Just went through two rituals within the past two weeks and already I have to worry about Samhain?? Goodness, the Gods are working hard this dark year!
In any case, in a little under three weeks and a day I will be celebrating Samhain, the day where the darkness, life, and death are celebrated. For my stand alone tradition it is also the time where the Dark Gods are honored. In Mabon they were given form, a duality with next to no strength representing the two primary energies of the upcoming season, death and darkness. The Night Goddess taking her place upon the throne of the sky, the seat where the Sun God once reigned during his heyday in the light year. The Death God being the active force that responds in concert with the waning light, smiting all that do not have the strength to resist.
Even for those that have the strength to live they are plunged into the cold grip of the duality, learning the lessons that come with being blanketed with a black veil. With the freeze they learn to be thankful for their possessions, with the warmth they are thankful for the home, the family that they have and the peace that they give. As they enjoy the secularized religious holidays they are appreciative of the hard work and dedication it takes to be prosperous. It is a time where I personally enjoy my life and reflect on its progression up until now. To honor the roots of my existence and pay reverance to those who came before and shaped the very foundation of my existence. It is also a time to embrace the darkness and plunge in the cold, developing a new practice and sense of identity through the hard lessons taught. To not only look at darker aspects of the faith and of nature, but to accept and implement them in future practices.
For me Samhain is not The Witch's New Year as it is for many other witches, Wiccans, and Pagans, it is yet another holiday like any other. For me, the new year comes during Ostara, the vernal equinox, which is the first of Spring. I believe this because it is the time after the cold where the foundation of rest and spirituality is at its highest. From the groundwork laid in the dark half the light signals the rise of a new time and place within life, the arrival of warmth. Its just like when autumn trees drop their leaves to the cold, fertilizing the ground around them as they hot a low period in their life, hibernate in many ways. So it reflects that, rising from a low physical growth to blossom forth from the ground.
I don't have the ritual itself made, but it is something I'm going to work on over the next few days. Each holiday as new energies are brought forth I try to hit on a key aspect of that holiday. Last year I was unable to celebrate, the year before it was an honoring of the ancestors, so this year will most likely be of appreciation. Not situated around the past, but appreciation of what I have now and also relying heavily on giving honor to the Dark Gods. Though their lessons are usually hard lessons when compared to the light of the Light Gods, its still one piece of the puzzle of life. No one can get a better grasp on the vastness of life if they restrict themselves to only the positive or negative. Being fluid and opening myself up to all lessons is the best way I see of being a true practioner of nature.
I hope that all you who practice Samhain or any holiday related to its concepts have a joyous time and are blessed in every way.
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