Hello Beautiful Souls,
Magick permeates through all things this time of year, you can feel it in the air, see it in the natural cycles and taste it in the seasonal foods. The veil between worlds is thin and the portal is opened up to commune with the spirits of your ancestors. Samhain is the last of the harvest festivals and what’s also now referred to as the Witches New Year. This is the time we set intentions and prepare for winter’s hibernation period, the time of introspection and rest. This is a good time to do some inner shadow work and release what no longer serves your highest good. This is the time of year we call forth our ancestors and pay our respects to them, and talk with our divine guides to gain insights for bringing our future dreams into reality. This is also a good time to do energetic cord cutting and cleansing. Haven’t heard of it before? I’ll share with you how I do that.
How I do a cord cutting:
Smudge yourself with sacred herbs, like sage. Ground in with some meditation. Invision all the cords that could be attached to you, and are no longer serving your highest good, to people places, even things and cut them in your minds eye. Take those cut cords and ground them into the Earth with love. Unhook the other end of the cut cord that’s still attached to you, and ground that into the Earth with love as well. Energetically patch the holes that are left behind with pure white light. Sit and relax for a bit to settle the energy in, sometimes you can feel a little nauseous or dizzy after doing this. This exercise should make you feel lighter and more energized.
Some history and lore around this season. Halloween was derived from Samhain (pronounced sow-wen), an ancient Gaelic festival, the Irish take their celebration a little more seriously given the fact that the history of this spooky holiday originated there.
My dear friend Mr. Castle’s Clan has some beautiful traditions that he’s allowing me to share with you all today.
“Samhain is referred to as Everring in our Clan. Everring is also referred to as the “perfect moon”. Life is a constant balance of fire and ice, heat and cold. What we refer to today as “entropy”. Samhain is our new year, because it is the time when all molecules come the closest to holding perfectly still, freezing in time, but not dying. This is why the passageway between the realm of the Tuatha De Danannan is thinned and the lesser spirits and Fae can cross over for exactly 4 days. Beginning typically on the 30th. We refer to this as Everring because it is a time when the renewal of energy and chaos is very high. It means “The ballad of the bells” and we light fires to draw in the good spirits, as well as leaving offerings at the edge of the forests to keep the spirits and Fae of chaos and mischief satisfied. While it is believed to have started as a Druidic celebration, the actual festival is founded in the practices of the Awenists, who spent all four days creating festivities for the hundreds of different entities that cross over. While the trick or treating aspect was a post Catholic development, it was tradition in some villages for children to dress as imps or hobgoblins to keep from being carried off as a prize during the celebration if they were too pale or light, and they would take breads, cheeses and sweets from the windows and doors the same way the goblins and imps would (this links to another year round tradition surrounding goblins). The entrails of the animals used in the feasts would be burned and buried that Cernunnos and the Green man would not be angered by the waste, and this was later adapted as regular sacrifice by the druids. Pronounced (AF aR Ang)
We also believe that this is a time for dining with our ancestors, not fearing ghosts. So the 3 day long feast (4 days of festival) are intended to speak with our ancestors and tell them the new stories of the family.”
You can find Mr. Castle on twitter if you’d like to ask him any questions about his Clan’s traditions. https://twitter.com/realslimyeezus Please also consider checking out his Patreon page and subscribing there. https://www.patreon.com/posts/october-patreon-31102190?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=postshare
I’d like to share with you my traditions for this special time of year.
I like to spend my Samhain baking pumpkin bread, it fills the house with the scents of warm spices. Then I to redo my altar and decorate it in the colors of the season, and add the ashes of my beloved pets to honor them, and photos of my Great Grandmother. After that I take a ritual cleansing bath. It’s one of the most important symbolic rituals I do. The washing away of all the old energy and self, into the new. To cleanse the body, is to cleanse the energy and it eases the mind. I’m sharing here with you my recipe for the bath I take.
I cleanse all my tarot and oracle decks by smudging them and thanking them for their guidance over the past year. It’s the perfect time of year to do divination work. My favorite tool for divination work are my tarot and oracle decks. I like to do a wheel of the year spread, which you can find pretty easily on-line.
I then spend some time going deep into my meditation and listen for any messages that come to me. I like to play meditation music to help me relax and concentrate. To finish up, I do a simple ritual where I set my intentions for the next year and make some plans to move forward in achieving my goals in the coming year. I also work to let go of all the things I couldn’t accomplish, and any bad habits I’d like to release. I write them down and burn the paper. I do some journaling and keep notes on my tarot card spread.
These are some traditions that are also commonly done at this time of year.
Big feasts and bonfires are the common tradition at this time of year. Reaping the bounty of what you’ve sown and being grateful for all the lessons learned this year. Taking time to reflect on the past year and review your journals or think about the memories made, good and bad alike.
A dumb supper is where you invite your ancestors to dinner. Set a place at the table for your ancestors that have passed through the veil, and keep silent throughout the meal for remembrance. You can make foods that they used to love. At the end of the meal you take the food and drink out and offer it in nature.
Tell stories about your loved ones at this time to remember them and what they’ve taught you. You could also write a letter to them and burn it, releasing the message into the ether.
Creating an ancestor altar is a lovely way to honor your loved ones who have passed on. Photographs, their ashes if they were cremated, jewelry or other heirlooms, this can also include your pets too. Fall colors, candles, gourdes, pumpkins and pomegranates and acorns are common items to decorate with.
I hope this has been insightful for you. Be well on your journey.
Love and Light,
Shara
