fire, with the smell of woodsmoke in the air and a mug of hot chocolate warming your hands.
