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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,016,478 |
Question of the Week: 82 - 10/20/2002 Your Samhain/Beltaine Musings What have you been musing about at this time of the changing seasons? What lessons have you learned? What hopes do you hold for the future? How will you honor/mark/celebrate the Holiday? If you have rituals, poems, stories or links to seasonal lore and/or activities, feel free to share them here. |
| Reponses: There are 50 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| Beltaine | Oct 21st. at 11:20:51 pm EDT |
| Mike (Hamilton, New Zealand) | Age: 32 - Email |
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Being 6 months ahead of you in the northern hemishpere makes our ritual dates stand out more. The October 31st Halloween thing is starting to catch on here but, i politely tell children to come back in April. This Year im putting a big sign on the door, "caution real witch! Go away it's not halloween for another 6 months." Or something like that. Beltaine is a time when we celebrate the union of the Lord and Lady. Its about fertillity and sex and thats what most of the witches in my coven plan to do. Most of them have cowen partners, but the majority go along with the celebrations and enter into the spirt of it. We dont celebrate this one as a group for obvious reasons, its personal and private. love mike |
| Family | Oct 22nd. at 2:29:51 am EDT |
| Seana Rain (Missouri, USA) | Age: 24 - Email |
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I have recently begun to come closer to my own spirituality. This is a great time of the year for me to put my past behind me and begin anew. During the next couple of months will be study and meditation for my spiritual rebirth near Yule. I will be starting on Samhain by focusing on my mother-in-law who passed away two years ago. She was/is one of the most spiritual and complete persons I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her lived her beliefs (xian) and exuded happiness and acceptance of herself and others...even as she died (ovarian cancer). A visit to her grave and a small meditative ritual that evening will bring things together for me. Seana Rain |
| Musings | Oct 22nd. at 10:25:54 am EDT |
| Nateseia (Winnipeg, Canada) | Age: 0 - Email |
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A myriad of thoughts often pass through my mind in fragments that I have to capture later and ponder. I envy, in a strange sort of way, those who simply celebrate 'Halloween' in their excitment for the season.... what there going to wear, who their going out with..etc....I sometimes wish I could join their conversation, and artlessly spill my own plans. That unfortunatly, leaves a lot more explaining to do, more than I want, with people I don't know that well. I find this time of the year deeply introspective, where loose ends and emotions get tied up in preperation for facing the coming year with a fresh perspective. It's a time of finally letting go with peace. The season is also highly charged with emotion, running from spectrum to the other. The whole process last about six days for me. I mean, there's no way I can balance the work that I do out in a day. On a lighter note, what I find incrediably humorus, is the number of friends that want to hang with a 'real witch' at this time of year, even though they do not practice the Craft. I love them all to bits, and we do have a lot of fun. Blessings Nateseia |
| Only Through Death Can Life Be Renewed | Oct 22nd. at 11:29:24 am EDT |
| owlsbreath (Massachusettes USA) | Age: 36 - Email |
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As autumn approaches i sit by the window and watch as the great mother takes from us the beauty of her life giving bounty. While i am saddened at the passing of summers endless growth I am rejoicing in the knowledge that this was a time of plenty for all of creatures. As the animals gather thier stores for the long winter ahead i am grateful that there is much for them to be busy with. In my minds eye I shall hold fast for the memories past to be renewed as spring will soon be anew and I will once again be filled with awe as she once again poors forth a wellspring of new life. Until then I will now harbor myself for the duration soon to come. Should I come upon you on the path I will stay awhile and share such hopes withuot reservation. Owlsbreath |
| So Many Things... | Oct 22nd. at 2:46:12 pm EDT |
| Mothrae (Pennsy USA) | Age: 37 - Email |
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Our family lost a few good people this past year and we will surely celebrate their lives this Samhain Feast. Among the many aspects of this day, our Feast will be the high point, thanking Our Goddess and Our God for all that we have. We will mourn the passing over of Our God yet wait with joy for His rebirth at Yule. We will light the candles in the pumpkins to welcome home the spirits of those no longer in this Realm. We will share our Samhain Feast with them. As part of Feast preparations we will can or freeze offerings left from our garden. One of us will try to carve a turnip, often with a hammer and chisel! We all have to learn, right? With the house decorated for the season, we will entertain the kids who like to stop by and see the "real Witches." We will offer more than just candy. Homemade candied apples, warm little cakes from the oven, warm cider (served from a cauldron, of course!), and we will tell the real story of Hallowe'en to anyone who wants to listen. And we will work in shifts to extort candy from our neighbors! Brightest Blessings to All! ...Moth |
| Happy New Year! | Oct 22nd. at 3:03:25 pm EDT |
| Ciarrai (New Jersey) | Age: 35 - Email |
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Definitely a day of the new (or night rather....) Blessed Samhain to all of you. Best wishes for a great year to come. In spite of what we all have been through, I am grateful for the good, and I hope to give more, and hopefully get some back in return. Peace, Ciarrai |
| Everyone Coming Together | Oct 22nd. at 3:04:46 pm EDT |
| Timoto (PA) | Age: 17 - Email |
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I have several other Pagan friends, and on the two main Sabbats we all come together to give thanks to the Goddess and God. Not like "Oh God, thank you so much, oh yes." But we do incantations together for about three hours (I'd like to see anyone beat that.) And at midnight we purify the sacred space, cast the circle on a white table cloth and invoke any Dieties and Ancestors we want to attend. We then feast on a small dinner with some juice (We can't drink yet) and basically focus upon the new year. |
