Growing Closer

by OMS Patriarch
El Arseneau

Though
we need to weep your loss,
You dwell in that safe place in our hearts,
Where no storm or might or pain can reach you.

Your love
was like the dawn
Brightening over our lives
Awakening beneath the dark
A further adventure of colour.

The sound
of your voice
Found for us
A new music
That brightened everything.

Whatever
you enfolded in your gaze
Quickened in the joy of its being;
You placed smiles like flowers
On the altar of the heart.
Your mind always sparkled
With wonder at things.

Though your
days here were brief,
Your spirit was live, awake, complete.

We look
towards each other no longer
From the old distance of our names;
Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath,
As close to us as we are to ourselves.

Though we
cannot see you with outward eyes,
We know our soul’s gaze is upon your face,
Smiling back at us from within everything
To which we bring our best refinement.

Let us not
look for you only in memory,
Where we would grow lonely without you.
You would want us to find you in presence,
Beside us when beauty brightens,
When kindness glows
And music echoes eternal tones.

When orchids
brighten the earth,
Darkest winter has turned to spring;
May this dark grief flower with hope
In every heart that loves you.

May you
continue to inspire us:

To enter
each day with a generous heart.
To serve the call of courage and love
Until we see your beautiful face again
In that land where there is no more separation,
Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,
And where we will never lose you again.

~~ John O’Donohue ~~

Celtic Mythology

Celtic lore tells of the Fairy Gates opening, and the Lands of the
Sidhe (pronounced “shee”) becoming accessible. Irish
heroes long dead are said to make gallant raids into the Otherworld,
however, they must return to their proper resting places by
the first cock crow or risk being lost forever to roam the land
of living with no hope of finding rest or peace.

Like all Celtic festivals, Samhain hosted a time of family reunion
and reaffirming ties of friendship and social bonds. Also, in
the agricultural communities, this was the time to bring in
all the live stock from the hills and slaughter those animals
that would not survive pasture for the Winter. Consequently,
spirits often return on this night to visit their kin and friends
during the celebrations should they wish to do so; many customs
revolve around the return of spirits, as you will see. It was
a natural thought that the approach of winter should drive the
poor, shivering, hungry ghosts from the bare fields and the
leafless woodlands to the shelter of the cottage with its familiar
fireside.

The Origins of Halloween

The ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited England, Wales, Scotland,
Ireland and Brittany celebrated their New Year’s Day on what
would be November 1st on our calendar. The period prior to the
New Year, as the year wound down, was a time to consider the
mystery of human death.

It was believed that on the last night of the year the lord of
death allowed the souls of the dead to return to their homes.
Souls that had died in sin, and in Celtic belief imprisoned
in the bodies of animals, could be released through gifts to
the lord of death, including human sacrifices.

It was also thought that evil spirits, demons, ghosts; witches
were also free to roam around this night and could be placated
by a feast. They would also leave you alone if you dressed like
them and thus appeared to be one of them.

Families would also extinguish their hearth fires on this evening to
be re-lit from a common New Year’s bonfire built on the hilltops,
which was meant to symbolize the driving away of darkness and
evil with the coming of the New Year. The jack-o-lantern as
a means of scaring away evil and providing light may be a vestige
of this custom.

Jack o’ Lantern

In Ireland, where many Halloween traditions and stories began,
the first jack-o’-lanterns weren’t made of pumpkins. They were
made out of rutabagas, potatoes, turnips, or even beets. There
is an old Irish legend about a man named Stingy Jack who was
too mean to get into heaven and had played too many tricks on
the devil to go to hell. When he died, he had to walk the earth,
carrying a lantern made out of a turnip with a burning coal
inside.

Stingy Jack became known as “Jack of the Lantern,” or “Jack-o’-lantern.”
From this legend came the Irish tradition of placing jack-o’-lanterns
made of turnips and other vegetables in windows or by doors
on Halloween. They were meant to scare away Stingy Jack and
all the other spirits that are said to walk the earth on that
night.

It wasn’t until the tradition was brought to the United States
by immigrants that pumpkins were used for jack-o’-lanterns.

Trick or Treat

From earliest times people wore masks when droughts or other disasters
struck. They believed that the demons that had brought their
misfortune upon them would become frightened off by the hideous
masks.

Even after the festival of Samhain had merged with Halloween, Europeans
felt uneasy at this time of the year. Food was stored in preparation
for the winter and the house was snug and warm. The cold, envious
ghosts were outside, and people who went out after dark often
wore masks to keep from being recognized.

