New Beginnings with the Autumn Equinox
As the summer months draw to a close, we move into the Autumn Equinox (also known as Mabon or Harvest Home). You may have noticed the subtle changes in the air; a chillier start to the day and cooler evenings.
And as the nights draw in, the leaves on the trees change colour and the landscape changes from a sea of green, to warmer tones of pink, red and orange.
The Autumn Equinox marks the time when day and night are of equal duration before the descent into increasing darkness. It’s the final festival of the season of Harvest and for many, now is the perfect time to reflect on the past season, say goodbye to the activities of the warmer months and settle down into winter with new optimism and renewed plans. Autumn is also a time to recognise that the balance of the year has changed, the wheel has turned and summer is now over.
In nature, the activities of the summer give way to preparation for winter hibernation. For us, sometimes we struggle to let go of the long days of summer where we spend time with friends and loved ones, enjoy time outdoors, holidays and all the fun that goes with this celebrated time of year.
Yet this change is inevitable and there is much to look forward to in the autumn and winter months, from kicking and crunching through colourful jewelled leaves on crisp bright days, to snuggling up in front of warm fires and enjoying warm winter casseroles and hot chocolate when temperatures plummet. This is the ideal time to reflect on our lives and begin to set our intentions for the upcoming year ahead.
According to the meteorological calendar, autumn falls on the same day each year on September 1, yet in the astronomical calendar, autumn begins on a different date each year – in 2016, the season starts on September 22 and ends on December 21 with the winter solstice. Astrologers recognise this occurrence as the date the sun enters the sign of Libra – the Scales – and it’s important at this time of year to restore balance and go forward with renewed equilibrium before the year ends.
This time of reflection and re-balance is celebrated throughout the autumn equinox, and here at the award-winning Devonshire Spa, we invite you to join us and do just that. As part of the Autumn Equinox Experience your therapist will help you restore and rebalance with a complete spa ritual to ease you into the approaching winter months. As part of the experience, you will also have time to unwind and reflect in our five-star facilities before your treatment.
This 90-minute treatment begins in our Hammam wet room where you’ll enjoy a top-to-toe body scrub to exfoliate dead cells, revealing fresh, renewed skin. This energising treatment is perfect before the winter months and leaves you feeling incredibly vibrant and with silky smooth skin. Keeping circulation going when the world around us moves at a slower pace is particularly important.
From there, your therapist will massage away any stress and tension, and you’ll relax, unwind and enjoy 30 minutes of sheer blissful massage therapy before enjoying a wonderful 30 minute facial designed to protect your skin. This is crucial as we enter into the cooler months, where our delicate skin is attacked by harsher weather and the ever dreaded dehydrating central heating.