Hadit Aley

Hadit Aley, or Split Time, is a festival celebrated at both the fall and spring equinoxes by the practitioners of Uneism. This religion focuses heavily on balance and the evenly divided time of night and day are seen as proof that the world tends toward balance. While the festival often falls on the equinox, and this is a convenient way for practitioners to keep track, it is actually associated with the splitting of a nearby planet, Padkran. During the equinoxes, the planet can be seen clearly in the sky, but only half of it is illuminated by the sun. This creates a splitting of what is visible.  
In Uneism, the god Scale is on a quest to bring the elements of the world back into balance. His journey is made much easier when the entire world is stable. Padkran is the brightest of the visible planets and thus when it is halfway illuminated, the opposite side is also perceived as the darkest. This has led to a strong association with light and void essences, reportedly the most difficult for Scale to capture and reform. 
Tekel holds that this is the residence of the god Padka and is thus named after them. They do not associate it with any sort of balancing factor and do not celebrate Hadit Aley.

History

This festival began soon after the rise of Uneism after the Second Great War. Practitioners of Unesim had to celebrate in secret to avoid persecution by the followers of Tekel. Due to this, many traditions are very personal or can be done with a very small group. As Uneism spread, they were able to celebrate more openly, but must still be wary of those who might harm them.

Execution

The main ritual of Hadit Aley is a called simply Bowl, after the shape of the dish used for most of the ceremony. At twilight on the day of the ritual, practitioners will each bring something to represent one of the six essences. When done in the traditional small group setting, each person brings one of the six. If done alone, a single person will bring all of them. When performed in a large group (more than five or six), a select few will be chosen as 'Arrivals' and the rest of the assembled gathering will help them choose the offering. 
Once all essence representations are placed into the bowl, an elected priest will read from the Book of Scale. A top is then placed over the bowl and it is taken to a river. The bowl is placed on a small raft and pushed into the water. As all rivers lead to the ocean, this represents all essences eventually coming together as one.

Components and tools

The necessary tools are the bowl, which can be of any composition, although iron and wood are most popular. In terms of color, the bowl is often painted in six colors. When fewer than this are used, blue is the most popular due to its association with royalty and honor. This is done as a sign of respect to Scale. 
Six essences representations are also needed. These can be literal, for example, a glass of milk for liquid, but can also be figurative. As long as the participant all agree to the use of the representation, then it can be placed in the bowl.

Participants

Any follower of Uneism is welcome to participate in the ritual. Before beginning, they will elect a priest (if none is present) to read. Often, Uneism communities will have a priest already elected from the group. If this is the case, that person will do the reading. 
Arrivals are a special class of participant only seen when there is a large group engaging in the ritual.