Autumnal Equinox

The moment of the Autumnal Equinox, is when the Earth's axis, tilted at 23.5 degrees, points neither towards nor away from the Sun, and the length of day and night are virtually the same all over the world. (Equinox is Latin for equal nights.) It is one of the four pivotal moments in our 365 day journey around the Sun.

In earlier times, before technology enabled Humans to distance themselves from the natural order of things, the Autumnal Equinox was a time of great import, observed in various forms by almost all cultures on Earth. The ancient Mayan civilization of Mexico built a 100 foot tall pyramid in the city of Chichen-Itza to help them mark the equinoxes. At dusk, on the day of the equinox, the light of the Sun, shining through carefully aligned stones, begins to form interconnected triangles, starting at the top of the main staircase. As the Sun sets, the triangles gradually extend lower and lower until they form a chain that ends in a 10 foot tall serpent's head, carved out of stone, at the foot of the stairs.

The chain of triangles extending from the serpent's head represents the body of the great god Kukulkan, also known as Quetzalcoatl - the plumed serpent. To this day, thousands make the pilgrimage, as the equinox approaches, to view this amazing phenomenon, just as the ancients did so long ago.

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