Well, it’s finally started happening: The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer (even if it’s still been 95 degrees where I live this week). That means the Fall Equinox is upon us — and in celebration of that fact, several limited-edition Fall Equinox-themed Airbnb Experiences are launching soon, geared towards helping us all take advantage of the Big Spiritual Energy believed by many to be in the air at this time of year. Taking place on Sept. 23 — the actual date of the 2019 Fall Equinox in the northern hemisphere — these three Experiences, located in Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York, are hosted by major players in the astrological space online. And although the Experiences are all vastly different from each other, they’ll all offer excellent ways to set your intentions for the rest of the year and help you follow through on what you hope to accomplish before the winter comes.
Airbnb Experiences originally launched as part of the big “Trips” update that rolled out to the platform in 2016 — and in the three years since, they’ve become a major draw for travelers and locals alike. Consisting of a wealth of unique activities, tours, workshops, and other adventures created and hosted by locals, Experiences aim to provide “unprecedented access and deep insights into communities and places you wouldn’t otherwise come across,” as a press release put it at the time of the launch. The Experiences on offer are as varied as bothb the people who run them and the locations in which they take place; you can, for example, become a mermaid for a day in San Diego, or learn how to carve with chainsaws in Oregon, or go on a hunt for ghosts in St. Augustine, depending on where your interests lie.
Bri Luna, AKA The Hoodwitch.
Periodically, limited-edition options also join the Airbnb Experiences lineup — which is where the current crop of Fall Equinox Experiences come into play. One of two times of year that day and night are almost (but not quite!) equal in length, the Fall Equinox “marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator — the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator — from north to south,” as Time and Date describes it. But in addition to the celestial meaning of the equinox — that is, what’s actually happening in the sky when it’s going on — many people and cultures also assign a lot of spiritual meaning to it. Astrologically speaking, it’s the beginning of Libra season, making it a time both to shift our perspective and search for balance — whatever that might mean for you.
Accordingly, the three limited-edition Fall Equinox Airbnb Experiences are all geared towards taking advantage of and celebrating this time of year. (Indeed, they’re all scheduled for the equinox itself — Sept. 23.) In Seattle, Bri Luna, also known as The Hoodwitch, will be offering a Fall Equinox Rituals Experience in which she’ll “take guests on a journey of spiritual appreciation.” It starts with “an explanation of the Equinox and what it represents” before moving onto “a ritual exercise in which [Luna will] help you reflect on your year so far, as well as set intentions for your practice.” Group discussion and “a dialogue around growth” will help “balance and humble” you, offering “a replenishing experience” as the year begins to draw to a close.
Gabriela Herstik.
In Los Angeles, Gabriela Herstik will be offering a different Fall Equinox Rituals Experience, focusing on Greek mythology’s interpretation of the equinox: The time when Persephone begins her annual journey to the Underworld, from which she won’t emerge again until spring. Herstik views this journal as “a symbol of casting light on the dark within” and a time to “[cleanse] the spirit of any pain or negativity.” As such, Herstik will lead guests through a “shadow ritual … designed to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit,” starting with an explanation of the Fall Equinox over a glass of champagne, continuing onto the setting of intentions, and then moving to “a candle carving ritual designed to guide you through the darkness of Winter.” At the conclusion of the ritual, you’ll take part in a “reflective writing session” and group discussion, after which you’ll burn what you wrote.
Lastly, in New York, the Astro Poets — AKA Dorothea Lasky and Alex Dimitrov — will offer a Fall Equinox Rituals Experience aimed at “producing an evening of spiritual alignment, cherishing the last day of Summer and preparing for Winter.” After enjoying a glass of champagne at sunset, you’ll set your intentions, then participate in Ouija board and tarot reading experiences. Lastly, group discussion will help you further refine and break down your intentions for the last few months of the year.
Each of these experiences will become available to book on Sept. 13 (which, coincidentally, is Friday the 13th) at 12 p.m. ET. They’ll cost $50 a head and will take place on Sept. 23.
The Astro Poets, Alex Dimitrov and Dorothea Lasky.
If, however, you’re not located in Seattle, Los Angeles, or New York — or if you just miss your chance to book one of the limited number of spots available for these three Experiences — rest assured that there are still tons of other witchy, spiritual, and supernatural Airbnb Experiences available for booking all over the world, both on the Fall Equinox itself and at a variety of other times of year. Want to learn how to cast a spell? Try this option. Feel like going on a “sound journey” in a “private vortex?” This one’s got you covered. In the mood for a good old-fashioned tarot card reading? Here you go.
It’s also worth noting, of course, that Sept. 23 is only the Fall Equinox for places north of the equator; south of the equator, it’s the Spring Equinox. For this reason, the two equinoxes are sometimes referred to as the March and September Equinoxes, rather than the Spring and Fall Equinoxes; they always take place during the same months, no matter where you are, making the March and September designations both more accurate and less confusing. So, hey, if you live in the northern hemisphere and miss out on the Autumnal Equinox celebrations, you can always try to get yourself down to the southern hemisphere in March and catch it there. Just sayin’.
Happy almost-Equinox!
