Samhain

[Jennifer T]

Will anyone observe Samhain this year, other than as Halloween?

[VickySGV]

We do have a couple of people whom I think will do it that way. 

[Jennifer T]

1 hour ago, VickySGV said:

We do have a couple of people whom I think will do it that way. 

The older I get, the more I enjoy the rites of my ancestry.   The seasons, and the passing of each, hold special magic; even more special in a world that has separated itself from such.

Peace

[StephanieVikingGirl]

I am going to be celebrating Samhain.  The time of the thinning of the veil is upon us, time to honor those who have passed beyond the veil.   Blessed be.

hugs,

Stephanie

[Jennifer T]

Tonight is the new moon. The Cherokee celebrate the great new moon festival around this time. Sacred dancing would take place late into the evening. It marks the new year, they believe that the earth was created in the fall. I love that it coincides so closely with Samhain. My Celtic and my Native American ancestors celebrate Autumn as a time for remembrance and sanctity.

I feel the call.

Peace

[Jennifer T]

Our fire burned well into the night. Fine Highland Park and aged Dunhill Latakia to call to remembrance the land and the people.  The stars were silent, but the forest was vibrant.

Peace

[Jennifer T]

And another autumn approaches. 

 

[Jani]

Yes it does.  It seems like summer was just beginning.  

 

I looked up Samhain and that's interesting. 

 

Jani

[Jennifer T]

I think as we age Jani, time seems to pass more quickly much the same way that a traveled path seems of a lesser distance after multiple journeys than it did the first time. 

 

I relish Autumn and the approach of winter. It is the beginning of cyclic renewal. 

 

Many emotions and memories from childhood are intertwined with this season. It wraps around me like a warm blanket. 

 

As the leaves fall to earth, they bring with them the whispers on the wind. If we listen, they speak to us the wisdom of the ages. 

 

 

 

[Timber Wolf]

Although I am not qualified to speak on your spirituality, reading your post brings to mind the magic I find in autum. It's my favorite season! The changing leaves, the coming in of the harvest, the changing weather. It's truly a magical and exciting season for me! A time I just have to get outside and be out in it. And to me, All Hallows Eve is the start of the holiday season. Hope you have a great Samhain!

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

 

P.S.- Please don't ask me to pronounce Samhain.LOL?

[Charlize]

I always have mixed feeling about this time of year.  It is very busy on the farm.  Hay in, firewood prepared, maple tubing cleaned and prepared for the flow,  goats being breed; it is such a mixture of preparing for dark and cold as well as the new life of the spring.  The maples here are just beginning to show color but the warmth and rain have brought beautiful growth in the pastures.  When the frost comes the world changes.  After 69 years i'm still struck by the beauty.  Happy Samhain.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Jani]

Time does seem to pass so quickly I think for the very reason you offer.  I really don't lament the passing of any season as I look forward to the changes they bring.  They are like life itself with a beginning and an end that is constantly renewed.  

 

Jani

[Jennifer T]

3 hours ago, Timber Wolf said:

Although I am not qualified to speak on your spirituality, reading your post brings to mind the magic I find in autum. It's my favorite season! The changing leaves, the coming in of the harvest, the changing weather. It's truly a magical and exciting season for me! A time I just have to get outside and be out in it. And to me, All Hallows Eve is the start of the holiday season. Hope you have a great Samhain!

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

 

P.S.- Please don't ask me to pronounce Samhain.LOL?

 

Oh, I too find it magical indeed! There is true magick and beauty in every season. Life and history course through nature's awareness. We have access to that awareness in every fiber of our being.

 

Like you, I have to be out in it.

 

And thank you. Happy Samhain to you as well!  Btw, its pronounced a little differently in Welsh, Irish and Scotch gaelic dialects. But the Irish is typical here - 'Sow (like cow) win'. Emphasis on Sow.

 

It generally means 'summer's end'.

 

Peace

 

 

[Jennifer T]

4 hours ago, Charlize said:

I always have mixed feeling about this time of year.  It is very busy on the farm.  Hay in, firewood prepared, maple tubing cleaned and prepared for the flow,  goats being breed; it is such a mixture of preparing for dark and cold as well as the new life of the spring.  The maples here are just beginning to show color but the warmth and rain have brought beautiful growth in the pastures.  When the frost comes the world changes.  After 69 years i'm still struck by the beauty.  Happy Samhain.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

 

In many ways Charlize, I envy your life. I've always dreamed of a farm style life. But my chosen line of work has been necessary for raising my family. And I can't regret that.  However, we have typically lived pretty rustic. And autumn has always meant preparing for winter - chopping wood, hunting, canning and raking! :-)

 

I adore the first frost! And I love waking up in the woods on a crisp autumn morning, building a fire and starting coffee!! 

 

Never lose the awe, Charlize! Happy Samhain to you too!

[Jennifer T]

3 hours ago, Jani423 said:

Time does seem to pass so quickly I think for the very reason you offer.  I really don't lament the passing of any season as I look forward to the changes they bring.  They are like life itself with a beginning and an end that is constantly renewed.  

 

Jani

 

Well put, Jani! Thrive in every season and accept the gifts each offers.  

 

Our life, with each of its seasons, awaits the greater restoration! But until then, the cycle continues.

 

Peace!

