THE FALL EQUINOX is on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
Last updated September 2026
The fall equinox falls on September 22 in the Northern Hemisphere this year, when day and night reach equal length. Where the spring equinox carries the quality of emergence, the fall equinox carries the tone of return. The word equinox comes from the Latin aequus nox, equal night.
For a few days on either side of September 22, the scales are evenly distributed. It comes as no surprise that this day also marks the sun's entry into Libra, the sign of the scales, whose symbol is the only inanimate object in the zodiac. Libra presents us with questions relating to balance, such as what is in balance? What feels asymmetrical? What is within your power to shift?
How the Fall Equinox Has Been Observed
The autumnal equinox has been marked across cultures for as long as humans have oriented themselves by the sun. What is consistent across these traditions is less the various rituals than the underlying recognition that the harvest is nearly complete, daytime is shortening, and what has been gathered must now be assessed.
In Celtic traditions, the fall equinox occurs near Mabon, a harvest festival where communities took stock of what the growing season had produced and gave thanks before the dark half of the year began. The harvest determined whether the winter would be survivable, and the marking of it was both practical and communal.
In Chinese cosmology, the fall equinox occurs within the Metal phase of the five-element cycle. Metal is associated with letting go, with grief, with the lungs and the large intestine, and with the capacity to distinguish what is valuable from what can be released. The autumn in Chinese medicine grief is adjacent to gratitude, and is seen as a vital component to living fully.
In Japanese culture, Higan is observed at both equinoxes, a Buddhist week of reflection oriented around the passage from the world of suffering to the world of enlightenment, represented symbolically by crossing the river between the living and the dead. The fall Higan is themed around gratitude toward ancestors and attention to what has been inherited, whether that be physical or emotional.
In the Vedic tradition, the fall equinox marks Ritusandhi, the junction between seasons, and the beginning of Vata season, governed by air and space. Vata's qualities, cold, dry, light, and mobile, are echoed in the season itself: falling leaves, shifting wind, and thinning air. Ayurveda treats this junction as a time requiring grounding and warmth to balance what the season naturally brings, a practical counterpart to the Metal phase's emphasis on release.
Bowen Island, Nexwlélexwm in the Squamish language, is part of the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), whose people understood autumn as the season of preparation and preservation, the time of salmon runs and cedar harvesting, of storing summer bounty and readying the community for winter. We mark this equinox with respect for the territory where Nectar is located.
The Body at the Fall Equinox
Autumn is Vata season in Ayurveda, governed by air and space. The lungs directly relate to the air element, and Vata's qualities. When Vata is balanced, breath moves freely. When it accumulates unaddressed, the breath shortens and the body holds onto energy instead of naturally letting it flow. The fall equinox is timely to practise with the lungs, to let the breath work as the instrument of settling Vata. We love this Nectar At Home three-part pranayama series for this time of year.
The lower back and hips are also within Vata's domain, the seat of movement and nerve impulse in the body. September's practices involving astrological signs and body placement have addressed the lumbar region directly. At the equinox, the practice moves through the full body from the ground up: rooting through the feet in Tree Pose, folding into the earth in Forward Fold, and resting in stillness afterward, the grounding and warmth that balances Vata's colder, mobile quality.
A Fall Equinox Yoga Practice + OTHER ACTIVITIES
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Purpose: Tree Pose is the most literal embodiment of the fall equinox. The tree is the seasonal symbol most associated with autumn, and standing in its shape, rooted at the foot and branching at the arms, the body models what the trees outside are doing by holding steady as the seasonal conditions change. As a yoga for stress relief and full body mobility routine element, Vrksasana improves balance, strengthens the standing leg, and opens the hip of the lifted leg.
How-to:
Stand in Mountain Pose. Root the left foot into the floor, distributing weight evenly across the sole.
Bend the right knee and place the right foot on the inner left calf, inner left thigh, or draw the right sole to rest against the inner thigh above the knee. Avoid placing the foot directly against the knee joint.
Bring the hands to the heart, or extend the arms overhead, palms pressing or facing each other.
Fix the gaze on a single still point. Breathe slowly for 8 to 10 breaths.
Release and repeat on the other side.
Equinox intention: Before the second side, pause in Mountain Pose with one hand at the heart. Name one thing from the summer you are grateful to be carrying forward, and one thing you are ready to set down.
Forward Fold with Hands on Earth (Uttanasana variation)
Purpose: A standing forward fold that brings the hands closer with the ground. The fold decompresses the spine, releases the hamstrings, and in its slower form creates a mild inversion that shifts blood flow and quiets the nervous system. As a relaxation exercise for stress and a mobility and stretching practice, Uttanasana is one of the most accessible poses in a standing sequence.
