Last Halloween Recap

I didn't have this blog a year ago so I decided to write a little about what I did last year.

I was living in an apartment with Wolf and our neighbor asked if she could take pictures of my ritual for her class. I allowed her an she set her camera up while I set my ritual space up in the dining room. I used my four candles to outline the circle and set up my altar with a cup of wine, bread, my candles etc. After casting the circle I made a little speech about honoring our ancestors and I wrote a petition to keep myself and family safe for the new year. It was rather short on my part mostly because I'd become a bit embarrassed and started to repeat myself. So after a short meditation I drank some wine and had a bit of bread. I closed the circle, released the elements and left the wine and bread outside. I also put a candle in the window to guide any wondering spirits.

This year I am going to be babysitting in a hotel room and I have no idea if I'll have the time to do a ritual since I won't be home until well after midnight. I might do something at three am Halloween morning. If I do I think it will be in the areas of love. I'm going through a rough patch in my relationship (read we're broken up) but I feel things will get better. I feel in my heart that Wolf and I are meant to be together and I want to do anything I can to make it work. Well...mostly anything.

Blessed Be!

Samhain

Here's a little bit of information on Samhain (pronounced Sow-in or Sahm-hayn) Anything in (Italics) is my commentary.

• It is the third and final harvest feast.
• It is a day to remember and commune with those who have passed on.
• It is a celebration of the cycle of reincarnation.
• Considered the day when the "veil between the worlds" is thinnest.

According to Sabbats by: Edain McCoy, there are two possible sources for the origin of this Sabbat's name. The first being the Aryan God of Death, Samana. The second is from the Irish Gaelic word "Samhraidhreadh" which literally means "the summer's end." (I'm sure it does. Being half Irish I've seen some pretty long and interesting words with short meanings or short words with long meanings.)
For the Celtic people Samhain marks the end of summer and the beginning of the winter months, the day after Samhain being the Celtic New Year. In many European traditions, this is the night when the old God dies and is mourned by the Crone for the next six weeks.
Samhain is more popularly known as Halloween, a contraction of the words, "Hallowed Evening." and it retains much of the original form and meaning it had long ago in Celtic lands. The Church, trying to turn this day into a day of prayer, named it Michaelmas, the feast day of St Michael. Eventually, it was renamed the Eve of All Saints or All Hallows Eve and precedes All Saint's Day.

The preceding three paragraphs are paraphrased from the book Sabbats: A witch's approach to living the old ways. By Edain McCoy. I have provided an image and a link below if you wish to order the book through Amazon.com.

Hopefully I will have more posts concerning my favorite of all holidays over the coming weeks. I am planning on putting up a section on my traditions within the next few days!
Blessed Be!
Layla