Death hovers in our consciousness and in nature at Halloween, also known by its ancient Celtic name, Samhain (pronounced Sow – win). The veil is said to be thin – the thin membrane between the land of the living and the land of the dead during this time.
On a very deep level, we are being called to honor our ancestors as well as all of the members of our family who dwell on the other side.
Have you heard ancestral voices whispering amongst your family in the past month? This is the time of year seems to provoke old memories and bring up curiosity about those who have gone before us. Who were they? What were their lives like? Knowing our ancestors and honoring them gives us a deeper sense of who we are and what we are made of. Perhaps someone in your life has passed recently. Samhain offers an opportunity to send good wishes and blessings that have a very good chance of being received!
Our DNA holds ancient information about where and who we came from – and it operates in us. Some of it is fixed, and some of it is mutable. We carry both the seeds of our most ancient ancestors, and deep encoding from our parents, grandparents and great grandparents. Who were they? Who are we?
Bring together your photos or keepsakes of family members who have passed. I have placed a sprig of Mugwort on top of an old photo of my maternal grandmother’s family from the 1800s. Mugwort is one of the best witchy herbs used for clairvoyance, protection and dreams. It grows in any garden very easily – and it tastes great, too!
I also have pheasant feathers here, obsidian rocks and dried flower petals I had my kids sprinkle while we talked out our olden days family. There is a wildcrafted deer skull with feathers, mugwort sticks bundled in a broom like fashion and some multicolored corn. The salt lamp keeps glowing when the candles burn out. We leave it on all night this week for them.
Maybe tonight I will put out some tea and beer for them!
Margot Darling 