A year of beauty. A year of plenty.
A year of planting. A year of harvest.
A year of forests. A year of healing.
A year of vision. A year of passion.
A year of rebirth.
This year may we renew the earth.
This year may we renew the earth.
Let it begin with each step we take.
And let it begin with each change we make.
And let it begin with each chain we break.
And let it begin every time we awake.
--Chant from the
Reclaiming Samhain Celebration
Samhain--pronounced sow-(rhymes with now)-in--more popularly known as Halloween, is the Witches' New Year, Wicca's most solemn and festive holiday. In my book "The Spiral Dance," I describe it as "the night when the veil is thin that divides the worlds...when the harvest is gathered and the fields lie fallow. The gates of life and death are opened and to the living is revealed the Mystery: that every ending is but a new beginning."
For Pagans, death and birth are intertwined. Our goddesses and gods all represent aspects of the cycle of birth, growth, death, and regeneration. Every good gardener knows that fertility is born out of decay. Every fallen leaf becomes part of the soil that feeds the roots of growing trees."
Pagans have no dogma that must be accepted. Our spirituality centers on experience, not faith. Yet if we were to hold one common belief, it might be that our individuality lives on after death. We remain part of our communities, alive and present in a different realm.
At Samhain, we take time to remember and commune with those who have gone before, to express gratitude for what they've given us. In our frantic pace, we tend to forget our past. Few of us know much about our families beyond a generation or two back. Remembering the dead can help us keep a sense of connection to our roots.
by Starhawk
In my home, we honor those who have passed by putting up an altar on the living room table. We put up pictures and memorabilia, light a candle and say a prayer of remembrance. We often set an extra place at the table for the deceased ones during Samhain dinner, welcoming their spirits on the night when the veils between the world is thinnest. Samhain is also a time of inner reflection and renewal for us, an opportunity to wash put away the old year and start anew. This means looking at the things that aren't working in my life, deciding what to keep and what to cast aside, and making some new affirmations.
The coming year is less about emotional/relationship changes and will be more focused on physical ones, personal things affecting my health. I am 43 years old and have so many wonderful things in my life, so many fabulous transitions have finally taken place, yet I feel like I'm being held back by my body, by not being as healthy as I should be. Oh, it's nothing big, just little aches and pains that weren't there before, as well as the obvious 20 pounds I'm still carrying around. I need to turn inward, figure out what's causing me to feel unwell, and to gently bring myself back to a healthier place. I can do this.
Blessed Samhain, Happy New Year.
