Calendar of Events
Wow, it’s October already! Can you believe it? The year feels as thought it’s flown by so quickly. I love all the witch sabbats but none more so than Samhain. As high priestess of SJUP, I’m planning our annual Samhain event. This year I’m holding a Dumb/Silent Supper for our Spirit Family.
Samhain, is a time to commune with the dead. It’ the spiritual version of the Halloween holiday. The ancient Celts and modern Wiccan’s acknowledge that the dead can in essence rise from what appears to be the condition or illusion of death. It’s the time when the veil between those who are living and those who are dead is the thinnest. It is a time to invite the dead in to share our food and company.
Holding silent suppers, is a time to relive the moments of life with a friend or loved one who has passed into Summerland or the land of the dead. A place at the table for the departed is set with offerings of bread and wine so that the dead may feast. Supper is eaten in silence, while remembering the ones we love. It’s very possible that given the proper atmosphere the dead will walk through the veil to dine in our company. Usually it’s someone we’ve known, although at times it’s possible that a stranger might visit us as well. It’s a time to treat all souls who walk through the veil with tenderness for they aren’t dead at that moment yet not alive either. They’re in between the worlds.
The thinning of the veil makes Samhain a powerful time in which to deal with the past and issues of communication with those who’ve died. It’s the perfect time to have that conversation you never had with a beloved friend or relative. Speak from your heart and say the things that you wish you had. Those who have left their bodies are with us and they will hear you.
This is a time for letting go of the old and looking ahead to the new. The Goddess manifests as the Crone and the God as the Horned Hunter and Lord of Death. It’s the festival of endings and transformation.
The Earth nods a sad farewell to the God. We know that He will once again be reborn of the Goddess and the cycle will continue. This is the time of reflection, the time to honor the Ancients who have gone on before us and the time of Seeing (divination). As we contemplate the Wheel of the Year, we come to recognize our own part in the eternal cycle of Life.
The season of amber leaves and firelight has long been held as a time of enchantments and charms, mysteries and magic. Bonfires, hayrides, pumpkins and cooler evenings remind us of the importance of family and celebrating friendships. In many ways, we really aren’t so different from our ancestors, who placed family above all else at this time of year.
There is a place, a place I know
Where all the kindred spirits go,
Where you can hear the faerie song,
Where hopes and dreams still linger on.
The days are brightly filled with cheer
and merrily songs do fill the ear.
And as the old year passes by,
And time, it so does seem to fly,
Then I will know, the time has come
to honor those who’ve gone along. Blessed Be.