Until very recently children would dress up as ghosts and goblins
to scare the neighbors, but there was no trick or treating.
Around 40 years ago people began to offer treats to their costumed
visitors.

The principle of costumes has been altered from ancient times. It
was previously common for people to cross dress, especially
in Scotland and some regions of Ireland. Today, the children
compete to see how scary or cute they can be and there is no
real sense of fear (except about the weirdoes that we all seek
to avoid.) The reason for this odd attire can only be guessed
at by using folklore and oral tradition as a basis. Within the
classic tales you will find a consistent pattern of malignant
spirits and ghostly hunters. I belief costumes go along with
the purpose of the Jack O’ Lantern, as a means of confusing
and hiding from evil spirits; they wouldn’t think to look for
their male enemy in a dress!

American Traditions

Halloweenwas very popular in Victorian times, and people would often
throw magnificent parties to celebrate the spirit of the season.
Costume contests, and apple divinations were everywhere, and
people delighted in having fun during this dreary time of year.

Greek/Roman Mythology

Ancient Rome had many, many leaders, and in 314, Constantine the Great
declared that Rome was a Christian nation. But what has that
to do with Halloween? Well, around November 1st, the Festival
of Pomona was held. Pomona was the Goddess of Orchards and the
Harvest. With the conquest of most of the known world by the
Roman Empire, the Festival of Pomona was blended with many different
harvest festivals, some of which created traditions that survive
even today (like Trick or Treating!)

Activities of Olde

On this day people would gather early in the day since there were
so many things going on. In olden times the affair would last
for two or three days. Crafting included brewing Mead for the
day’s festivities as well as for the winter season to
come. They carved Jack-o-Lanterns to discourage negative spirits
from bothering the people at the gathering. Candles were blessed
for use throughout the winter, as well as blending oils for
magical uses. Simples were brewed to make sure each person had
a good tonic to see them through the hard days of winter.

Anything that was braided was thought to be lucky since it was binding
things together and by doing that bringing the community closer
together. Quilts were gathered to be finished and ladies shared
their recipes for simples and for dying cloth. The men of the
clan hunted for days before the gathering to insure food for
everyone. Children would be sent on “Nutting” parties
and they would produce that bounty to be shared by everyone.

Games of strength and chance were played by young and old alike. This
was also a great time for storytelling and in this way the patterns
of life were passed down from one generation to another year
after year. At this time of the year we are reminded of the
tribal beginnings that we have all come from and it is appropriate
that we still use the basic instruments of drum and gourd, cymbal,
and horns. We chant together into the night and recreate the
spiral dances.

Wiccan Ways

Wiccans bid farewell to the God as he departs and prepares for rebirth
at Yule. They understand that the God sacrifices himself to
ensure the people’s continued existence. Everything must die
to be reborn, and so does this noble God. Death, however, is
one factor that cannot be controlled by man, and Wiccans use
this time to look back and be sure all is in order before they
continue on into the New Year. If something is not well, it
is lovingly sacrificed that prosperity in the New Year may be
attained.

The Sun God, who was maimed by the Dark God at Lughnasadh, dies
on this day, and the God of Misrule, or dark half, takes the
throne. He is sometimes seen as a cruel King who shines through
the Winter months but offers no warmth or comfort to the planet.
The lack of warmth, combined with the breath of Cailleach Bheare,
the Crone, make for the hard Winter months and the balance of
Summer.

Pagan New Year

Just as Samhain ends the old year, it must begin the new. Reflection
should continue during this dark time, but a growing sense of
the changes to be made and the light to be sought should accompany
reflection.

Samhain symbolizes both the past and the future, illuminated by the
cycle of the seasons, forever linked as steps on the journey
we must all make.

We must look inside ourselves for self-knowledge and for the spirit
that will sustain us in life’s trials. Silence is one of the
keys to seeking truth, for we cannot hear the answers in the
midst of this noisy world in which we walk every day, nor in
the noise of holiday celebrations however joyous.

Samhain is also said to be the time when the veil between the living
and the dead is thinnest, allowing us some communication with
those who have departed. How befitting this is for such a time
of endings and beginnings.

Reflections on death can be as instructive as the self-examinations just
mentioned. When we think of those who have died, it reminds
us of time passing by and of things we could have or should
have done. This reminder, coupled with our lists of past and
future actions, encourages us to take our New Year’s resolutions
far more seriously.

