Samhain - October 31

"By Samhain, the fall colors are gone, and Nature is down to the essentials.  The wheel of the year is circling closer to the time of cold and darkness once again.  Use this time for clearing out the dead fall and dross in your life and return to the basics.  Take a personal inventory.  Are you where you want to be in your life?  Take a look around you.  How much of what surrounds you is clutter?  Do you need to clean house and get rid of the negative energies and leftover emotions?

Even in those areas that do not experience extremes of temperature, there are changes in the sunlight.  In southern climates, the air conditioners can finally be turned off, or the fans put away.  In some parts of California, the butterflies are returning for the winter.

Samhain is a time to mourn for the people who have crossed into the Summerland, and for those things that have gone by the wayside: friendships lost, job changes, or any major transformation that has entered your life.

In the modern world, the focus at this time is on children and candy, but carving pumpkins and standing cornstalks are not only to entertain the trick-or-treaters, they also bring light and harvest to homes.  Choose your "treats" well because the gifts of food represent the abundance you hope to receive.

To celebrate the transcendence of life, brightly colored leaves can be woven into wreaths and worn or draped across windows, mantles, even doorways.  You can display flowers and fall leaves together to make a subtle Pagan statement that even the strictest non-Pagan would find appealing.  Acorns, walnuts, and other seeds can add to the symbolism without being intrusive.  Death is life is death, even in the new millennium.

Modern or ancient, face to face, or in cyberspace, the Craft is growing and changing.  By keeping in mind the principles behind the Sabbats and the cycles of life, both without and within, we can grow and change along with it.  The Old Religion is thriving in a modern world, and to quote a popular Pagan chant, 'Everything lost is found again, in a new form, in a new way.'  May our new ways be a productive and long lasting as our old ones!" - Breid Foxsong

To learn more about Samhain, click here.