But standing in the center of the giant stone calendar on the autumnal equinox and watching the sun set directly into the opening of a 10-foot granite portal can also be a spiritual experience, she says.

"It really changes one's way of being," she said. "Because there is nothing one is there to do but observe, watch, and notice. It's a very quiet experience. It's a very meditative experience. It's very beautiful. The birds are just flying, the sky is gorgeous colors. You are connected to the earth and sky in a way that doesn't often happen."

Sunday marks the equinox, the day the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day is equal to night. Young, as she has done for over a decade on such days, will hold an educational gathering Saturday and Sunday at sunrise and sunset at the center of the UMass Sunwheel."