| Thoughts On The End Of Summer | Oct 22nd. at 11:31:56 pm EDT |
| DolphinSmile (Austin, TX) | Age: 21 - Email |
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I have always liked holidays, and now that I have found my religion they're even more meaningful to me. I like Samhain's mixture of solmemn introspection and honoring the dead, along with the partying and staring your fears in the face. I think it's rather therepudic. I think it's interesting that Samhain and Beltaine are opposite each other on the neo-pagan calendar, and one is sex-themed while the other is death-themed. Those are also opposites. I just bought a book at Half-Price Books called Sex and the Origins of Death by William R. Clark. Haven't gotten around to read it yet, but the author is a molecular biologist, and he argues in this book that not only do we have sex because we die, but we die because we have sex (in fact he thinks sex came first!). The two are dependent on each other and without one the other would not exist. Interesting idea. I break from most Wiccans in that I don't think of Samhain as New Year's. Maybe I'm still stuck on my old secular custom of celebrating New Year's later on, but I think of Samhain as the end of the old year, and Yule as the beginning of the new one. It just makes more sense to me since Yule is an actual natural event, the shortest day, and from then on the days bounce back and start getting longer again. Samhain then is a day of endings, and Yule is a day of beginnings. So what is going on between those two? I haven't figured that part out yet (hey, I've only been doing this for three years). Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping I guess. I'm actually not sure if I am going to do much to celebrate Samhain this year. I'm currently living in a dorm on UT and my roommate doesn't really like me, so I don't want to do anything that might freak her out even worse. I might have to do something really subtle, but I'll see. Maybe I'll find some kind of event to go to this year. Fortunately I haven't had anyone I know die this year, so I am probably going to spend the day thinking of the past year and sort of taking an inventory and making sure everything is in order. If the Celts culled the herd during Samhain, I guess I should slaughter any old baggage I have from this year so I can start fresh next spring. |
| Witches Wheel | Oct 23rd. at 1:35:46 am EDT |
| ravin (bc, canada) | Age: 28 - Email |
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Samhain brings pumpkins and candles aglow Yule comes with pine trees and blankets of snow Imbolc will show us if winters end nears Ostara will bring colored eggs and good cheer Beltane brings planting and maypoles for dancing Litha, the solstice, the suns light is waning Lammas we harvest the first of our grain Mabon were finished the harvest again One last turn of the wheel and winters begun Back to samhain and pumpkins and ancestral fun |
| My Samhain Musings... | Oct 23rd. at 1:44:59 am EDT |
| Raven Skyfire (Two Harbors, Mn.) | Age: 29 - Email |
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I've always thought of Samhain as a bittersweet time of year. Both of my parents are no longer living, so anything that involves retrospect on departed loved ones is still very painful, but I feel that the pain we feel from the loss of a loved one is not for them but for ourselves because they are free from this world and have gone on to better things but we are still here and we miss them. However, I also feel that the loss of a loved one is only temporary and we will see them again in another life, if never again in this one. "And may we meet, and know, and remember, and love again" truely are comforting words during this season and help to take the pain away. Samhain really is a exciting time of year that is best experienced with joy and happiness without feeling sorry for ourselves for things that we cannot change. My birthday is the day after and that is something that I always look forward to as I wonder what the Goddess has in store for me this year. Anyway, may you all have a happy and safe Halloween and Blessed Be. |
| Life And Death And Lessons Learned | Oct 23rd. at 7:17:46 am EDT |
| clio (York PA) | Age: 29 - Email |
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This Samhain will be the first I will truly celebrate with ritual (as I am still studying and learning), and this Samhain will be truly poignant for me. My beloved maternal grandmother passed away in July, at the age of 94. She will be remembered, as will my uncle and my cousin who passed away in 1985 and 1995 respectively. So too will I remember my paternal grandmother who passed in 1993. The loss of my beloved family members over the years has taught me a very very valuable lesson: Life is precious and should not be taken for granted. I make it a habit to tell my loved ones as much as possible how much they mean to me. My Samhain ritual is still taking form in my mind. I will be interested to see how I feel when it is complete. |
| New To Samhain | Oct 23rd. at 10:50:21 am EDT |
| Nicholas Wagner (Live Oak, Florida) | Age: 18 - Email |
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I have just recently begun taking an interest in paganism/wicca. I am still trying to get used to all the new ways of celebrating. I love holidays, and paganism sure has plenty. I am really enjoying this Samhain season. As a matter of fact I just recently performed my first ritual. It was a harvest ritual thanking deity and spirit for its bounties. Although it was a little rough around the edges, I think the God and Goddess understood. I asked them to bear with me as I stumbled through. This time of year has always been my favorite...even before being interested in paganism. I love the changing of the leaves, the crisp fall air, that wonderful pure feeling that engulfs me during these months. Plus it's a nice break from this Florida heat. I think besides rituals I will be honoring my deceased grandfather, whom i was very close to, and other people that have passed away that i was close to. I have been talking to my grandfather, lighting candles for him and saying numerous prayers to him. I think about him all the time, and the Samhain season has made me think about him even more. I will also be attending my first public ritual this year, which I am very excited about. I am not sure what all will go on, but I will find out. This is also a great time of year to party, and I will do just that. |
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