Getting Comfortable being Uncomfortable.
Spirituality it’s an uncomfortable thing for people to talk about….
Now seems like the perfect time to call this into light as the seasons change.
I adore this time of year. The fall colors, festivals, sweaters and soups. All those oranges and reds, the crunching of newly fallen leaves, eating the rewards of months of hard work
In this world of plenty, we forget how we used to work with the seasons and the Earth, how important it was to work hard so that there was food to get you through the winter.
Freezers, tin cans they didn’t exist. Food also wasn’t shipped in from warmer climates until well into the 20th century. Our ancestors before us lived and loved this season and respected the planet in doing so.
Today, having so much at hand, no matter the season, we have forgotten what it is like to have nothing, that winter is cold and hard, and that sometimes the crops failed.
That if the planet wasn’t happy, we weren’t happy. So respecting the planet was important, as was respecting your fellow man. If there was drought, the farmer up the road closer to the well, may well need to be called on. The next village may need to ask for a supply of wheat, when drought or disease had rotted your plants.
You were less likely to let your pride and ego get out of hand over minor stuff. It puts arguing over the parking spot outside or the fence boundaries into perspective doesn’t it?
This was a time of praise, celebration and thanks. We should not forget that in giving thanks to the planet because it supplies us with EVERYTHING we need. You would at the same time be giving thanks to the heavens, who spiritually supported and created us.
Originally All-Hallows was the Celtic festival of Samhain. An important festival in the year, where bonfires would be lit to cleanse out the old, and welcome in the coming winter. A tradition which moves over onto the (very anti-Catholic 😉-no disrespect if that’s what you choose. That is YOUR choice. Please respect mine! ) celebration of Bonfire Night. Samhain marked the Celtic New Year, the end of summer, and the end of the harvest season.
At this time of the year, the days are getting much shorter and the nights longer. Samhain acknowledges this coming of the darkness and going of the light.
Samhain is a time for introspection and going within to reflect on everything that has happened in the past year.
As winter approaches and darkness descends, this is a time of silence and stillness. A pause in the year where an ending is taking place, making way for a new beginning. We can now take the time to think back on the last 10 months and consider what we have learned over this time, what may have run its course in our lives, and what we wish to take forward with us into the coming year.
This is also the ideal time of year to bring light to anything that is lurking in the shadows… anything that you may not have fully admitted or expressed, even to yourself. Be gentle with this; if issues reveal themselves, you don’t need to make any dramatic changes right away; bringing your awareness to these things and voicing them out loud to yourself is enough to start with.
The belief was that at this time of year ‘the air was thin’. The gateway between this world and the next was easy to reach through.
Just before the Earth itself dies for another year. We give thanks to our ancestors and those gone before, by sitting by a fire and celebrating , sharing stories to pass on the history and using it as an opportunity to come together as a community. Something we fail to do as much as we should do nowadays.
If you are looking to incorporate tradition via ritual this Halloween/ Samhain I’ve put a suggestion below.
Use this time for what it was always intended for Spiritually and connect with your sovereignty.
Fire Release:
The fire is an old way of releasing old energy. We know fire kills disease, and how many times have you burnt (or felt like burning) something?
Whether you have a fire pit, an open fire, a BBQ or a candle- light a fire. You can change the color of the flame if you so wish with salt, by adding spices, seeds, which will pop and give a beautiful sent will add to the cleansing process
Write down either a single word, a string of words, or a whole letter, which signifies you intent for the rest of the year. Bless through prayer, rites or calling in an Angel or Deity of your choice to sanctify the process. Call in your ancestors, especially if this is around family mindsets or situations.
Throw the piece of paper onto the fire and repeat three times ‘I release this for my Highest and Greatest Good and my own personal best interests. So be it’. Even better, do it with a group of friends.
Be on the lookout for any signs confirming a lesson, letting go of something that has been blocking you, or that things are changing around you. Either way, you will know it when it happens.
And when it does, smile and say ‘thanks’.
💖 If you haven’t been told lately, I love you and you are enough,
Casey
