all hallow’s eve

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Samhain: A Time That is Not A Time

cropped-p1020148.jpgMagic lies thick in the air all around at this time of year. The scent of woodsmoke and fallen leaves tingles our noses, and we just know that a shift is happening. A big shift. Not the gentle flowing of early summer to midsummer and then to Lammas; no, this is something quite different. While the sun may still be warm, the nights have turned colder and longer, and it’s very noticeable. Each evening, the sun sets further south along the horizon, seeming to run towards that direction with abandon, leaving the lazy, hazy summer nights and bunking down quickly to escape the frosts. The moon now takes over, shining brightly for many more hours in the night sky. The focus has changed, and a new time is upon us.

I love this time of year. At Samhain, we lie between the thresholds of the year. We are in an in-between time, after the death of the God and awaiting his rebirth at the Winter Solstice. We, like the God, are between the worlds, in a place that is not a place, in a time that is not a time. Not quite winter, most definitely not still autumn, we wander in the darkness.

P1010567 (2)Why do I love this time of year? For many, it’s difficult, saying goodbye to the summer months and embracing winter. But this embracing is, indeed, what I adore. Just as I love seeing the first leaves peeping out among the spring blossom, heralding Beltane and the summer months, so too do I take great joy in the winding down of things, of welcoming the coming winter and all the wisdom that it has to bring. Sure, like many, after a few months it becomes more difficult, dealing with the long dark nights and sometimes dreary days. But it is in winter that we know what we are made of, and provides the perfect time to delve within, to find that authentic self and nurture it to bring it forth into the daylight once again.

45050223_10160974698305203_2042672860996042752_oThen there are the childhood memories, of Hallowe’en back in Canada, of that special night of all nights. It was the highlight of the year for me, even overshadowing Christmas. For on this night, every child could be what they wanted to be, and had the shadowy streets under the moonlight all to themselves, satisfying their sweet tooths and daring each other to go up to that scary old house. It was a time of magic, of fantasy, where anything was possible. And it still is.

For in this time between the worlds, anything truly is possible. We are able to become whoever it is that we wish to be. At the Samhain fires, we can release what we do not like about ourselves, and resolve to change that in time for the rebirth of the sun. We state our intentions even as we let go, and hold true to our word. We can be whoever or whatever we want, reborn in the dawn’s light after a long night of magic and mayhem.

May these coming months both challenge you and bring you great knowledge, understanding and joy. May you meet these challenges with courage and wit, strength and intuition. And may you enjoy this time that is not a time, in a place that is not a place, in a world that is not a world.

Blessings of Samhain to you all.

P1020122

 

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Samhain: Ancient and Modern

Here’s a taster of a blog that I put up yesterday for SageWoman’s channel at PaganSquare. To read the full post, click HERE.

samhain 1Calan Gaeaf (Welsh) or Samhain (Irish) begins at sunset of 31st October and runs to to sunset 1st November according to most Western Pagan traditions. If working by the moon, it is the first full moon when the sun is in Scorpio. If working by the natural landscape, it is when the first frosts bite. Samhain was termed the Celtic New Year, as it marked the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. The Celts reckoned their days from sunset to sunset, and so the start of the year would begin in the dark time at the beginning of winter. Samhain marked the first day of Winter.

Calan Gaeaf, however, is a time that is not a time, and therefore some Pagans honour this tide and season from 31st October right through to the Winter Solstice. It is a time after many things have died, and there is a stillness to the air, an Otherworldly feel in the silence. It’s a dark time here in the UK, with long nights on our northerly latitude, and usually a very wet time as well. It’s not hard to see how these months could be seen outside of time, outside of the cycles of life, death and rebirth.

Calan Gaeaf, Samhain, Hallowe’en, All Soul’s Night – for many pagans this is the ending of one year and the beginning of another. It is often seen as the third and final harvest – with the last of the apples harvested, the cattle were prepared for winter and the grain stored properly. It is also a time when it is said that the veil between the worlds is thin, and the realms of the living and the dead are laid bare to each other. We are approaching the darkest time of the year, and the killing frosts and snows await just around the corner. It is a time of letting go, of releasing into the dark half of the year, and getting rid of the dross in our lives so that we do not have to carry them with us through the long winter nights. We consciously make the effort to live better, meaningful lives and let go of all that holds us back – our fears and worries, our anger and hatred. We nurture the beneficial and the good that we have in our lives, ensuring that they are well kept for our plans to come at the winter solstice. So the cycle continues.  READ MORE…