Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”) is celebrated October 31 to welcome in, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, the final harvest and to usher in the dark and resting half of the year. It is is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic tradition. Celebrants believe that the veils between the physical world and the spirit world dissolve during Samhain, allowing us to interact. On Samhain, aka Hallomas, Hallow’s Eve, All Souls Day, Day of the Dead, we honor the lives of our GoneBefores and ask their wisdom to guide us. Whatever you pray for –fair USA Elections!– you can call upon your ancestors for assistance.
This year Samhain is enhanced by a full moon, the second this month and therefore named a Blue moon. Do take a moment today, at the lunar fullness and at the solar Midpoint between Autumn Equinox (when day and night are equal) and the longest night of Winter Solstice, to feel our planethome turning!
If you can be still and listen,
Samhain is a time
when you can touch the Self,
beyond who you think you are,
beyond the roles you play in life,
beyond the traits that define you.
If you can be very still, Samhain is a time
when you can dissolve
the boundaries on identity,
when you can touch the Self.
Trish Cameron
