Blessed Samhain to you!
Honestly, there were so many different things I wanted to explore in my Samhain email to you.
This moment in the year brings up so much for me, and a part of me really wanted to try to include it all!
But after attempting this, I chose to hit "delete all" and start over...let's be honest, even though Mercury is in Scorpio and I just want to dive deeeeep with allllll the things forever, even I know that reining it in is not my strong suit, and sometimes I need to make tough choices
So...today, as I, along with many others in the northern hemisphere, celebrate the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, I turn to themes of death and grief.
For one, the veil between the worlds is considered to be thinnest this evening.
This allows us to connect with those who have passed on from this physical world, and with our lineages, which can bring up a wild mixture of feelings.
And, this time of year, as we in the northern hemisphere welcome in the dark half of the year, the cyclical nature around us makes more space for us to embrace the darker elements that perhaps we might sometimes fear.
Samhain reminds us to slow down and remember that we do not need to fear. The darkness is a part of life.
Grief, death, the underworld and deep transformations can be hard to feel. Hard to embody.
And also, they are part of nature...the nature without and the nature within.
As I've held more space for grief lately, I've noticed more of the nuances of this emotion that we as a society (especially in minority world cultures) tend to shy away from.
I've observed that, for me, certain types of grief feel easier to embody than others.
Grief may be, in some ways, a catch-all term, but the ways in which it sits in our bodies, and the experiences we can have with our grief, are vast and infinite.
And being in relationship with grief is a lifelong process.
So, as we enter the first night of Samhain, a few questions to consider:
What does grief feel like in your body?
Where do you feel grief in your body?
What is it like to be in an intentional relationship with grief?
What are some practices that allow you to sit with grief in a relational way?
Ok, a few more notes (I couldn't help it!):
Connecting with ancestors
Ancestral work is incredibly complex, and often it may not feel safe to connect with certain (or all of our) ancestors. That is ok. One way that I have chosen to connect is through ancestral foods—for me, this feels like a supportive and safe way to connect with my lineages. (This and this are two recipes I'm making today!)
Also, a reminder that family is not just made through blood—connecting with your created family, or those who have gone before you in any capacity that feels grounding, is also lovely on this day.
Cleanse and protect
Samhain is considered the witches' new year, and the ways in which we can cleanse and protect our spaces and energies feel very "new year" vibe to me! Using things like herbs, foods, fire, or intentions to clear out what you don't want to bring with you into the new year can be great tools to do this.
Gay Christmas
Halloween (which of course is also today!) has long been considered "Gay Christmas" in the LGBTQ+ community! Dressing in gender-bending ways was criminalized for a long time, and Halloween offered one day where this was considered acceptable. And, as defying norms can still be very unsafe in many areas, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, Halloween remains a sacred space of safety, authenticity, and liberation. As the LGBTQ+ community continues to be attacked every day, I wanted to be sure to make mention of how important this day has been in the community for a long time, and still is.