We know our time is limited, and most of us have much to do in
our allotted time. Most of us have to make a living somehow,
but death reminds us that we had better spend some of that time
in pursuit of our other dreams lest they be lost in the struggle
merely to survive.

~~ Source Unknown ~~

When the winter winds doth blow, you will hear my call
I am the mother of the brave, and will catch you when you fall

I am the goddess of battles long, and struggles that run deep

When the fighting is over, you are the prize you keep
You will see me as the bird most look upon as ill
But in the heart of my child the raven brings a thrill

I am the Queen of prophecy and things yet unknown
But look with in your deepest heart for there all things are shown
I walk the pathway between life and death, the sword is in my hand
I strike the final and deadly blow, spilling blood upon the land

But don’t think me harsh, or cold, for that is not my way
I sit and weep at the ford, washing the blood away
You are my child and I your Queen, when you take my hand
The end of time, and your days. I will lead you to Summerland

As I was travelling past Céis Coarran mountain this afternoon a cloud was overhanging the mountain with tentacles dripping over the caves like drips of icing falling from a cake, making the mountain really seem like a mountain. The sort of scene that just cannot be picked up by a camera.

but reminded me of this lore …

Céis Coarran and name interpreted by many spellings and many meanings
as its myth origin goes back to when we had sounds, before we
had symbols for those sounds, before those symbols became words.
The words themselves were poetry as many words we have today
were not available for items and situation back then.

A pregnant woman was a “woman carrying life.” A person
feeling ill was “carrying a curse,” with curse meaning
something very different back then, though still used in the
old way by local people today.

The one I love is lightning being “fiery arrows” breo
na saigéad, which evolved into the name of Brighid we
use today. The oaks, the tree that attracts these “fiery
arrows” more than any other tree on earth and fire being
a “gift” that is needed to rekindle the new fires
and so a reverence for the Breo na Saigéad was born.
Born, like all life, from a womb somewhere.

The Morrigu, the goddess of  darkness said to now reign from the
Samhain until the following Beltaine.

Céis Coarran, Cé – flow of life, calling to prayer; is – the woman
Céis – the woman carrying life.

Coarran – becoming words such as Corran the harper

Oran the deravid, derwydd, druid

Rowan the tree

Morrigu – the woman of the rowan

Céis Coarran – the woman of the rowan carrying life growing,
being nurtured by the spirit of the other world for the birth
of new life that follows after the breaking and flow of new
waters to fertilize the land at the following Imbolc.

But the Morrigu of the dark awakes breathing new fire to light
our hearths while the cauldron of the gifts of Brigid is revered
by the Corran harpers, the harpers of harps made of coarran,
the rowan with strings of bronze or gut or both and pegs of
oak to attract the spirit of the fiery arrows and the perching
of the birds sharing the sounds to which the strings will be tuned.

The sound boxs of the Coarrans, the corrans, the cruiters, are
of willow and should you pronounce of Céis as Kesh instead
of Kaysh you will be calling on the willow road – the willows
with its leaves of light and dark depending which side you look
when the leaves are green.

The willows that are at the estuary of the River Unshin, the
only river in Ireland to flow north now fed by the lake of the
fiery arrow, Lough Arrow once part of waters that isolated Céis
Coarran into an island.

The willows, the salle, the salley trees at this estuary that
became the W.B. Yeats song, “Salley Gardens” but was
this the birth of Brigid to Yeats while he was filled with lust
….

“Down
by the Sally Gardens,
my love and I did meet.
She crossed the Sally Gardens
with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy,
as the leaves grow on the tree,
But I was young and foolish,
and with her did not agree”.

Ogma, while telling the Tale of The Trees that assembled sounds into
symbols, into words, into sentences, into language is said to
have told of Salle The Willow being the sound of the ebb and
flow of life between two worlds with the highest tides being
the two times of the upstream salmon at Samhain and Beltaine
when the tides are highest between the worlds, when the veils
between them are the thinnest and the waters touch.

Brigid passes through to guide the new life in the wombs waters
that will break at Imbolc.

The Morrigu’s breath keeps our fires alight through the dark
while the Holly, Ivy, Pine and Yew stay green to remind us Bride’s
blessing is true. T’is winter, ’tis womb time and our cauldrons
to see us through.

