The autumnal, fall, September, or southward equinox is the moment when the Earth's Sun (Surya, Sol) appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward.
Because of differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the fall equinox may occur from September 21st to 24th. It is called the equinox because night (nox) and day are equal (equi) today.
At the equinox, the Sun (as viewed from the equator) rises due east and sets due west. Before the Southward equinox, the Sun rises and sets more northerly; afterwards, it rises and sets more southerly.
The equinox may be taken to mark the end of astronomical summer and the beginning of astronomical autumn (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere, while marking the end of astronomical winter and the start of astronomical spring (vernal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere [1]. More
While talking impossible truths...look, free energy
If autumn begins, summer must end. Not "social summer," that ended weeks ago. This is astronomical summer, or what Sol (Surya, Sol) and Tierra (Bhumi, Gaia, Urth) are up to in relation to one another. According to Eric Dubay, the reason for the changes has nothing to do with the gatekeeper science were fed from the University system. It's all about the Sun and Moon chasing each other in a circle (not an orbit around the Earth) above the Earth that is more a spiral, sometimes tight in, sometimes wide out.
Let's let evidence, not spin, speak.
This is Western Zetetic science, which is based on tangible proof, experimentation, and demonstrable repeatable procedures that our science only gives lip service to nowadays. Of course, nobody cares what's real or what the ancients knew and taught in every major religion. We only care what YouTube stars say in the name of science. The Dharmic religions have one very consistent view about where we are and what is around us, and this does not match with the claims of modern science for the last few centuries. People take sides. The truth be damned. It's all about argument and fake CGI evidence. Everyone is forced to conform and reject the Bible, the Vedas, sacred Buddhist Teachings (the Dharma), Jainism's revelations, what the devas show and tell us. No one is allowed to question the official story we're all fed!
Row, row, row your board gently on the plane/Merrily, merrily, merrily, life moves to the drain
.
Can non-Indians enjoy it, too?
Seasons change, Anicca reigns; it is the way of Samsara. That will be our new saying. What does it mean? "Weather alters, impermanence in all things; that's how it goes in this incessant Cycle." But at least on the Island of California, it's not so bad. We get a reprieve before fall starts in earnest. And it's called "Indian summer." Berkeley, one of the greatest places on the planet, got hit by an earthquake to wake everyone up and keep them agitating for positive change. We know things are changing because Christmas Tree Lane lights are going up in post-Eaton Fire Altadena, a Los Angeles custom.
Berkeley gets a wakeup call
Indian summer
Native Americans enter a Quaker Friends meeting and find them quite nice and peaceful.
An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm and dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more specifically the first "killing frost" [1][2][3].
The late 19th-century lexicographer Albert Matthews made an exhaustive search of early American literature in an attempt to discover who coined the expression [4]. The earliest reference he found dated to 1851. He also found the phrase in a letter written in England in 1778 but discounted that as a coincidental use of the phrase.
Later research showed that the earliest known reference to "Indian summer" in its current sense occurs in an essay written in the United States around 1778 by J. Hector St. John de Crevecœur, describing the character of autumn and implying the common usage of the expression:
Great rains at last replenish the springs, the brooks, the swamp and impregnate the earth. Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer. This is in general the invariable rule: winter is not said properly to begin until those few moderate days & the raising of the water has announced it to Man.
The essay was first published in French around 1788 and remained unavailable in the United States until the 1920s [5].
Although the exact origins of the term are uncertain [6], it was perhaps so-called
because it was first noted in regions inhabited by Native Americans,
or because the natives first described it to Europeans [7],
or it had been based on the warm and hazy conditions in autumn when Native Americans hunted [6].
John James Audubon wrote about "The Indian Summer that extraordinary phenomenon of North America" in his journal on Nov. 20, 1820. He mentions the "constant Smoky atmosphere" and how the smoke irritates his eyes.
Audubon suspects that the condition of the air was caused by "Indians, firing the Prairies of the West." Audubon also mentions in many other places in his writings the reliance Native Americans had on fire. At no point does Audubon relate an Indian summer to warm temperatures during the cold seasons. More
Fall, of course, is a season; every fall is heralded by the autumnal equinox. But The Fall is something else. We can look at fascists in the White House, the Department of War, the Senate, Congress, and police departments across the nation for that sort of toppling or the coming down of the things we all loved and cherished as our birthright under a Constitution.
