Samhain: Tending to the Sacred

What kind of ancestor do you choose to be?

This is the question we reflected on as students gathered last week in this auspicious and magical time.

I want to be the ancestor that tends to the sacred flame. 🔥 That shares the stories of old and reawakens magic and purpose in the living. The kind that is a playful nurturer for the children 🌙, helping keep their spark of curiosity burning, and passing to them the tales of their ancestors, so they too may continue to carry the blessing of walking with the ancient, of learning from the past and of healing for the path forward. 🌿

It is a tender time of year - autumn - the portal of death and dying. 🍂

Samhain is a time that reminds us the impermanence of our existence, and reconnects us with the sacred.🕯️ It is the season of the ancestors, a time for us to remember where we came from, learn from their mistakes and their successes, share stories, grieve, connect, release and heal.

It is The Cailleach’s time. The Crone, The Wise One. She is the wise woman, the hag, the witch. Cailleach is the guardian of the threshold of Samhain, she has a fierce and loving energy, that of a grandmother. She sees right through the lies we tell ourselves. Sometimes it is more comfortable to hold onto these patterns than to let them go. It is in the dark where we are faced with our own shadows, and we are asked to tend to sacred flame, to go deep within, to let go, to rest, and to heal.

The Cailleach is old as time, she is the element of the Earth, shapes the land and she can shape us. She is a shapeshifter, and can help us shift and be a guide for true sovereignty. We move through many ‘deaths’ and rebirths in our life. But how can we culivate a relationship with death as a teacher? Because what we shed and let go, becomes nourishment for our own life.

Ritual Suggestion:

So we ask ourselves, what kind of ancestor do I want to be?
Right now, not just when you’re gone. 🌙

Set your altar. We like marigolds, aspen leaves, pumpkins, belongings of loved ones, and photos of those who came before us. A bottle of Havana Club, Milk Duds, and one of those Avon perfume bottles that comes in a woman’s figure always adorn our altar.

Sit with a cup of your favorite tea - we like our Samhain Blessings, or a simple cup of Rosemary, Artemisia, Hawthorn or White Pine. 🌲

Light a candle and settle with a few sips of your tea. Close your eyes, and breathe deeply, feeling yourself ground deeply into the earth beneath you. Sense the weight of the season, the darkening light, the thinning of the veil. Lean into the depth of what arises - what a gift it is to feel it all. 🌿 Let yourself be held by your ancestors and guides, their wisdom part of every breath.

What are you celebrating right now? Allow yourself to feel gratitude and joy for all that comes up.

What are you grieving? Let the emotions rise without judgement, giving them space to be there.

What do you need to let go of? Patterns, fears, attachments?

Lastly, what do you want to transform?

Let go what you no longer need to carry and picture their guidance supporting what you are transforming and healing. Step forward on your path with their light beside you, illuminating the way. ✨

With each breath, each ritual, and each remembrance, their stories continue. 🌙 One day, someone will whisper yours. What kind of ancestor will they remember? 🖤

Blessed Samhain