Samhain is such a magickal time of year in my opinion. It's become so commercialised and takes over a lot of shops every year, closely followed by Yule. I feel as if it's the one time of year when commercialism, Christianity and the Old Ways are in sync and this is rather special.
We all know Samhain as Hallowe'en or All Hallows Eve, the day before All Hallows Day. All Hallows Day is a very Christian celebration, commemorating all those, known and unknown, who have achieved sainthood.
But Samhain itself has a very Pagan origin. It's the time when the veil between our physical world and the Otherworld or Spirit world is thinnest. A time when those we have lost are closest to us and can be more easily honoured. It's the final of three harvest festivals, and in some traditions, it is believed to mark the start of the new year (although some see this as Imbolc). Samhain has also been celebrated as a fire festival, where home fires would be allowed to burn out while the harvest was brought in before a communal fire is lit and the home fires relit using a flame from the communal fire.
The most popular element of Samhain is honouring ancestors and communicating with those in the spirit realm. This was part of something I made with a group of friends - some Spirit Incense. The intention was held while adding all the ingredients. I had all but two of them so I had to acquire them. I look forward to learning more about these extra two herbs so I can use them for other spells and magickal workings. We met before Samhain to hang out and do some other magickal things but making the incense was amazing!! I've never made my own incense before but it must be said that the Spirit Incense smells gorgeous!!!
When we met for Samhain, it felt rather more special than any other meeting as it was between a group of magickal friends who have forged quite a connection and wanted to continue journeying together. I chose to burn some of my Spirit Incense while we did a spell for our journey together and for the next year. We did this deliberately because Samhain is considered by some to be the Witch's New Year and we wanted to set ourselves intentions for the next 12 months.
As well as meeting with my magickal friends, I attended a Samhain ritual hosted by Emily of Wise Woman Witchery through the membership of the Diving Deeper community. This was all about connecting with the Mighty Dead. This was a meditation journey to the Isle of Apples (which I associate with Avalon) to remember lost loved ones and meet with ancestors.
This was a really interesting meditation for me because although the meditation involved journeying to the Isle, I felt like I was being accompanied by my mum. Until this year, I hadn't felt able to connect with her on my own - or I hadn't challenged myself to do so. So to have my mum accompany me to the Isle and stay behind when I returned to this realm of "reality" was really special for me. And as much as she stayed on the Isle, I didn't feel bereft of her presence. It felt encouraging to me that I can do things, that she's proud of me so I should be as well. I did feel like she gave me several other messages, like she's sorry for what happened, I need to look after myself more, that I need to just do my own thing. The final message I felt from her was that she's always with me, which was really emotional because I never knew her as a person so I've always felt like there was a slight disconnect between us.
This meditation journey has inspired me to do a spell ball to remember my mum which I will put together closer to Yule and I'll be doing it for my YoutTube channel if anyone is interested.
As part of my Witch group, I volunteered to come up with some journal prompts for Samhain and I chose to have 3 of them because 3 is a magical number but it felt right. I used a deck to help me answer them because otherwise I know that I would have a block. As seems to be the norm, I didn't just get three cards - I got six altogether.
The first question is: What ancient wisdom are you needing to channel?
The Tower, Six of Spears
With The Tower, I feel like the message is that sometimes there are things that happen that I cannot do anything about apart from be a spectator. Because I walk a path of learning and truth, I will be facing situations that may appear to be a lot bigger than they actually are so I have to channel patience and keep searching for truth.
With the Six of Spears, I feel like the message is that wisdom is part of the journey. Wisdom isn't a destination but it comes as part of the path that I am on. Wisdom is never easy to find or realise and it tends to manifest when you're on a journey of some form. Even setting off on a journey holds wisdom because I can learn what helps me to actually get started on something and what is more likely to dissuade me from actually starting the journey or project.
What fears can you confront and overcome at this time?
The Sun, The Lovers and The Magician
With The Sun, I'm getting that success is a fear that I need to confront and overcome. I don't want success to change me but I know that, ultimately, it will and it's this change that I fear so much. I know I shouldn't fear it because change is natural but I've never really felt successful before now and it's a whole new experience. I need to overcome this in order to achieve my full potential.
With The Lovers, I feel like the message is that I am lovable and that I do deserve love. None of my romantic relationships have lasted longer than six months so I feel like I'm not worthy of any kind of long-lasting love. I pour my heart and soul into my friends who have become my family but I do feel like I miss the companionship that I have had at times. I do feel like I have learned how to love myself but now it's time to learn how to let others in to love me for me.
With The Magician, I feel likethe message here is that I need to overcome my fear of missing out on learning something new at any given time. I also feel like I have a bit of "imposter syndrome" because I'm passing on knowledge that I have just learned. I don't feel like an expert in any of the areas that I am teaching others about but I do have a little experience. Because of this, I don't feel like I should be the one to teach others what I have recently learned. I need to overcome this because it does have an impact on what I feel like I can achieve and do in my life.
What is still preparing to be reborn in your life?
Five of Spears
With this card, I feel like I'm still preparing myself to actually put myself out there and be in "competition" with others. I have a tendency to avoid these kinds of situations because I don't want to be battling with anyone. I feel like I've had enough fights in my life so I don't need anymore to occur. I've been considering putting myself out there but I've put it off as much as I can because I still have that "imposter syndrome" to overcome. There's an element of me needing to fight for what I want to achieve but sometimes I don't even know what it is that I want to achieve. So maybe what needs to be reborn is my ambition about what it is I want to do and how I can go about achieving it.
I feel like this might be the start of another cycle of Shadow Work because it's a lot of inner work. But even if it's not Shadow Work, there's a lot of things that I can explore along this next phase of my journey.
I hope this inspires you with ideas of what you can do for Samhain in the future.
Peace and love to all!!!
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