So long, Cruel Cruel Summer!
But the present administration, like administrations before it on both sides of the aisle, doesn't seem to care about the writing of the Forefathers at the birth of the nation. One is reminded of Hamilton, now out in a three-hour extravaganza of rap, choreographed dancing, and dueling. What is a good example of a Fall that falls upon us like an Indian summer, maybe driving along happily and without a care along PCH. Then BAM! Crash. Eyes covered with a sheet. Coroner's office...more Samsara.
How many summers are there? There's cultural summer (starting on Memorial Day), meteorological summer (as the weather changes), seasonal (astronomical) summer (the real thing beginning with the summer solstice, June 21, 2025), and Indian summer (that lingering often very hot period after fall equinox). When school lets out for summer vacation, that's summer. The Los Angeles Unified School District just let out, so summer has begun...at least in Southern California, where it's kind of always summer.
Youth is wasted on the young who do not appreciate it until it's too late
American Theravada scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is, 1: The Buddha
1. "The Buddha" taught by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
Humble Dr. Bhante Bodhi, Maha Thera, Ph.D.
佛陀教育法音宣流集 The Buddha’s Teaching: As It Is. It was 1981 at the Washington Buddhist Vihara in DC when American Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi finished recording ten talks explaining Buddhist basics published in March 2008. The original set of recordings came with additional material, including a glossary of terms that no longer seems to accompany the distributed CDs.
He began conceiving of a set of talks in the fall of 1979 as a WBV resident, composing lectures on the fundamental teachings of what the Buddha taught as recorded in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism.
Bhante Gunaratana, at the time the president of the Buddhist Vihara Society, suggested he record the lectures so that the monastery could distribute them as a set of ten cassette tapes, saving Ven. Bodhi from a wave of invitations to speak to his fellow Americans interested in understanding the teachings of the historical Buddha Gautama also known as Siddhartha and Shakyamuni.
It was the summer of 1981 in the monastery's basement when Ven. Bodhi recorded them using an ordinary, nonprofessional recording device. An enthusiastic lay supporter had the master copies reproduced in large quantities for distribution.
They have continued to be distributed on tape and as CDs for over a quarter century. Decades ago, a set arrived at the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara when the future Dharma editor of Wisdom Quarterly first heard them, crisp, in modern English, covering deep topics with excellent breadth and depth, not getting too consumed by the details except when it became necessary to clear up misconceptions about the Buddhist meaning of nirvana (moksha, vimutti, complete liberation). Meeting Bhikkhu Bodhi at the offices of the Buddhist Publication Society (bps.lk) in Kandy, Sri Lanka, he granted permission that we distribute these talks and we have ever since.
O, Buddha, what's the best gift? - Dhamma-dana
He was sure that it was not necessary as these talks were further refined and incorporated into his books and the explanatory notes of his many translations of the ancient Buddhist texts of the Pali language canon, but we assured him that these original talks were still very valuable to a basic understanding.
They are now considered “public domain” for anyone to copy and distribute freely as a gift of Dharma or Dhamma-dana (not for profit). The one condition is that they must not be sold. The tapes are now on CDs containing the original ten lectures, available freely at BAUS.org, Buddhist Association of the United States, Chaung Yen Monastery, Carmel, Upstate New York.
It is recommended that they be listened to as recorded in the original sequence.
ABOUT: Bhikkhu Bodhi (born Jeffrey Block is born on Dec. 10, 1944) is a Jewish American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka under Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Maha Thera. he now resides at Chaung Yen Monastery, Carmel, and still visits his former monastery, Bodhi Vihara (not named after him) in New Jersey. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and edited and authored many publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. He is the founder of Buddhist Global Relief a charity that funds projects to fight hunger and to empower women across the world.
Buddhist Summer School Committee ft. Bhikkhu Bodhi (The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is, Talk 1: The Buddha), Wisdom Quarterly; Alice Cooper, "Schools Out for Summer"; Last Day of High School vs. College
No one seems to have told the rest of the country, but where the sun sets (West Coast), the sun rose this morning to a new spring. Everything is green and sunny, cool and moist, and a person's thoughts lilt towards thoughts of
The Spring Equinox, also known as the vernal equinox, is one of the four solar festivals of the year. The equinox — which translates roughly in Latin to “equal night” — is when the sun sits vertically above the equator, making day and night equal across the planet.
