By Before It's News

That slight crispness to the air that signifies the change in seasons is now being backed up by the sun. Today is the second time of year that the sun rises due east and sets due west, traversing the sky directly over the equator. The axis of Mother Earth is straight rather than tilted in relation to the sun’s rays. In other words, it’s fall.

Night and day are almost the same length on this day, though not quite, as Space.com explains.

The autumnal equinox, as it’s officially named, signifies, for the most part, the end of those long, lazy, hot summer days. With this year being one of the hottest summers on record in the United States, it may be a relief to see these sweltering days pass.

This day also signifies the beginning of the harvest season, when gourds, apples and other ripe nuggets that have been nourished by Mother Earth’s soil all summer are ready to eat. That does not hold for those places south of the equator, of course. For them it’s the first day of spring.

Spout Run Site owner Chris White stands on two petroglyphs that he and local archeologist Jack Hanricky discovered on September 19, 2012. The equinox sun forms a halo over his head. (Photo: René White via Clarke Daily News)

Because of the important nature of today’s change in season, sacred sites abound built by American Indians, Canadian Aboriginals and Indigenous Peoples worldwide. A recent discovery of just such a site has been unearthed in Virginia, the 12,000-year-old Spout Run Paleoindian site in Clarke County.

The site features three concentric rings that align with the equinox sun, according to landowner Chris White. But recently he and local archeologist Jack Hranicky made another equinox-related discovery: a triangular rock formation topped by two footprint-shaped petroglyphs that appear to align with the sunrise, the Clark Daily News reported.

“When stood on, during the equinox, the sun causes a halo effect over the person standing on the prints,” Hranicky told the Clark Daily News. “This is a new major feature.”

He said its 105-degree alignment with the autumnal equinox sun as it crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains make the 12,000-year-old site’s original inhabitants “Virginia’s first engineers,” the newspaper said.

White made his discovery in 2009 after purchasing the land and starting to build on it, he told the Clark Daily News.

The ancients used the sky and the seasons’ changes as both clock and calendar, EarthSky.org points out. This year’s fall equinox comes with a bonus: It’s also the month’s first quarter-moon, EarthSky.org says. Celebrate both, and let the season begin!

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The University of Washington State has agreed to use the Thermoluminescence (TL) method to help date heat-treated jasper found during the 2011 excavation. The TL technique has a range of 1,000 to 500,000 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey web site. The team is also in the process of registering the Spout Run Site as a state-recognized prehistoric site with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and as a National Historic Landmark with the U.S. Department of Interior.

White said he is continuing plans to preserve the site for future generations and welcomes partners who wish to do the same. The team has been studying the PaleoIndian site for three years now.

Autumnal Equinox

On Sept. 22, during the Autumnal Equinox, the sun will be perpendicular (directly above) the equator. Viewers along the east coast will see the sun rise at a 90 degree in direct line-of-site to the east. In comparison, the site does not have direct line-of-site to the east coast because of the mountain so the sun has to rise higher and at an approximate 105 degree angle as it makes its way over the mountain to be seen at the Paleo-site here.

The Equinox is a precise moment in time which is common to all observers on Earth. Twice a year, in September and March, day and night become equal. There are only two Equinoxes only two days during the year, in September and March. The length of the day and night are approximately 12 hours a part, giving 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness at all points on the earth’s surface. The word Equinox comes from the Latin language “equi” meaning “equal” and “nox” meaning “night,” thus “equal nights.”

Most people recognize the September Equinox as the beginning of fall or autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Others believe the Fall Equinox marks the mid-point between Autumn (which begins in August and ends in October). Seasons are opposite on either side of the equator during the Equinox. Many cultures and religions celebrate holidays or observe festivals around the September Equinox.

The triangular lead stone with foot-type markings outlined in chalk.

The Fall Equinox day of transition shows up on Mayan, Judaism, Buddhist, Druid, ancient Irish, Native American Indian calendars and more. René White (White Feather) is a resident of Clarke County, Bluemont, Virginia and owns the property described above.

By René White (White Feather) is a resident of Clarke County, Virginia and owns the property described in this story