Source:
http://celticways.hubpages.com/

grand
dad died
long before i came into Being.
yet, not even Death
can make silent the lessons of Life.
you’ve taught me
how one can leave an enduring Legacy
of empowerment, kindness, and an absence of judgement.

grandma carried within the gift of nurturing.
she taught me how to care for others;
how to be appreciative of all things.

billy, beth, and mandy
gave me the ability
to see past another’s disabilities
and cherish the small slivers of time
self-gifted to ourselves.

jendra displayed endless happiness
and showed me how to illuminate
a shadowed soul.

carol was a beacon of perseverance.
keep trying was her donation to me.

from grandpa i learned
how a lifetime of pain and regret
can twist the Heart.

valerie,
if you only knew all i saw in you.
you showed me quiet strength
and how a Spirit can suffer in silence.

audy,
small talk was your gift to me.

lee was a pillar of sensitivity;
a ferocious defender of one’s self.
no nonsense.
thank you for showing me i am not a door mat.

in allen,
i found that self expression
is an act of Love.

keith,
you profoundly changed me
with the gifts of Knowing
unconditional, true romantic love
and the pain of having it taken away.

david opened my eyes
to the End of Life Truth.
it is a time of closure.
it is a place of profound awakenings.

my friend joe,
i thank you for showing me kindness
and that it is never too late
to follow your dreams.

brock,
had i never known you
would i have ever seen humility?

chuck and tony
both taught me humor.
a most valuable lesson, indeed.

chris was the older brother i never had.
thank you for taking me under your wing,
for showing me how to embrace the primal aspects of life,
for teaching me that fear is an illusion.

take time away from responsibility.
get lost in the pleasures of hobby.
these were jeff’s benefactions.

daddy,
i discovered how to forgive because of you.
your greatest gift, however,
was that Death is not a bringer of dread.
it is a beautiful, pleasant, joyful re-awakening.
i could ask for nothing more.

fearlessly stand up for the defenseless,
even if it means losing your life.
you gave me that gift
dear brody.

roy taught me loyalty
and to do what is best for you
regardless of the pain
one’s decision brings to others.

your’s was a slow, humbling exit,
dearest sue.
still, in spite of that perceived harsh experience
i learned we can always maintain
grace, empathy, and compassion.

granny,
had it not been for you
i’d have never seen how important it is
to remember the best part of
what once was.

erik is the disincarnate friend
i never knew could be.
in your care i discovered
Death is merely a transformation.
please accept this acknowledgement
of the lessons you provide.
i am forever in your debt.

my existence has been a series
of blessings expressed in human form.
each life helped me rediscover
Who I Am.
each one of you enlightened my soul.

these humble words
convey my gratitude
to the departed,
to the catalysts
of my expansion.

© April 25, 2011

(Using the Tarot of Transformation Deck)

Nature is healing us consistently and this time it is no exception.
While I was in channel with Nature she has made it perfectly
clear this is the season of change and transmutation therefore
aligning with this change is necessary. Giving the Ogham readings
were fun and like the cloak of nature always ever changing so
do the divination readings for the Druid’s Egg. These will be
changed to various divination styles including the Ogham upon
occasion because the incoming energies for 2012 are very wild
and erratic, nothing is stable and to flow with these energies
is to roll with the changes that will be forthcoming.

The Spirit of Transformation

Inner Seeing-6 of Wands

Turning inward to view the forthcoming vision compassing what
is to be and what direction to take.

Manifesting Home-4 of Disks

Return to the vast ocean of consciousness swimming near the
surface to view the light that abounds.

The Great View-10 of Disks

The vision of the past disappearing while the vision of the
future is still to remain unwritten.

This spread speaks greatly of the upcoming spiritual vision for 2012,
Remaining prophetless, the vision tells of greatness that will
be joining us if we only take the time to seek inward our own
vision for the future for the embodiment of the whole. Much
healing has been accomplished on personal levels, now it is
time to unite on a global healing level to manifest our desires
for a world united through Nature. Looking back to the past
we came a long way, now it is time to forge a new path with
our wings spread outwards anticipating all that the Universe
and Mother Earth has to offer. We are leaving the Dark Night
of the Soul of planetary influences and moving into the Light
of the Universe.

We are being called to work with the new energies that are arriving,
entwining them with our heart and soul to produce a solid basis
of our work with the Earth Mother by pulling down new strands
on a daily basis, anchoring these strands to the base of our
trunks all the while maintaining the higher vision for ourselves,
our tribes, the Earth Queendoms and the global collective.