[Rachael]

Fall is a pretty time of year. Possibly the busiest and ( longest days) so to speak. Bean harvest will start for us maby the end of the week with corn to start soon after. 

Its what we have worked for all year, days will be as long as you can tolerate. 

Our trees turn colors but not as pretty as back east, but the beans are a golden yellow with green and Browns mixed in. Corn is turning  from green to that dry brown color and ears are tipping down going through the drying process. When the combines roll it will be brown and the corn will be golden the color of sunshine. 

Enjoy the fall weather and colors everyone. 

[Jani]

This is a good thread.  I love the descriptions of the life that goes on within and around us. 

 

Jani

[Timber Wolf]

15 hours ago, Charlize said:

I always have mixed feeling about this time of year.  It is very busy on the farm.  Hay in, firewood prepared, maple tubing cleaned and prepared for the flow,  goats being breed; it is such a mixture of preparing for dark and cold as well as the new life of the spring.  The maples here are just beginning to show color but the warmth and rain have brought beautiful growth in the pastures.  When the frost comes the world changes.  After 69 years i'm still struck by the beauty.  Happy Samhain.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

When I lived life in the north woods, I loved cutting and splitting firewwood. Being out in the woods with my chainsaw, and splitting wood at my woodpile. Filling my woodshed and stacking wood outtside when the shed was full. I wouldn't use a splitter, but my good ol' wood maul and a couple wedges. Sure, it didn't make my arms look very girly, but I was still in denial at that time. Even though I was splitting wood for the next year, Autumn was a wonderful time for the work. Oh how I love autumn, and oh how I miss autumn in the north woods. 

And then winter would come, sitting on my couch watching a fire burning in my stove and the snow falling in the woods, listening to beautiful music. It was heaven on earth! I loved it up there so much. 

Wow! I guess I waxed reminiscent and drifted from the subject. But the season of the year is calling!?

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

[Jennifer T]

@Timber Wolf, how far north did you live?  

[RikkiWilson]

I celebrate Halloween and recently someone and I were discussing Wicca and I love this time of year so I'm going to look into all of this soon. 

 

?? ZD

[Timber Wolf]

11 hours ago, Jennifer T said:

@Timber Wolf, how far north did you live?  

North central Michigan, near the town of Baldwin, surrounded by the Manistee National Forest and the Pere Marquette State Forest. I spent the happiest years of my life there.

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

[Jennifer T]

On September 17, 2017 at 9:25 PM, Rachael said:

Fall is a pretty time of year. Possibly the busiest and ( longest days) so to speak. Bean harvest will start for us maby the end of the week with corn to start soon after. 

Its what we have worked for all year, days will be as long as you can tolerate. 

Our trees turn colors but not as pretty as back east, but the beans are a golden yellow with green and Browns mixed in. Corn is turning  from green to that dry brown color and ears are tipping down going through the drying process. When the combines roll it will be brown and the corn will be golden the color of sunshine. 

Enjoy the fall weather and colors everyone. 

Hello Rachel.  Yes, the harvest! The reason we give thanks. The life cycle beginning again. The remembrance of those who've gone before us. The culmination of the growing season's efforts. 

 

And Autumn's hues, much as you've described, are simply sublime. I've lived from the east coast to the west coast. And while different, the geographical regions all have something beatiful to boast at this time.

 

I live in the heart of Appalachia, where I grew up. The mountains and woods, to me, are magical. 

 

Peace

[Jennifer T]

On September 19, 2017 at 2:30 AM, ZombieDracula said:

I celebrate Halloween and recently someone and I were discussing Wicca and I love this time of year so I'm going to look into all of this soon. 

 

?? ZD

 

Hopefully I do not misrepresent myself. For the record, I am neither a practicing Wiccan nor a Witch (there are differences).  I am however deeply connected with my Celtic roots and feel the pull of the traditions and rites that defined them and their understanding of the natural and spiritual world around them.  

 

I have an abiding interest in the lore and beliefs of my ancestors. They were in tune with and understanding our modern world has little concept of. The Great Magic that  infuses all life; the voices on the wind, the sentience of the trees, the awareness of the land itself. We were never meant to exist apart from these. But to thrive within and among them.

 

Peace

 

[Jennifer T]

On September 19, 2017 at 8:23 AM, Timber Wolf said:

North central Michigan, near the town of Baldwin, surrounded by the Manistee National Forest and the Pere Marquette State Forest. I spent the happiest years of my life there.

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

 

That's wonderful, Timber Wolf.  While a bit furthe north, Isle Royale holds a special place in my heart that it was where Gray Wolves were reintroduced and allowed to bring the natural predaror/prey relationship in the wild to find balance, thus allowing for healthier deep poulations and plantlife as well.  Wolves are my favorite animals and have been so from my youth. 

 

Humanity once understood the natural cycle of life snd the relationships that each species has with the others; the intrinsic awareness of the natural world.

 

 

[Timber Wolf]

I may get into trouble for this, as it strays from the thread topic, but it's such an issue of pride for me. Michigan is one of the only few states in the continental United States to have a native wolf population. Wolves are being reintroduced in western states, which is a great thing! But Michigan's wolves are native! I've even seen one in the wild. And you're absolutely right, wolves are a necessary element in the balance of nature.

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?