Every year around September 22nd, the word balance takes over your feed. New season, new intentions, sudden collective obsession with equilibrium. My version this year is gentler, one that doesn’t require your whole life to be balanced by Tuesday evening for you to take part.
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What the Equinox Actually Is
This year the autumn equinox falls on September 22nd, 8:04pm EDT, roughly 5pm on the West Coast. It’s a real, measurable astronomical moment, the sun crossing directly over the equator, day and night landing as close to perfectly equal as they ever get anywhere on the planet. The word itself comes from Latin for “equal night,” and that’s the literal truth of what’s happening, not a metaphor borrowed for wellness copy.
From here, the Northern Hemisphere keeps tilting further from the sun each day, all the way to the winter solstice in December. Days shorten, nights stretch out, and if your mood tracks along with the shifting light, that’s not imagined. Circadian biology answers directly to daylight, melatonin timing moves with it, and for plenty of people, energy and mood follow right along.
This exact turning point has been marked for thousands of years across cultures, harvest festivals, gratitude rituals, gatherings built around what’s been grown before the dark months close in. Some modern pagan and wellness traditions call it Mabon. Whatever the name, the thread stays constant: a deliberate pause to notice the turn instead of letting it slide past unmarked.
Why This One Feels Different
Most seasonal moments push you toward something, new goals, a fresh start, more to show for it. The equinox is the rare day that isn’t asking you to lean either direction. Light and dark, effort and rest, carry equal weight for one single moment before the scale tips again.
That’s the actual invitation, gently offered: not balance as some finish line to cross, but honest awareness of where you’re currently leaning, and whether that’s a direction worth staying in.
Rituals to Mark the Day
None of these require anything elaborate. Pick one, or do all of them, or do none of them and just read through.
Light a candle at the exact moment of equal day and night. Around 5pm Pacific this year. Sit with it for even two minutes before you blow it out.
Make something with whatever’s in season. Root vegetables, apples, whatever’s showing up at your farmers market right now. Cooking with what’s actually available is its own small act of noticing the season.
Do a body scan or short meditation at sunset. As the light changes outside, let your attention move slowly through your body. This is genuinely one of my favorite ways to feel a seasonal shift land somewhere real instead of staying an idea in your head.
Clear one physical space. Not your whole house. One drawer, one shelf, one corner. Equinox energy is about release as much as arrival.
Affirmations for the Turn
Say these out loud if you’re willing, or just let them sit on the page.
I don’t have to have everything figured out to move forward.
Rest and effort are allowed to take turns.
What I release makes room for what’s next.
I trust the parts of my life that are already working.
Journal Prompts
Sit with a few of these, or all of them. There’s no right number.
What am I ready to release as the light shortens?
Where in my life do I feel the most balanced right now, and where do I feel the most tipped?
What did this summer teach me that I don’t want to lose when routine picks back up?
If I trusted that rest was productive, what would I let myself stop pushing on?
What’s one thing I’m harvesting this season, literally or otherwise, that I worked for and haven’t fully acknowledged yet?
Where to Go From Here
However you spend the equinox, I hope it doesn’t feel like one more thing to perform correctly. This is meant to be a soft place to land, not a new standard to meet.
Free sessions on YouTube: If you want a short way to mark the day, a five-minute meditation before bed is enough. Subscribe and the library will be there whenever you need it, tonight or any other night. youtube.com/peacefulplacewellness
Come sit in it with others: I’ll be leading sound baths this season built around exactly this kind of seasonal slowing down, and I’m also finalizing winter retreat dates for anyone who wants a deeper reset than a single evening allows. No pressure to be anywhere specific in your practice to join, just come as you are. Fill out this form if you want to hear about retreat dates first.
Attend a class: Sound baths and yoga nidra, across studios in Los Angeles, all season. See the full schedule at angelawrightmusic.com/classes-schedule.
This essay first appeared on my Substack. Subscribe for new writing on sound, rest and the nervous system.
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