To enrich the earth I have sowed clover and grass
to grow and die. I have plowed in the seeds
of winter grains and various legumes,
their growth to be plowed in to enrich the earth.
I have stirred into the ground the offal
and the decay of the growth of past seasons
and so mended the earth and made its yield increase.
All this serves the dark. Against the shadow
of veiled possibility my workdays stand
in a most asking light. I am slowly falling
into the fund of things. And yet to serve the earth,
not knowing what I serve, gives a wideness
and a delight to the air, and my days
do not wholly pass. It is the mind’s service,
for when the will fails so do the hands
and one lives at the expense of life.
After death, willing or not, the body serves,
entering the earth. And so what was heaviest
and most mute is at last raised up into song.

~~ Wendell Berry ~~
(Collected Poems 1957 – 1982)

Dance
the ring,
luck to bring,
When the year’s aturning.
Chant the rhyme
at Hallowstime,
When the fire’s burning.

Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for
the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the
dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some
believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking
the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began
at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings
of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground.
Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations
at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is
November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today of course,
as Halloween.

Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer’s end.”
In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche
Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the
winter’s calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain
was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints’ Day, to commemorate
the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year,
so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All
Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day,
when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the
departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into
Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs
intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through
November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy
of the dark and to revel in its mystery.

In the country year, Samhain marked the first day of winter, when
the herders led the cattle and sheep down from their summer
hillside pastures to the shelter of stable and byre. The hay
that would feed them during the winter must be stored in sturdy
thatched ricks, tied down securely against storms. Those destined
for the table were slaughtered, after being ritually devoted
to the gods in pagan times. All the harvest must be gathered
in — barley, oats, wheat, turnips, and apples — for come November,
the faeries would blast every growing plant with their breath,
blighting any nuts and berries remaining on the hedgerows. Peat
and wood for winter fires were stacked high by the hearth. It
was a joyous time of family reunion, when all members of the
household worked together baking, salting meat, and making preserves
for the winter feasts to come. The endless horizons of summer
gave way to a warm, dim and often smoky room; the symphony of
summer sounds was replaced by a counterpoint of voices, young
and old, human and animal.

In early Ireland, people gathered at the ritual centers of the
tribes, for Samhain was the principal calendar feast of the
year. The greatest assembly was the ‘Feast of Tara,’ focusing
on the royal seat of the High King as the heart of the sacred
land, the point of conception for the new year. In every household
throughout the country, hearth-fires were extinguished. All
waited for the Druids to light the new fire of the year — not
at Tara, but at Tlachtga, a hill twelve miles to the north-west.
It marked the burial-place of Tlachtga, daughter of the great
druid Mogh Ruith, who may once have been a goddess in her own
right in a former age.

At all the turning points of the Celtic year, the gods drew near
to Earth at Samhain, so many sacrifices and gifts were offered
up in thanksgiving for the harvest. Personal prayers in the
form of objects symbolizing the wishes of supplicants or ailments
to be healed were cast into the fire, and at the end of the
ceremonies, brands were lit from the great fire of Tara to re-kindle
all the home fires of the tribe, as at Beltane. As they received
the flame that marked this time of beginnings, people surely
felt a sense of the kindling of new dreams, projects and hopes
for the year to come.

The Samhain fires continued to blaze down the centuries. In the
1860s the Halloween bonfires were still so popular in Scotland
that one traveler reported seeing thirty fires lighting up the
hillsides all on one night, each surrounded by rings of dancing
figures, a practice which continued up to the first World War.
Young people and servants lit brands from the fire and ran around
the fields and hedges of house and farm, while community leaders
surrounded parish boundaries with a magic circle of light. Afterwards,
ashes from the fires were sprinkled over the fields to protect
them during the winter months — and of course, they also improved
the soil. The bonfire provided an island of light within the
oncoming tide of winter darkness, keeping away cold, discomfort,
and evil spirits long before electricity illumined our nights.
When the last flame sank down, it was time to run as fast as
you could for home, raising the cry, “The black sow without
a tail take the hindmost!”

