Samhain, called Halloween today, is known as Ancestor Night, Feast of the Dead. This is when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.On this night, it is an excellent time for Divanation.
Feasts are held in remembrance of the dead and bonfires are lit
Samhain is a proptitious time to communicate with anyone who has passed on.
The Goddess Persephone goes to the Underworld with the God Hades.
Her mother, Demeter, mourns for her. As she does, the Earth grows cold and barren.
In many european cultures, this is the beginning of the new year. Symbols for Samhain: dark mirror,dark lord and lady,scythe,bones,and jack o lantern
MULLED WINE FOR SAMHAIN:
Apple peel;sage;rosemary;one bay leaf;one acorn meat;a half-pinch of cayenne;and one cinnamon stick. Note:Don't try this combination with a white wine or cider--it tastes awful.A strong red wine or burgundy is good.
THINGS TO DO ON SAMHAIN:
1: Do some public education.Talk to media, distribute "Samhain Safety Tips" leaflets door to door.
2: Choose and enthrone a Winter Queen and Winter King, the counterparts of the May Queen and King.
3: Wear black clothing and jewelry, and decorate altar, temple in black.
4: Make masks and costumes representing the different aspects of the Goddess and God, and wear them to ritual; or, simply make masks and use them to decorate your temple.
5: Have each covener crave a jack-o-lantern. When all are ready, hold them alight on top of your heads and process slowly to the ritual site.This is done in remembrance of the Burning Times and our Craft sisters and brothers and all the others who lost their lives. At the ritual let the lanterns become Spirits of Nature, and have each covener speak to them in turn.
6: Toll "Lost in the Dark" bells,as some old English villages did, to guide travelers who may be lost in the forest or on the moors.
7: Whenever possible,pay your debts and settle your quarrels.
8: Symbolically extinguish the "hearthfire" of your home, and relight it from the Samhain sabbath fire (or cauldron).
9: Meditate on what you have accomplished during the season of growth just past; accept it, and release that which is finnished and harvested.
10: Visit your Astral Temple/Circle. Center yourself and prepare for a quiet time of rest,refection, and evalution over the next few weeks.
11: Set your life in order on the material plane, and arrange your schedule so that you have the time and space necessary for reflection.
12: Enact a mystery play about death, perhaps "The Descent of Inanna" or the story of Persephone and Demeter.
13: Perform important divination by scrying in a dark mirror or using tarot,runes,or flames.
14: Place an apple and a pomegranate on the altar. Slice the apple horizonally, display the star inside,saying "This is the fruit of life, which is death." Slice the pomegranate and display the seeds, saying "This is the fruit of death,which is life."
15: In your ritual, place family memorabilia on the altar and invite the spirits of departed loved ones to come,visit, and hear news of the family. This part of the ritual may take the form of a widdershins processional led by the Maiden, with the veiled High Priestess welcoming the dead and leading the meditation.
16: Connect with the spirits of the discarnate by holding a Dumb Supper. Set places for a meal within the circle,including an extra place and chair for the spirit of one you wish to invite.
17: Visit a cemetery and meditate on your ancestors or relations buried there. If there are none, than choose an obscure or isolated grave and try to visualize that person's life. Offer blessings before you leave.
18: If you have unresolved issues with people who have passed over, communicate with them and finish what needs finishing.
19: Write/update your will and put instructions in writing for your Wiccan funeral or memorial service.
20: Perform the symbolic Great Rite as an affirmation of life in the season of approaching darkness.
21: Have the coven/High Priestess choose a Lord of Misrule, and present him with a wand of office.He becomes the coven jester or "Sacred Fool" for the evening. Drink a toast to the Crone and the Lord of Death and Rebirth.
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