Autumn equinox: a simple, energetic ritual to live it at home

There are moments in the year when the energy palpably shifts. The autumn equinox — around the 22nd of September — is one of them: day and night are balanced for a few hours and, from there, the light begins to gently retreat. It’s a moment that invites introspection, the closing of cycles and the encounter with your own interior. In my over 10 years accompanying women in holistic processes, I’ve seen how this kind of conscious pause — simple, with no fuss — is capable of changing the way we enter the darker months of the year. In this article I share a ritual you can do alone at home, in one hour, with what you already have. And, above all, I tell you why it works.

The altar I set up last autumn at my Arabian Ranches studio: a candle, leaves I gathered from the garden, a notebook and a Tibetan singing bowl. Nothing more is needed to open the space.

What the equinox means energetically

During the equinox, the sun crosses the celestial equator and day has almost exactly the same length as night. It is a moment of balance between two poles: light and darkness, expansion and retreat, doing and being. Astronomically it lasts only a few seconds. Energetically, however, it stretches across the entire week that surrounds it.

From that point on, nature prepares for the year’s darkest months. Leaves fall, trees let go, animals stock their pantries. And our body, although we don’t always notice, also asks for that same movement inward. The women I accompany tell me this every year: in September and October a deeper tiredness appears, a need to sleep earlier, a gentle nostalgia with no clear reason. It’s the body remembering that we are in transition.

In the traditions of many cultures — the Celtic Mabon, the Japanese Higan, the Christian feast of Michaelmas — this moment is celebrated as the closing of the harvest cycle: we thank what has been received, we honour the effort and we prepare the heart for what is to come. I learned this from my grandmother, who always marked the change of season with a concrete gesture: she changed the curtains, brought out the candles, made broth. It’s the same intuition we carry inside, waiting to be heard.

The signals the body gives you in autumn

Before entering the ritual, it’s worth observing how your body is asking for this change. These are the most common signals I hear in consultation when September begins:

• Earlier tiredness at the end of the day, even if you’ve slept well.
• Appetite that shifts: fewer salads, more soups, more broths, more warm things.
• A need for less social plan and more quiet evenings at home.
• More reflective thoughts, sometimes nostalgic, about what the year has been.
• Drier skin and hair, more thirst in the morning.
• More emotional sensitivity, tears that arrive without a clear reason.
• More vivid dreams, more memory of them upon waking.

All of this is completely normal. It is not a slump — it is the body entering a more inward rhythm. The equinox ritual does not seek to “fix” these signals, but to honour them and give them a symbolic space, to tell the body and the soul “I hear you, I accompany you in this movement”.

Preparing the space for the ritual

You don’t need to buy anything. The most beautiful thing about this ritual is that it is done with what you already have at home. What you do need is to decide a moment — don’t leave it floating as “I’ll see which night” — and let your household know that during that hour you won’t be available. One hour. That’s all I ask.

What you’ll gather:

• A candle (any one; if you have a white or gold one, even better).
• A notebook and a pen you like.
• Something from nature of this moment: a dried leaf, a stone, a branch, a seasonal fruit (pomegranate, fig, apple).
• An essential oil if you have one — sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh or lavender are classics of autumn.
• A warm drink prepared with care: infusion, tea, broth, water with honey and lemon.
• A blanket if needed. Let the body be warm.

Choose a corner of your home you like. Turn off the bright lights. Put your phone in another room, not on silent: in another room. If you have soft instrumental music, play it very low; if not, silence is also perfect. The idea is to create a space where you feel safe from interruptions for one hour.

The ritual step by step: one hour with yourself

What follows is a sequence you can adapt to your way. I propose it in this order because I’ve seen that it respects the body’s natural rhythm: first arrive, then release, then open.

1. Arriving (10 minutes)

Sit comfortably. Close your eyes. Three deep, long, slow breaths, releasing air through the mouth with sound if you wish. Let the body soften — shoulders, jaw, belly. If you know a meditation or conscious breathing technique, this is the moment. If not, simply stay breathing until you feel you are here.

2. Lighting the candle (2 minutes)

Light the candle slowly. Look at it for a minute. The flame has that ancient capacity to order the mind without you having to make an effort. If you have the essential oil, add two drops on a tissue or in a diffuser.

3. Writing what you close (15 minutes)

In the notebook, dedicate some minutes to writing what has been completed in this cycle. It can be: a project ending, a habit that no longer serves you, a relationship that is transforming, a learning you have integrated, a stage that has passed. It is not a list of “achievements” — it is a list of what has already fulfilled its function and to which you can say thank you.

If tears come, let them come. If you write little, write little. There is no correct way.

4. Giving thanks (10 minutes)

Then, dedicate some minutes to writing or saying aloud quietly thank-yous. For what was lived, for the people who were there, for those who no longer are, for the body that keeps walking with you, for the roof, for the warm water, for the day. Gratitude is a very powerful energetic bridge — when you give thanks, the nervous system regulates, the heart softens, the mind calms.

