All Saints Day, All Hallows, Halloween....No matter what name you use, today we're talking about Samhain! Samhain is the time of year when the leaves are falling from the trees and the threat of snow hides behind every cloud and in every gust of wind. The world begins to get cooler and darker as we near even closer to the longest night. In the modern age Halloween has become the time of year when people feel free to do things that are otherwise considered “taboo.” For example, we tell our children to both talk to, and take candy from, strangers. It is impossible to walk through any store and not know this High Day is approaching. Jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins seem to take over every porch. In Neopagan traditions, Samhain isn’t about scary monsters and dressing up. It’s a time to honor the ancestors. It’s also supposed to be the time when the veil between our realm and the realm of the dead is thinnest, making it the easiest time to contact that Kindred. For me, it’s a time to share stories of my family with my children. It’s when I try to remember the ancestors and the lives they lived and celebrate the harvest before the world fades into the darkness of winter. Samhain is my favorite high day. I grew up in a family where Halloween was a big deal, and I still enjoy the secular celebrations as much as the spiritual side of things. The sense of freedom and community is beautiful, the sharing of "gifts" between neighborhoods...it's so much fun. I imagine this year may look a bit different, but there are still a lot of ways that we can celebrate Samhain, even during times of social distancing. Below are just a few examples:
If you'd like to celebrate along with me, you can check out my High Day Rituals for a couple ritual suggestions. I hope you all have a wonderful Samhain!
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Welcome back to my Learning Ogham series. This week we continue our exploration of the Greater Ogham symbols with Oir. Greater Ogham don't represent letters, but instead represent a specific idea or topic.
Oir is the symbol of the spindle. It represents sweetness and sudden information. It is thought of as the thunder and lightning symbol. It shows that the reader has completed some sort of large task that wasn't easy but the person can now be pleased with their hard work. Below are a few attributes of this symbol:
Happy Monday! I hope you are all doing well! Somehow 2020 seems to be both the longest year ever, and flying by at the same time...how did we get most of the way through October? We keep rolling forward, and it's time once again for us to dive into some weekly divination. Below is the message I received from the Moonology Oracle Cards by Yasmin Boland and Nyx Rowan:
The Full Moon in Leo is a card that tells us that we need to pay attention to our heart. Find balance between ourselves and others, but that we need to make sure that we're not being too vain. Everyone is equally important. I think this can be a challenge during right now when there is so much animosity and derision in our culture. Think outside of yourself and consider the good of your fellow humans. The Full Moon in Sagittarius reminds us to look at the bigger picture. Sometimes we may get lost in the details. It's ok to think through things, but being all thought and no action does us no good. The Blue Moon tells us to believe in the impossible. Take a chance on something you may not often get a chance to do. This is a positive omen of luck. To summarize, we need to make sure that we aren't focusing too much on ourselves and are thinking of others in our actions. Look outside of ourselves, at the bigger picture, and take a chance. We'll be more successful if we can do that. If this message speaks to you, or if you have some other interpretation, I would love to hear from you! I hope you all have a wonderful week. The 7th episode of the Triskele Podcast is now available for you to watch or listen to! In today's episode, we talk about Gatekeepers. We define what a Gatekeeper is, discuss different approaches to working with a Gatekeeper, who we work with most often, the origins of the concept of a Gatekeeper, and working with "non-traditional" beings as a Gatekeeper. One of the things that was touched on briefly in this episode, but was not explored deeply, is the origin of working with a Gatekeeper in the first place. ADF is an Indo-European focused organization, and the role of a Gatekeeper has been a part of ADF ritual from the organization's beginning. While there are many Indo-European beings that easily fit into the role, there are far fewer descriptions of them doing so in any lore or practice that we have found or had translated so far.. In fact, the Hittite example shared in this podcast episode is the only one I have ever heard. So where does this idea come from? ADF does acknowledge this briefly on their website, by stating "Significant inspiration came from Voudoun and West African religions, specifically the practice of invoking first in ritual Eshu Eleggua, guardian of the centerpost and opener of the gates." However, from what I can find it's only acknowledged on pages that are accessible to members only. While I don't have a resolution for claims of cultural appropriation, or the idea that we shouldn't utilize this non-Indo-European practice in our Indo-European exclusive organization, I do think it's important that we at least acknowledge that influence in this discussion before we can move forward. Further discussions on the topic are much, much bigger than the space that I have here. With that information, I do hope that you enjoy today's episode of the Triskele Podcast. This week's omen uses Runes:
Resources we discussed today: Welcome back to my Learning Ogham series. This week we begin our exploration of the Greater Ogham symbols, beginning with Koad. Greater Ogham don't represent letters, but instead represent a specific idea or topic.
Koad is the symbol of a grove, a whole collection of trees, and sacred space in nature. It's a place of safety, and sanctuary. It represents connection and unity and is a reminder to look beyond a single tree to see the bigger picture. Below are a few attributes of this symbol:
Happy Monday. I hope your October is going well and you are having a great start to your week. It's time once again for our weekly divination. This week, we're working with the Goddess Tarot by Kris Waldherr.
The moon is a symbol of intuition and the natural cycles of the universe. It says that we should follow our instincts, but also recognize the cycles in our life. The 3 of Pentacles speaks of our ability to transform our skills and abilities into assets, whether they be a relationship with others or a career. The 10 of Swords shows that we've gone through a difficult time, but now we can look back at that and gain wisdom from our experiences. Together, these cards seem to say that we should follow our inner voice through the upcoming cycle in order to transform our skills into something useful. Look back at the difficult period we just went through and see what wisdom we can gain from those experiences. If this message was meaningful for you, or if you have other interpretations, I'd love to hear them. Have a wonderful week. |
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