How-to:
Stand with feet hip-width apart. On an exhale, hinge from the hips and fold forward, bending the knees as much as needed to bring the hands close to the floor or flat to the floor.
Once the hands are grounded, slowly begin to straighten the legs to your available range, keeping the knees soft.
Let the head hang freely. The neck releases.
Hold for 8 to 12 breaths. On each exhale, allow the spine to lengthen a fraction more toward the floor.
To come up, bend the knees, press the feet into the floor, and rise slowly, stacking the spine vertebra by vertebra.
Focus: The hands near or on the earth is directly related to autumn’s energetics.
Herbal Simmer Pot FOR FALL EQUINOX
While a simmer pot is not a yoga practice, it is a deeply pleasing and sensory one, and the fall equinox is very much about the senses. The practice is simple: a pot of water on the stove, brought to a low simmer with seasonal ingredients, filling the kitchen with the smell of the turning season.
For the fall equinox, ingredients that correspond with the season can include cinnamon bark, cloves, star anise, rosemary, thyme, cardamom, apple slices, among other botanicals. These are warming, grounding, and aromatic. While the pot simmers, sit nearby. Reflect on your movement practice; sip some delicious, yet grounding herbal tea. Take in the season through your olfactory sense.
A Threshold Practice to Mark the Fall Season
Creating a small seasonal arrangement can help you gather your thoughts post summer. What you place on a surface, a windowsill, a table, a corner of the floor, can be approached as a point of orientation for the weeks ahead. The physicality of this experience can mark a moment relating to the changing light.
For the fall equinox, objects that naturally work well can include fallen leaves, small apples or pears, acorns, a candle, a coniferous cone, some dried flowers. And if you prefer something more decorative, an autumn wreath on your door can serve the same purpose. The questions to guide you are, “What are you gathering, and what are you letting go?”
Journalling for the Fall Equinox
The fall equinox marks the point between the outward half of the year (light-filled) and the inward half (shadow filled). What follows September 22 invites us inward, which may produce stillness, but often simply a shift in activity. Here are some autumn journal prompts for the equinox day (or the days surrounding it):
What did this year bring in for you that you did not anticipate? How have you been changed by it?
The lungs release on the exhale. What are you ready to exhale?
What from the summer is worth preserving through the winter, the way the trees preserve their roots even as they release their leaves?
Where in your life are the scales tipping, and in which direction? What does that tell you? If balance is what you’re seeking, what would it take to restore that balance?
What does rest mean to you as the year begins to slow? What would it look like to grant yourself that permission?
At Nectar This FALL Equinox
If you’re seeking a fall equinox practice with community, consider joining us at one of Nectar’s hosted retreats and other seasonal events, where these are often facilitated by Andrea Clark and Satjeet Pandher.
For a wider range of offerings, including but not limited to restorative yoga, walking meditation, guided meditation, breathwork, ritual, metaphysics, and creative expression, browse our community retreats and classes to find an instructor or teacher whose focus matches what you're looking for.
If you're marking the equinox with a day trip from Vancouver to Bowen Island, Mist Thermal Sanctuary is situated in the same forest as Nectar and pairs naturally with a fall practice. A private sauna and cold plunge circuit can mirror the seasonal transition of summer moving into fall, with cycles of heat and cold through Mist’s design-forward facilities set in the middle of the forest. 90-minute or 120-minute sessions avaialable.
About Nectar Yoga Retreat Centre
Nestled beneath towering conifers on Bowen Island, Nectar offers British Columbia vacation packages with 2-night stays on Bowen Island, nourishing vegetarian breakfasts, and daily guided yoga and meditation. We host mindfulness and meditation retreats, yoga retreats, sound healing workshops, and other wellness practices with experienced instructors in holistic practice. Alongside our sister brand, Mist Thermal Sanctuary, we welcome guests from Vancouver and the lower mainland of BC, Victoria, Seattle, and beyond to relax and renew the mind, body, and spirit.
References
https://www.squamish.net/
https://www.keralaayurveda.us/courses/blog/signs-and-solutions-for-fall-imbalance/
https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/blog/ayurveda-the-autumnal-equinox/
https://www.classicalchinesemedicine.org
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2286.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4220504/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/harvest-festival
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4959333/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00484-019-01717-x
Disclaimer: The practices and information in this post are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for medical advice. Please consult a healthcare provider before beginning, particularly if you are pregnant, in perimenopause, or have existing health considerations.