The Spring Equinox officially marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and there are celebrations around the world to usher in longer days and springtime. [This is the real traditional New Year's Day, when the Earth (Tierra, Gaia, Bhumi) renews herself in preparation for another cycle.]
In some cultures, this day also marks the beginning of the new year, which in Iranian (original Aryan) culture is called Nowruz. The Spring Equinox is a brilliant time for new beginnings [like maybe a nice spring cleaning], no matter how one celebrates on March 20th.
This is the best time to begin a regular meditation practice, graduating to walking meditation, mindfulness in nature, and deep stillness to see things as they really are.
An outfit just for practice helps.
Do the basics: Put on all white. Find a quiet spot apart from distractions. Use this spot over and over again. It becomes powerful. Set down a mat and cushion (a bundle of leaves or grass is enough to get the tailbone higher than the knees). Sit. Inhale deeply. Release. Do it again a few times, without forcing the air out. It's just about letting go completely, so completely that the body hangs as if held up by a clothing hanger, not stiff, not slack.
You're a baby in white, so go easy.
Straighter is more comfortable, even though it doesn't seem like it at first. Posture is important to attention. Bring (advert) the attention to the present moment, this moment, and to stay in just this moment, remain aware of the breath. Which breath? This breath, just the one happening now all by itself. Become the watcher (not the commenter, fixer, improver, slowdowner, or anything else), just the watcher. This is mindfulness -- clear awareness of the present without evaluation.
Whoa, what a trip! What was that? I want that again!
Set a time limit in advance and keep it. Even if it would be nice to go longer because it is going so well, know the time of rising. Even if it is going horribly with raving lunatic thoughts of a psychopath with lurid fantasies and wrath, lust and revenge, delusion and a lightshow, know the time of rising. The mind will thank you later.
Ten minutes is a good start time, slowly working up to an hourlong sit. That seems impossible now, but in time, whaddyaknow, it suddenly is possible. What changed? I'dunno. This practice is about persistence. It does itself and then there is no effort. The enemies of that are expectations, unsettled greed or desire for achieving something, and the Five Hindrances. They will come to hinder. They are already present. They can be overcome. But whether or not they have been overcome, persist. This is spring. This is the beginning. Have "beginner's mind" in place of the "monkey mind" that usually rules the cage. Smile. It helps.
Instructions are confusing because it's so simple.
It is easy to say that "meditation is NOT about thinking." That's clear. That's easy to see. Don't indulge thought; just let them be by turning your attention to this subtle breath that keeps changing. What is difficult to grasp is that "meditation is NOT about not-thinking." Not-thinking may happen. It doesn't matter. As that is not the goal, if it doesn't happen, it's okay. Giving attention to one object and bringing attention back and back again and again ("Begin again" as Sharon Salzberg says) is what is important.
Feed me, Phone-Momma! Feed me more!!
The mind like a petulant and insolent child will resist. Let it. Bring it back. Do not scold it or become upset. Let it be. Surrender completely to this moment, whatever is in this moment, not being moved to do anything no matter what the mind says it must do. See what happens. Could the mind be wrong no matter what it feels or demands or insists is true?
How did Siddhartha Gautama do it?
We'll never see things as they really are so long as we keep believing that we already are seeing them that way. We have never been seeing them that way. If we had, we'd awaken. We'd be enlightened, which is to say, Dependent Origination would make sense. And it doesn't, does it? (Hint: It's a practice, not a theory). That's a whole different kind of meditation called insight (vipassana) after getting good at this kind, which is called serenity (samatha). Don't jump ahead. Let it go. (If all else fails, sign up for a free 10-day Goenka retreat. Everyone should do at least one in life).
Total lunar eclipse happens tonight and Friday morning
Strange cloudy weather may conceal eclipse
(FOX Weather)
March 13th, 2025: FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan explains the timing of the Blood Moon total lunar eclipse tonight and Friday morning. All you need to see the eclipse is to step outside and look up, but millions may have cloudy sky blocking their view.
Harken, it's time to awaken, deluded Earth Man. O, Moon Goddess, I was having a wild dream.
