October 20 2017

Samhain

“Tis time, dearest loves, to rise out of the darkness and journey beyond the veil. To limbo between the worlds, slumbering amidst transition while the magick of metamorphosis occurs…Preparing ye for sweet release into the next life. Fore I am Samhain, riding on my broom of purity, carried in on the breeze like dancing leaves, to sweep ye up and carry ye home.”

Samhain, October 31st, was the Gaelic word for “summer’s end” in Celtic territories, also known as the night that marks the official end of summer, bringing with it the cool veil of winter. And winter brings with it a time of pause…of non-action…of simply allowing. To the Celtic peoples, this was the end of the year; the metaphoric death both within and without, when we leave one way of being to enter into the great slumber of winter (death) to be prepared for rebirth in the spring.

But have you ever wondered where the eeriness of the season comes from? Pause for a moment to bask in the feeling of October…There is an unexplainable magick in the air that comes not from the commercialism of modern-day Halloween…It is older than that…rooted deeper…Fore this day was also known by many cultures to mark the celebration of death. Yes, I said celebration. As it is only in more modern societies, since the birth of certain religions, that we have been taught to fear death instead of honoring it for the necessary order of the cycle that is life. The Celtic peoples also referred to this night as All Soul’s Night, as did early Christians…The Mexican people refer to it as Day of the Dead…amongst many other more ancient cultures…What did they understand that we did not? They knew that the veil between the worlds, between the seen and the unseen, between the living and the dead, was thinned to the point of nonexistent. This meant that communication and activity beyond the veil of the physical reality we find ourselves in was high. Our ancestors were honored at this time as it was believed they come back to deliver messages of comfort and love. As an Intuitive/Medium and Energy Sensitive myself, I can say with 100% certainty, this is true. Since September, I begin to be contacted more and more as passed on spirits urge their living loved ones to seek out guidance or find myself being prompted to connect more and more…This is what the ‘spooky’ or ‘magickal’ feeling of October really is.

Ancient cultures understood that what occurs within the universe or within the seasons, reflects within us and our lives…As within, so without. And so they did not shriek in fear when spirits were near, they instead set up an extra place at the dinner table, lit a candle in remembrance and set a picture of their deceased loved ones on a mantle or alter to honor them this night of October 31st. People always ask me what they can do to honor the dead and I say just that…but the one thing spirit tells me from the other side is for them to just ‘listen’. Not with your ears, not with your fears, but with every sense…Listen to the songs that suddenly come on and their messages, listen to the butterfly that flies passed you as time suddenly stands still, listen to the bird that continues to show up every time you step outside, or the little clues dropped all over your home…Truly listen, as they communicate in this way.

One other thing that ancients knew about Samhain that we do not, was that we too are a reflection of the energy of the season. So it is time now, beautiful caterpillars, to look within and all around you. What must you leave behind as you prepare to enter your cocoon? What darkness must die so that you may be reborn come Spring, a clean slate, ready to move forward and make waves? This is your charge…right here, right now. Prepare to enter the chrysalis, to journey between the worlds for a time, and allow the alchemy to occur. Only after death can you become the butterfly…

From the Musings of a Magickal Mind,