Welcome to September and the approach of the Fall Equinox on Sunday, September 22, at 8:44 a.m. in the Northern Hemisphere. While we Americans don’t have any explicit equinox or solstice holidays on our calendar, we all are descended from people who marked the passage of time — and learned the cycles of the plant life around them — by marking these solar events.

Today, our most important modern Christian holidays fall noticeably close to the solstices and equinoxes. Christmas comes just 3 or 4 days after the Winter Solstice. Easter follows a lunisolar calendar and falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the Spring Equinox. Likewise, when the modern Jewish calendar was established in the 4th century, the earliest Passover began on the first full moon after the Spring equinox. This is still the case in about 80% of years.

In the Fall season, Chumash people celebrate the bounty of Mother Earth, Hutash, in a harvest festival named for her. And, of course, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a fall harvest festival with Native American roots.

While modern Americans begin the New Year with the return of the Sun near the Winter Solstice, observant Jews begin the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, at the time of the Fall harvest, which is also the time for sowing new seeds that will grow with the winter rains for the coming year. In Judaism, “Ten Days of Repentance,” also known as the “High Holy Days,” begin with Rosh Hashanah and end with the observance of Yom Kippur. These days usually fall in September and/or early October. Repentance can take the form of self-reflection, prayer, asking forgiveness of those we’ve wronged or offended, acts of kindness, and giving of charity.

In honor of my Jewish heritage, and at the risk of unintentionally shining a light on myself, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the vital individuals and nonprofit organizations of which I am a part through membership or other forms of support. Let me begin by thanking all of you, dear readers, who purchased my book and/or have attended and supported my events these past 48 years. Thank you for allowing me to continue pursuing a lifelong passion.

I encourage you to take this time to renew your support for your favorite groups doing good in the world or check out one of mine from the list below. I won’t hyperlink each one. With the exception of AIR of DZ, they all have easily accessible websites. Please contact me at readers@herbwalks.com to learn more about my affiliation with that group based on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. You also can use that email address to let me know about a favorite group of yours missing from my list or to share any other comments or questions.

American Botanical Council

American Herbalists Guild

American Indian Religion of Dzilth-na-o-dith-hle (AIR of DZ)

California Native Plant Society

Conservation Endowment Fund (Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve)

Greenpeace International

Just Detention International

Keep the Sespe Wild

Los Padres ForestWatch

National Museum of African American History and Culture, Charter Member

National Museum of the American Indian, Charter Member

Native American Rights Fund

Ojai Valley Land Conservancy

Public Citizen

SCOPE50 (Board member)

Sierra Club

South Coast Writing Project, UC Santa Barbara (Fellow)

United Plant Savers

Ventura Land Trust

Veterans For Peace (Associate Member)

Happy Fall Equinox

Lanny