An Uposatha (Sanskrit Upavasatha) day is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence since before the Buddha's time (600 BCE) and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners as he advised [1, 2].
The Buddha taught that the Uposatha Day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind/heart," resulting in inner calm and joy [3].
On this day, both lay and ordained members of the sangha (spiritual community) intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge of the Teachings, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.
On these days, lay followers make a conscious effort to keep the Eight Precepts or (as the tradition suggests) Ten Precepts of intensive practice, over the ordinary Five Precepts observed all of the rest of the time. It is a day specially set aside for practicing the Buddha's Teachings and engaging in meditation. More
The Deeper, Spiritual Meaning of the Winter Solstice | Through Ancient History
(Sakro Sawel) This is a stunning visual journey through the ancient multicultural sites, traditions, and myths of the winter solstice to discover their deeper spiritual meaning and their relevance today.
Did you know that winter solstice was the most celebrated religious occasion in ancient history and still is even today?
This video explores the celebration of the sun and the winter solstice throughout history. Watch the winter solstice sun rise along the grand avenue of Karnak in Egypt, the largest temple complex in the world.
CONTENTS
00:00 – Introduction
01:45 – What is the Winter Solstice?
02:35 – Spirituality in Nature
03:31 – Journey of the Sun God
04:37 – Winter Solstice Celebrations
07:38 – Winter Solstice Alignments
10:07 – Karnak Temple Alignment
12:58 – The Principles of Creation
15:19 – Luxor Temple Symbolism
16:09 – Glastonbury Tor Meaning
17:33 – Newgrange Symbolism
18:53 – Great Pyramids Solstice Alignment
19:28 – Tiwanaku Symbolism
20:42 – The Dark Half of Duality
21:31 – Birth of the Hero Savior
22:35 – Jesus and the Hidden Meaning of Christmas
26:01 – Conclusion
27:31 – Where to Learn More
27:57 – Image and Video Credits
View a beam of solstice sunlight enter the hidden inner chamber of the giant megalithic mound site of Newgrange in Ireland.
Travel through these and tens of other ancient sites from around the world, some Buddhist, others American, while learning about the ancient symbolic meaning they had to their builders.
We also look at the deeper spiritual meaning of Xmas, the world’s biggest celebration held around the winter solstice as Christ-mass.
The winter solstice was the largest religious occasion in ancient times and remains so. Many ancient cultures throughout the world venerated the sun at the winter solstice. Millions still honor it according to their ancient traditions, and billions celebrate Christmas at the time of winter solstice, although its deeper significance has largely been lost.
Why is the winter solstice such an important event and what is its spiritual meaning? We explain how winter solstice was an important part of an ancient religion of the sun that spread to different parts of the world in prehistory.
NOTE ABOUT ATTRIBUTING THIS WORK: The information in this video is the culmination of years of work and research. It contains Sakro Sawell's unique interpretations of ancient sites and traditions. If you like it and want to share it, do not plagiarize it! Please share the video with due credit as the source.
This video is part of a series about the spiritual meaning of the solstices and equinoxes. Watch the other videos in this series here:
Website: sakrosawel.com. Book (co-authored by husband and wife) discusses the spiritual meaning of the winter solstice and ancient sites aligned to it in detail, as well as how to celebrate it: Ancient Solsticesakrosawel.com/ancient-solstice.
To make sure to keep receiving content from Sakro Sawel, sign up for the free newsletter at sakrosawel.com/newsletter. X/Twitter: sakrosawel.
Autumn Equinox's ancient spiritual meaning | Fall traditions, rituals, celebrations, sites
(Sakro Sawel1) Sept. 19, 2024: Let's take a stunningly deep dive into the traditions, ancient sites, and myths of the fall season, which begins with the autumnal equinox. It is recognized and celebrated around the world. Let's uncover the deeper spiritual meaning of this shift and its relevance today.
The autumn equinox is when day and night are equal (equi + nox = "night"), after which nights become longer than the daylight hours, and darkness becomes greater than light each day.
It was celebrated by ancient peoples for millennia and is still one of the most celebrated religious times of year. Why is the autumn equinox such an important religious event? What is its spiritual meaning?