5. Opening an intention (10 minutes)

Finally, write one intention for the months to come. It does not have to be big. It can be as simple as “I want to rest more”, “I want to listen to myself with more love”, “I want to trust my rhythm”, “I want to take more care of my body”. Let it be yours, not the one you think you should have. Read it aloud once.

6. Closing (5 minutes)

Look at the flame of the candle one last time. Sip your infusion or broth. Breathe three more times. Blow out the candle with intention, knowing the ritual remains in you. Keep the paper with the intention somewhere you’ll see it through autumn — the bedside drawer, inside a book you’re reading, next to the mirror.

The closing of the ritual: the candle still burning, the warm infusion, the notebook with what you’ve written. Nothing more. It is enough.

Essential oils and plants that accompany this season

If you want to add aromatherapy to your ritual, there are notes especially beautiful for autumn. I work a lot with these five:

• Sandalwood — for spiritual connection and retreat inward. It is the autumn oil par excellence.
• Frankincense (olibanum) — to cleanse and elevate the energetic space. Historic in transition rituals.
• Myrrh — for closing and transformation processes. Dense, deep, ancient.
• Sweet orange — to keep the warmth of the heart when light begins to fade.
• Lavender — for calm and deep sleep, which become more needed in this season.

In infusions, chamomile, lemon balm, linden and rosemary are great allies of autumn. And bone or root-vegetable broths (carrot, celery, leek, pumpkin) are the nutritional equivalent of this energetic ritual: they prepare us inside for the cold months.

If you want to go deeper into how clinical aromatherapy works, you can read my article on essential oils for stress and anxiety or on the holistic bath ritual, which share many elements with this practice.

How to integrate the ritual into your daily life through autumn

A concrete ritual, done with presence, plants something. But the real transformation happens in the small daily gestures that come after. These are the simple things I suggest to the women I accompany:

• Go to bed 30 minutes earlier than in summer. The body thanks you.
• Light a candle while you have dinner, two or three nights a week.
• Replace one cold drink of the day with a warm one.
• Walk 20 minutes outdoors between 10:00 and 12:00, when there’s more sunlight — in Dubai this is perfectly possible even at peak season.
• Reread the intention you wrote each Sunday evening.
• Slightly reduce your social calendar without guilt.

This is not about a radical “reset”. It is about listening to the body when it asks for less, and giving it that without justifying yourself.

The equinox as an invitation

Beyond the concrete ritual, what the equinox offers us is an invitation to stop. To recognise that we’ve been in movement for months — summer, travel, screens, schedules — and that the body, the soul and the energy need a point of conscious breath.

There’s no need to do anything grand. Only to give yourself a few hours, once a year, to remember yourself. And from that gesture, to let autumn find you a little more awake, a little more at home, a little more yours.

About my treatments at Arabian Ranches

If you’d like to go deeper into any of the topics covered in this article, at my Arabian Ranches studio I offer several treatments: Reiki with chakra balancing, therapeutic and aromatherapy massages, manual lymphatic drainage, Bach Flower therapy and personalised essential oil formulas, among others.

📋 See the full list and up-to-date pricing at Treatments.

✨ First visit: includes a free 15-minute initial consultation to understand your case and tailor the treatment. New clients also receive a 10% discount on their first treatment.

Book your session here or contact me if you have any prior questions.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to do it exactly on the day of the equinox?

No. The day of the equinox is symbolically powerful, but the energy of this moment is felt throughout the whole week — and, in truth, throughout the whole month of September. Choose the day that suits you and live it with presence. I usually recommend a Sunday afternoon, when the house is quieter.

Can I do it if I don’t believe in the energetic side?

Yes. Even if you don’t approach the ritual from an energetic view, the simple gesture of stopping, giving thanks and setting an intention works on an emotional and mental level. It is an act of care, not of belief. Many women tell me at first “I’m not really into this kind of thing” — and after doing it, they come back the following autumn.

What if I live in Dubai, where seasons aren’t very marked?

The body remembers the seasons even when the climate doesn’t. Wherever we live, the nervous system follows ancient rhythms and welcomes these pauses. In fact, in climates where autumn isn’t visible, the ritual becomes even more important: it gives us the symbolic anchor the landscape doesn’t offer.

Can I do it with my family or my partner?

Yes, although my recommendation is to do the solo version first and, if you wish, a shared version after. The ritual in couple or family becomes very beautiful if each person writes their part in silence and at the end only the thank-yous are shared aloud, not the intimate intentions.

What if I become very emotional during the ritual?

It is welcome. The emotions that appear in these spaces are the ones that had been waiting for a safe place. Cry all you need. Afterwards, a warm infusion, a blanket, sleep. The next day you’ll see that something has moved.

Can I repeat a similar ritual at other times of the year?

Of course. There are four other powerful energetic moments in the year: the solstices (21st June and 21st December) and the spring equinox (21st March). Each has its tone, but the structure of the ritual — arrive, release, give thanks, open intention, close — works in all of them.

Can it be combined with a Reiki session?

Yes. Some women ask me for a session close to the equinox to deepen the energetic closure of the cycle. The home ritual and Reiki work accompany each other very well: one opens the symbolic space, the other works on the body’s energetic system.