HedgeWitch Days!
SAMHAIN, PLEASE RSVP!
Hi my lovelies….well it’s finally here! The time between times, the entry to the darkest part of the year lays before us at the end of this calendar month. The shops are awash with all things Halloween, Ghosts and Ghoulies adorning every aisle of every supermarket and every shop window in the high street, happy sigh!!!
This is the time of the year where at last we can go a little bit crazy and shop till we drop, as for us it’s time to stock up on our everyday essentials lol! Not only are the shops full of Halloween goodies, the food aisles come alive with the seasonal food of comfort and celebration. Pumpkins and squashes, corn and root vegetables call to us to make warming stews and hearty soups as we ready ourselves for the winter, and celebrate our third and final harvest of the year.
On the path we walk, everything is gearing up to the 31st of this month, the night when the veils are at their thinnest, and the ultimate witching hour. It’s so much fun planning Samhain or Halloween, with the feasting and games, and the trick or treating that seems to grow more popular here in the UK with each passing year. I love to bedeck my altar with fallen leaves, candles of light and dark and heavy incenses….but there is something I love even more than all of that, I love the feast of the ancestors!
On this most witchy of nights when that threadlike veil between our world and theirs is at its most translucent, communication with the other side is easier and our own insight is more in focus. Cooking, laying the table, dressing the Altar, a ritual bath, dressing up, feasting and celebration followed by divination and communication with the other world make up my perfect Halloween. Laying a space at the table for all those that have gone before us is mandatory for Samhain in this home, as is the welcoming of all Fae and keepers of the other worlds via offerings of food, crystals and flowers….BUT
It occurs to me that we are not very good in this realm of ours at social etiquette when it comes to the other worlds! Think of it this way, it’s like planning a party or a wedding, setting everything up with perfect attention to every detail. Preparing a feast, decorating the venue and fine tuning every aspect of this amazing celebration…and then once ready, sending out invitations to attend NOW, right NOW! No warning, no thought if they our guests might have other plans, just a shout to get here and celebrate with me immediately, how rude we are! If the other world is anything like this one, a sudden request to attend such a event would be met with at best a polite declining of the invitation, but more likely a sharp slam and lock of the door,
“How dare someone drag me away from my evening in my PJs and my favourite TV show without so much as a warning, where are their manners?”
Ummmm, time to rethink this immediate request thing!
Those of you that have read ’Hedgewitch Book of Days’ will know how I do like to try and bring our wheel of the year celebrations into our 12 month calendar year, to make our spiritual path more integrated into our everyday life and modern world. So, as the month of October holds Samhain at its end, it makes sense to me to celebrate this season throughout the month, every day, not just one big bang of a party at the end….although that is certainly something to look forward to.
All that being said, I think the focus of your Samhain ‘month’ can be your altar. It provides the perfect place for reflection, for spells and provides the base from which to send out your invitations to the otherworld. Any area can become your altar, I work from a couple at home. One is the top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom, the other is the hearth of the fireplace. Even though the fire in my house is electric it is still the heart of the home and for me is the focal point that works well for my magic. I also have a small altar set up in the kitchen which is mainly used when I am cooking and you wouldn’t really recognise it as one unless you were in the know. For my Samhain altar I will be using my hearth.
Altars should, I think, be living breathing things, constantly changing and evolving, moving fluidly with you and your magic. Its energy will increase with every word uttered by it, and every spell cast.
For Samhain, there is a wealth of things you can add to your altar to increase your focus and energy, you only have to look around you. Obviously it’s good to have the basics represented, the Goddess and the Horned God, the elements, the seasonal representations and most importantly at this time of celebration, the ancestors. Bring to your altar your photographs, mementos, books, letters, family tree and anything else that holds a family connection. It might be a piece of jewellery or a pot, anything with sentimental value that has a link to your past and those that have gone before. Remember too your beloved animal friends, photos, keepsakes or even just a drawing of an animal can help bring their energy to that spot. Included on your altar a candle for the ancestors, one big enough to be lit each day, even if only for a few moments.
Once you have set up your basic Samhain altar it is time both to build the energy, ready to work with on the 31st and to send out those all-important invitations to the otherworld.
Every day, spend some time at your Samhain altar. A few moments is all that’s needed if you’re pushed for time. Light your candles and incense and bring something new to place with your original altar set up. It could be a leaf, an acorn, a homemade cookie, a bead, anything you can think of really that represents this time of year and the energy build up you are trying to create.
Then every day at your altar send out your invitation for Samhain to the other realms, these are the words I use;
The energy builds as the veil grows thin,
The festival of Samhain will soon begin.
Ancestors and spirits I call on you
To join me with a heart that’s true.
I ask for your presence on Samhain night
When the veil draws away and opens my sight.
May my words fly to you, and may you see
That I ask this with love…So mote it be!
Spend a few moments concentrating on your ancestors and their energy before giving thanks and extinguishing the candles. Do this each day on the run up to Samhain and your ancestors should be waiting to commune with you as the veil reaches its thinnest…after all it gives them plenty of time to prepare!
On Samhain night remember to use the energy you have built up around your altar to aid you in your call to the otherworld, any residual energy can be released with love and thanks to be used for good in this world and the next.
Have a magical Samhain guys and fun and safe Halloween!!