Happy Halloween! This year will feel different for many with new
rules on trick-treating but I invite you to use this time to connect to the
deeper meaning of Halloween - known to the Celts as Samhain.
For there is much magic in this festival beyond the sweets and scary costumes. Many of the old traditions are more about balance, harmony and an understanding of nature's cycles and need for rest.
Samhain is the point of the Celtic new year - but instead of
entering a new year with a bang - the old new year was an invitation to take time over the coming
weeks before Yule to rest and reflect after the busy harvest.
How can you take some time for
your rest and reflection in the weeks ahead, as we lead up to Christmas?
If it's a new year celebration, why do we dress up then?
The scary masks and costumes were worn
as a reminder that the veil between world's is particularly thin at this time
and Celtic revellers would dress up to scare the dark spirits away from
entering our homes.
But it is also a time to honour and remember loved ones who have
passed.
Those who celebrate Dia de Muertos
(the day of the dead) honour
their ancestors with food and song, and this honouring of our ancestors was a wonderful part of the old tradition of Samhain
that many have forgotten.
Honouring our ancestors
How about laying a place at your table to honour and remember
loved ones you have lost and inviting them to feast with you?
You can share stories of them and perhaps even have some lovely
photos of them up to trigger happy memories.
You can create a celebration with a fire - either a candle or if you can safely have a bonfire and connect to the energy of fire. You can use a celtic celebration ritual like detailed in Earth Wisdom by Glennie Kindred
to call in a connection to the elements and our ancestors - and of course a bonfire usually means marshmallows or smores! Our meditation magic
events offer this connection and show you how these rituals can be mindful, soothing, uplifting and inclusive to all beliefs.
Rest and reflection
So even if you are off on ghost walks and dressing up for Halloween - embrace
some of the old ways if you can and take time to remember loved ones and give
yourself the gift of some rest and reflection over the coming weeks.
Maybe Lockdown 2.0 might give you that time to pause you really need.
