AUTUMN EQUINOX

The Autumn Equinox heralds a moment of harmony between light and dark, soft and hard. The length of night and day balance into perfectly equal duration for the second equinox of the year. The center of the sun aligns with the equator, rising east and descending west in equipoise with nearly twelve hours from dawn to dusk. Fall commences in the Northern Hemisphere, and spring emerges south of the equator. It is a moment of celestial convergence and synchronicity.

The celebration of the equinoxes can be traced back to the astronomers- oracles of the Stonehenge and the Mayans, who sought cosmic guidance in these solar gateways. In East Asia, one customarily look west, reflecting in the direction of dreams and visions, blessing ancestors who traversed to the “other shore,” and eating moon-cakes as a way to revel in the harvest. It’s also the beginning of the French Republican calendar, which was instituted after the French Revolution, marking democracy for France (…and Paris Fashion Week).

On a day of the equinox, Saturday September 22^nd,what better way to unwind than a euphoric bath with therapeutic sea salts? As the center of the Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizons of the Earth, the ritual of bathing transcends pragmatism to become absolutely- well- ceremonial. Linger and soak. Lather and cleanse away. Shed dead skin by exfoliating with a lavender-infused body scrub. Soften and calm the body with a restorative moisturizer charged with botanical extracts of rose, helichrysum, and pomegranates -- the fruit that lured Greek goddess Persephone into becoming Hades’ dark queen, returning to the underworld every fall.

Isak Dinesen’s famous quote, “The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea” takes on an even more transcendent and universal meaning. Saltwater detoxifies as it mineralizes and replenishes our vitality. Our most intimate substances - blood, sweat, and tears - contain salt in similar proportions to the sublime ocean (roughly 1% to 3.5%). It isn't proof by itself, but it does give weight to the theory that multicellular life forms evolved in the oceans. The amniotic fluids of the Precambrian seas swim through our veins. This essential nutrient fuels nerves, regulates our heartbeat, and maintains the ebb and flow of our cerebral tides. Carrying us into cooler days in beautiful proportion.

-Rhina Ju

September 2012