Even today, bonfires light up the skies in many parts of the British
Isles and Ireland at this season, although in many areas of
Britain their significance has been co-opted by Guy Fawkes Day,
which falls on November 5th, and commemorates an unsuccessful
attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament in the 17th
century. In one Devonshire village, the extraordinary sight
of both men and women running through the streets with blazing
tar barrels on their backs can still be seen! Whatever the reason,
there will probably always be a human need to make fires against
the winter’s dark.

Correspondences:

Tools, Symbols & Decorations:

Black altar cloth, Halloween items, jack o’ lanterns, oak leaves,
acorns, straw, balefire, besom, black cat, black crescent moon,
cauldron, divination tools, grain, magic mirror, mask, bare
branches, animal bones, hazelwood, pictures of ancestors

Colors:

Black (ward off negativity), orange (good luck), indigo, homemade
apple or mint scented herbal candles to light jack-o-lanterns
or for altar candles

Customs:

Ancestor altar, costumes, divination, carving jack o’ lanterns,
spirit plate, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts,
fairs, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apple games, tricks,
washing clothes

Animals/Mythical beings:

Bats, cats, dogs, pooka, goblins, medusa, beansidhe, harpies

Gemstones:

Black stones, jet, obsidian, onyx, carnelian

Herbs:

Allspice, broom, comfry, dandelion, deadly nightshade, mugwort, catnip,
dittany of Crete, ferns, flax, fumitory, mandrake, mullein,
dragon’s blood, sage, straw, thistles, oak(leaf), wormwood
(burn to protect from roving spirits)

Incense/Oil:

Frankincense, basil, yarrow, lilac, camphor, clove, wood rose, wormwood, myrrh, patchouli, apple, heliotrope, mint, nutmeg, sage, ylang-ylang

Rituals/Magicks:

Foreseeing future, honoring/consulting ancestors, releasing the old, power,
understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination,
dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall

Foods:

Apple, pumpkin pie, pomegranate, pumpkin, squash, hazelnuts, corn,
cranberry muffins, bread, ale, cider and herbal tea

~~ Source Unknown ~~

The
wheel has turned
The seasons spun
The year ends as well as begun
The Ancients spoke
They are revered
We hear their call that much is clear
Between the worlds we go once more
As we walk through the sacred door
The cycles of life, we weave the web
Of things we experience in both soul and head
The Lord and Lady join us too
To celebrate the cycles as we all move
They come to us as Sage and Crone
To share with us things yet unknown
This is the harvest of goals set
The final harvest of three
Did you reap the fruits that you wanted?
Or did you find your harvest in lack?
The growth of desires rest on your shoulders
The job of the grower is yours
While the Lord and the Lady will aid you
The field is not theirs to do.
Be not afraid of the death here
It enfolds in a cold chilly cloak
It comes to bring balance to the cycle
And the promise of life invoke.

It is at Samhain that the Crone Goddess rules. Known as Cerridwen,
Hecate, Kali, Persephone, Arianrhod, the Morrigan and many other
names, She governs the areas of death and rebirth, esoteric
sciences, healing, and the wisdom of the ages. It is She who
opens the gate in the West for those who have departed to travel
into the Summerland. Wise mother of us all, we look to Her to
help us in transition from one life to the next. She brings
us into the Womb of the Mother to assist us in being reborn
once again. It is through Her wisdom and guidance that we learn
lessons from our past and begin life anew. Witches [“or
Druids”…editor] perform rituals, using the Crone’s
assistance, to leave behind anything they do not want to carry
on into the future; past relationships, insecurities, bad habits,
and those things that are not for our benefit.

Think of your most embarrassing moment and you find your “dark” side. You know, that part you wish weren’t there, the part you want to hide or forget
ever existed.

Most of us stuff these moments into the bottom of our memory bags. But you know what happened when you hid those veggies you hated under the tablecloth when Mom wasn’t looking? She eventually found them, and you got found out. It’s the same way with hidden parts of ourselves. Like neglected children, they eventually cry out for attention.

Those hidden parts can only stay hidden as long as no one lifts up the tablecloth. If the defenses we build around these hidden parts are penetrable, we may unveil them ourselves.. When we form an intimate bond with a romantic partner and live with that person on a daily basis, the tablecloth usually gets lifted eventually. But if they are made of heavy iron mail, even falling in love cannot melt them. Then the relationship may fail, as if we unconsciously choose to hide and be safe rather than to grow in intimacy and experience our full aliveness.

So why do we not go ahead and take that inner journey on our own? What stops us? Let’s look a moment at human development.

