26/09/26 - Abberley, St Michaels

Autumn Equinox and MichaelmasTwo dates very close to each other on the Pilgrimage calendar.The Autumn Equinox marks the point when day and night are approximately equal, a moment of balance before the long slide towards winter. It sits neatly alongside Michaelmas, celebrated on 29 September in honour of St Michael the Archangel, traditionally seen as a protector and a figure of strength and courage. Michaelmas was one of the four quarter days of the English year, marking the end of the agricultural year and the beginning of a new one. For an Autumn Equinox pilgrimage, the two traditions make a useful pairing: walk through woodland, fields, orchards and old lanes, looking for the signs of harvest and the changing season, before finishing at a St Michael's Church if there is one nearby. The walk becomes a small journey from the balance of the Equinox towards Michaelmas, combining the seasonal landscape with the Christian tradition of the archangel whose feast marks this turning point.I…