The amazing temples of Mexico are aligned
To answer these questions, we delve into its celebration throughout history. We explore the autumn equinox tradition of Durga Puja (devotional ritual dedicated to Ma Durga) in India, which is celebrated by over a billion people, and the Persian festival of Mehregan.
We also look at the meaning of the legend of the Minotaur, the Eleusinian Mysteries (entheogenic drug rituals), the descent to Earth of the feathered serpent (reptilian Nagarajas) at Kukulkan (Quetzalcoatl) in Mexico, the hanging of the Norse god Odin on the World Tree (axis mundi), the journey of the Egyptian sun god Ra, and the crucifixion of Jesus [an element of astrotheology], which are all connected to the fall equinox.
CONTENTS
Introduction 00:00
What is the fall/autumn equinox? 01:55
Symbols of the equinox 02:59
Journey of the sun god 03:47
Autumn equinox traditions 06:19
Sites with fall equinox alignments 10:49
Great Pyramid symbolism 12:18
Sphinx Temple meaning 18:18
Ahu Akivi alignments 21:53
El Castillo solar serpent 23:45
Palace of Knossos Significance 27:50
Death, descent, Jesus, and Odin 34:59
Meaning and purpose of darkness 39:26
Conclusion 42:52
We explore the alignments of some of the world's most enigmatic sacred sites to the autumn equinox to interpret their symbolic spiritual meaning, including the Great Pyramid and Sphinx Temple in Egypt, Ahu Akivi on Easter Island, the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent in Mexico (El Castillo at Chichen Itza), and the ancient Greek Palace of Knossos in Crete.
We also explore one of the main themes of the autumn equinox, which is the worship of a great spiritual Mother Goddess (like Ma Durga, Guanyin, Mother Mary, Inanna, and many other names).
We uncover how the beliefs and traditions of the autumn equinox are connected across cultures and how celebrating the equinox was an important component of an ancient religion of the sun that spread to different parts of the world in prehistoric times.
As part of this video, we discuss some original theories I put forward as does my husband Mark Sawel, including:
How the autumn equinox reveals the important role that darkness plays in life and creation
How the annual journey of the sun was used in ancient religions to symbolize the path to enlightenment (our Sacred Sun Path Theory)
The symbolism of autumn equinox alignments at the Great Pyramids and Sphinx Temple in Egypt, Ahu Akivi on Easter Island, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and Knossos in Greece, which encode a spiritual meaning connected to the theme of descent on the path of enlightenment to confront one’s own inner darkness before being spiritually reborn [like Siddhartha did under the Bodhi tree before becoming the Buddha]
That these ancient sites and traditions were connected as part of a now lost [worldwide] religion we call the Religion of the Sun
The origin of dragon and serpent (reptilian, naga) slaying myths and how their symbolism was seen by the ancients in the stars
The deeper meaning in the pattern of descending into the earth, underworld, matter, body, tomb, subconscious, and womb, which can be found in the life of sun gods such as Ra, Rama, Odin, Jesus, and Osiris
An interpretation of the story of Theseus, Ariadne, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth and how it likely derives from Minoan initiatory rites conducted on the autumn equinox.
We first published these ideas between 2011 and 2016, where more details can be found in our book Ancient Solstice, which discusses the spiritual meaning of the fall/autumn equinox and ancient sites aligned to it, as well as how to celebrate it: sakrosawel.com/ancient-solstice.
NOTE ABOUT ATTRIBUTING OUR WORK
The information in this video is the culmination of years of work and research. It contains our unique interpretations of ancient sites and traditions. If anyone likes it and wants to share it, do so without plagiarizing it, please. Please share the video while giving us due credit as the source (Sakro and Mark Sawel).
This video is part of a series about the spiritual meaning of the solstices and equinoxes. Watch the other videos in this series:
Winter solstice: • WINTER SOLSTICE Ancient Spiritual Mea...
Spring equinox: • SPRING EQUINOX Ancient Spiritual Mean...
Summer solstice: • SUMMER SOLSTICE Ancient Spiritual Mea...
WEBSITE: sakrosawel.com.To make sure to keep receiving content from Sakro Sawel, sign up for this free newsletter at sakrosawel.com/newsletter. X/Twitter: sakrosawel.
Sakro Sawel, (Sakro Sawel1 on YouTube, Sept. 20, 2024); Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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