We are born whole (holy). As Wordsworth so beautifully expressed it: “trailing clouds of glory do we come.” Look into the wide open eyes of a newborn and you know this is true. If our parents notice and respond to our needs, we feel great. To the extent they don’t, we feel pain. Believing our survival is at stake (and sometimes it is), we do our best to please our caretakers. We hide the needs that weren’t met. Somehow they get lost in the shadows.

In most families, only parts of us get nurtured and developed, usually the parts our parents had nurtured and developed in themselves by their parents. What came through the intergenerational transmission process often determines how much of our true nature gets encouraged by our parents. Some unhealthy messages about
how to live get passed down.

To grow into the magnificent beings we were born to be involves shining light on our dark side. Then those split off parts – our lost selves – can be reclaimed and given the nurturing attention they didn’t receive when we were children.

But how do we do this? Here are three ways: attending to our dreams, noticing the traits we most intensely dislike in others, and noticing the traits we most intensely admire in others.

Dreams show us aspects of ourselves that we haven’t yet recognized in our waking life.

Once as a young woman newly out of school, I struggled in a work situation that required me to interact closely with someone I found very abrasive and critical. As a child, I was taught always to be a good girl and never to rock the boat. One night I dreamed that I physically attacked my obnoxious co-worker. When I awoke, I was horrified. But, as I had been taught, I wrote the dream down just as it occurred, noting the mood, to see what I could learn.

This led to the beginnings of learning to be assertive. Slowly, over time I dared to move into the middle ground between being the good girl who dared not rock the boat or acting out my dream behavior. I began to express myself more directly, saying clearly what I wanted from my co-worker. Although I did not shed a tear when he left his job, I should have thanked him, because working with him gave me an opportunity to learn to use my own power more effectively. That was an example of working with my shadow.

Finding our lost selves through observing what we despise or admire in others can be a bigger challenge.

I do an exercise with groups or individuals that involves thinking of people you dislike the most and admire the most and listing all the corresponding negative and positive traits. Cull the list down to the top five. Then identify the polarities, i.e., rageful vs. passive.

In many cases, if we hate rageful people, we lean the other direction and become passive. We let others use us like a doormat and pile up resentment that can build into rage. This energy has to go somewhere. It may implode and create illness, or it may explode and then we blow our stack and feel guilty and horrible afterwards.

Here is an exercise that may help. For the negative traits, fill in the blanks in the following statement: when you decided you could not be ____________ (negative trait) the positive aspect of being _________ (negative trait) that you lost was the ability to be_______________. For example, when you decided you could not be rageful, the positive aspect of being rageful that you lost might be the ability to tell your truth. From there you create a personal behavior change request. Such a behavior change request for yourself might be, first, to look for moments in the next week when you hold back your truth and, then, to dare to express it one or two times.

Similarly, when we put those we admire on a pedestal, we often fail to nurture the seeds of greatness in ourselves that we see flowering in them. Looking up to them may prevent us from looking inward to claim those traits we can’t imagine finding in ourselves.

We spend our early lives creating our shadow. To become whole means investing time and energy into illuminating it and reclaiming our lost selves. Just as valuable ore is found deep inside the darkest caves, the gems of lost life energy are found deep within our dark side. Replace fear and shame with courage and curiosity
and we can become spelunkers of our souls.

Alice Carlton, LCSW, is a Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Chapel Hill with over 27 years experience. She specializes in hypnotherapy, Imago Relationship Therapy, and relationship coaching for singles.

i
am here
in this place,
my body,
in the space
of a blink.
yet,
with intermittent fervor
i labor,
confined and in wait,
knowing the days
which feel endless
and challenging,
are but a twinkle.
so
i ask myself,
when existing becomes weary,
consider that time
is but a beat.
dwell not in despair,
i say.
for my eyes
will close soon enough,
and all that i call
me
will march into bliss.
dear souls,
hear these words
from the me
in this moment.
i am not unique.
we are but a blink.
fleeting, limited by Purpose,
challenged to unmask Opportunity,
but only while here
in this space.
a moment will come
when each will look back
and see
time in the now
is but a twinkle,
a mere beat.
take comfort
in this wisdom.
enjoy your Life.
it
is by design
a most glorious adventure
encapsulated in the tiniest of frames,
a blink.

