It is the season for trick or treating. When I was a kid I would love to go trick or treating. That was the fun part of this Pagan Holy Day, otherwise known as Hallowe’en and traditionally known as Samhain. It is the Pagan New Year. Our society has actually taken aspects of Pagan culture and incorporated it into more frivolous aspects of, well, basically partying. As a kid I enjoyed the treats and the going from house to house. As a teenager, I loved the dances and the costume competitions. I most often would win the costume competition, being the dramatic and imaginative sort that I am, but would also now and then come in second. For me it wasn’t about winning. It was about EXPRESSING. And if someone did a more awesome job of that than did I, then they definitely deserved the recognition.
There are deeper meanings behind this day. As mentioned, it is the Pagan New Year. Why? It is a time of transition. It is thought that the Veils between this realm and the Other realms are very thin at this time. So communion with spirits, ancestral spirits, spirit guides, power animal spirits and the like becomes extremely easy. It is like everyone suddenly goes from having a rotary phone to having high spe
ed int
ernet. It begins around mid September and continues to about mid November. Samhain was also usually celebrated during the Full Moon, not just on October 31st/November 1st. But seeing as how our society gets so bent out of shape when it comes to nailing down a definite date that is NOT associated with a moon phase (God forbid we actually do it the correct and respectful way) everything got shoved over to October 31st. We just deal with that.
For me it is a sacred time. I undergo many spiritual and magical teachings at this time of year. People often don’t make that connection, but they do realise that some stuff about me has changed; they just can’t nail down what those changes are. So often they will project their imaginings of what they are onto me. I never take that personally. That is their stuff, not mine. Whenever someone goes through spiritual teachings it makes them grow. That growth often means a shedding of some sort of all the stuff
within that is hindering the progress of said growth. Then the new energy gets integrated and VOILA! we have a new way of being.
This year I am co-hosting a Samhain Singing Bowl and Drum Circle Celebration. You can check that out in my Workshops/Events page on my website. I am looking forward to this because I am co-hosting with a very dear friend who is such an inspiration, not just to myself but to whomever she encounters. She
just flows so naturally with the energy of love and healing. She truly is amazing. I am also looking forward to having the singing bowls be a part of the drum circle this time. That is going to truly be awesome. Sound heals. Sound inspires. Sound ignites our spirits. As well, we are having sacred ceremony to reconnect with Spirit, and with loved ones on the other side etc. And to top it all off, people will be able to “dress up” for Samhain. So whatever type of costume one wants to have is completely welcome. I love the types of expression that come to the surface at these events.
If you are reading this, and will be around at the time of the Samhain Singing Bowl and Drum Circle event, please know that you are welcome to join us. The more the merrier.
Many Warm Blessings!