Crochan
= cauldron
Cryman = sickle
Gwialen = wand

This is a small rite of awakening a new Crochan, at the times of
deep fall to early winter. It should be done at a New Moon,
at the first crest of light, in a Grove, on a hearth, or a table
surrounded with nine candles or torches blazing. Fresh water
is in a small bowl off to one side, a Cryman is needed, a Gwialen
is also needed, some light incense of your choosing (I prefer
mine with a dragonsblood base).The Crochan is properly consecrated
in the manner upon which you choose, better it be with each
of elements proper. The rest is easy just follow the writ here!

The Crochan is laid upon the Altar, hearth or table upside down,
as you begin the process of imaging-connecting to the Goddess
Cerridwen, say this slowly, with easy breath.

‘Deep from the enchantments of the shimmering Lake,
A low flame of a Crochan is revealed,
Its calls a slumbering power to shape,
what the World soon to know, as the Raven calls!’

‘Awaken to the path, the movement’s make,
From the Other when to the Starry height of now,
A Goddess steps forward to ladle Her brewing might,
Shaping, working, weaving, upon the Crochan beckonings!’

‘The holy hearth crackles in song, bollows of the old blind man tending,
The illumined hall of Tegid doeth show, the old bent woman wending,
The black door intends to keep hidden all in the shadowy keep,
Yet, behold, the Crochan of the stirring, emboldened lustrations
seeks!’

(Turn the Crochan over seeing a small, meager spiritual fire with
awakening) continue invoking:

‘Who stands about of nine pearls, lip flaming make?
Who of the nine maid’s of Rowan, whose breath’s rendering the
ways?
Who, by watching of the mixing brew, doeth the black hens biddings?’

‘Cerridwen, Cerridwen, Cerridwen! Thou of Ladle of sacred blessings!’

(Pour the fresh water into the Crochan)

‘Blender of the herbs of all enlightenments, Wondrous Enchanter,
Knower of the darkened deep of Annfwn, sublime Protectress,
Wilding of the haunt-wood, by lake, tree, and solid Earth,
Tend Ye as we call this, Crochan, illumined of waters lustrous,
of life!
Hold Ye, as we name this Crochan,(_______) Thy word is Mine!
Charge Ye, as we offer this Crochan, in this Grove, this land,
this place,
Awaken Ye, Cerridwen, Cerridwen, Cerridwen, this elixir font
with Awens!’

(Place the right forefinger of the right hand into the waters, touch
this to your brow in three strokes)

The Cryman is waved over the Crochan in the shape of the triskele
at each mentioning…

‘Awens!
Awens! Awen! The Crochan is awakened to serve the Grove and
my will!’

‘Awens!
Awens! Awens! The Crochan is enchanted to weave the magick and
all rites!’

‘Awens!
Awens! Awens! The Crochan is awaiting the sigil of its longing,
its truest mate!’

(The water is now turned out of the Crochan, onto the ground or in
a bowl dried out and placed back in position and the Cryman
is placed on the top lip or at the base of the north pod)

The  Gwialen is taken up, pointed to the Crochan and Cryman, and
three circles of light is traced deosil around the Crochan and
so said:

‘May this Crochan be given birth in the Three Realms of existences
and amongst the Sun, moon and Stars!’

‘May you now be anointed in the seven powers, and by so be bond of
my will’

‘As I invoke I create, my words are the words of Cerridwen, and
my magick is the same”

‘By this Seren Derwydd, that is Thy mate who calls Thee, about,
above, below, and deep within!’

(The Gwialen now traces the Seren Derwydd about the Crochan and Cryman, from the Saturn to the Sun point invoking)

‘I conjure with this Crochan as Cerridwen conjures, free of will,
life and spirit’.

A small violet-light purple candle is lit and placed into the
Crochan, and when it is spent the Crochan is blessed, empowered
and ready to be used at any time, place or season!

Listening
to the whispers
That come through time and space,
The voices of the Ancestors
Of every creed and race.

Our silent spirits
are waiting;
Inspiration is our desire.
The spark of understanding
Will set our hearts on fire.

Within that fiery
vision,
The whispers call our names,
Asking those who listen,
To carry the Eternal Flame.

The Flame is illumination,
Of the Love that lies within,
All creatures, Tribes, and Nations
Become family once again.

Are we really listening
To the whispers all around?
The voices within the circle
Are calling for common ground.

Where Peace
is the message,
Where no child stands alone,
And no hearts are broken,
Because we’ve all come Home….

~~By Jamie Sams ~~