Witch SPEAK - October 2016
Owl by mysticnova7
Hello my darlings and happy, happy Samhain!
I live for October and November, and I find these with each passing year
these two months mean more to me than ever.
"Hello friend," I say, on my afternoon walks through cooling air and sun, reaching long and gold across my path. Inevitably I stop, raise my arms to the heavens in abject gratitude, and give over to the slow energetic shift into the coming Samhain (sow-en).
Samhain is the witches’ New Year. At Samhain we honor our beloved dead and the wise ones who went before us, on whose shoulders we stand. The God, beloved of the Goddess, dies and we grieve with Her. His life lives on, however, for she is pregnant with his seed. Samhain, like the rest of the witches’ Sabbats (solar holidays) are emblematic of the continuity intrinsic to the witches’ way of living; we live, we die, we are re-born. Death always precedes rebirth — we honor the ending, burn away that which no longer, and turn the wheel. In so doing we make room for the new light, the returning light, that will be born of the pregnant Goddess at Yule; the son (sun) of her beloved, the God. We do not honor our endings specifically to make room; we honor our endings because they are just as important as beginnings. Endings are the finite in the infinite.
At 63, I realize I only have so much more time on the planet and give a great deal of thought before I step into any situation where I know my soul will not be comfortable. I hold true that there is a certain amount of discomfort — soul and other — in life; that's one of the ways we grow and evolve, and I accept and have no problem with it. What I'm talking about is recognizing which situations don’t feed me. Not only are they uncomfortable, but thematically they are a repeat of the same old, same old, meaning they are a waste of my time.
Rather than do something that wastes my time, and is of no benefit to me, I’d much rather do something that feeds my soul. Maybe whip up a new magick oil, or meet up with Marie and chant till we can’t breathe. Maybe go to Verdigreen, which is just the coolest store in the world, filled with chalk paint, and stencils, and re-purposed furniture and local art. It’s Azi’s store and Ari is her right hand. I call Ari, our young heroine, as in, “What’s our young heroine up to, today?” Ari’s 22; complicated, curious, and questing — dancing the light and shadowed path of self-discovery. As for Azie, she’s a beautiful force of nature; genuinely, wildly creative, all artist heart, and mother soul, brilliant, stubborn, and kind. When Holly Golightly got the mean reds she used to go to Tiffany’s; I go to Azie’s store.
This is Crone thinking — to skip, to detour, round the bullshit and go for what satisfies and, equally important, what makes me happy. People have a hard time with happy; they think they don’t deserve it or it will be ripped out from under them like a rug. From a Crone perspective, you deserve to be happy, period. The only reason people think they don’t deserve happiness is programming. As for happiness being ripped out from under you, nothing is static, and like the song says, “It’ll be coming round again.” Besides, there’s probably some kind of learning there, which you may or may not want, but it’s there, so best accept it, and sit still till you figure out the right way to work with it.
The thrust of Crone teaching is to stop looking for affirmation outside self and soul; we’re talking unshakable self-esteem at the core of you, and trust in one’s self and choices. If the Crone is approached with respect and sincere, not groveling, desire, She will help you get over the "I shoulds," and beating herself to a pulp for failing to be someone or something you’re not. She will help you unhook from a person, place, or thing, once the value and the learning of the thing is finished; and She will help you let go of an old identity, or way of being, that is starting to strangle you. Crone will rip a band aid off fast, rather than slow, whether you want her to or not, if it’s time. She is about right use of all feeling, quite clear that you die to this in order to get to that and without her life would flat line.
A great way to harness the energies of the season is to gather the photos of your beloved dead and make an altar to them. Write a letter. Was there something you never got to say? Say it now. Is there a poem that meant something to you and one of your dead? Put it on the altar next to his/her picture. Are you missing someone beyond all reason? Write it down; tell them. Closer to Samhain and/or on October 31st, the traditional celebratory date, you may find yourself drawn to sit before your altar, candles lit, and feel the love of those who have passed wrap around you.
The faeries are trooping during the Samhain season and I’ve set up a faery feeding station. I’ve been looking for the right plates forever and I finally found them in a little girl’s picnic basket. A little bigger than doll size, the plates were white and dotted with red cherries. There were even pitchers! I put honey on one plate, butter on another, and filled the pitcher with cream. My faery feeding station is up high, away from prying eyes, and cat. If you want to create your own faery feeding station, now you know how.
Have a great Samhain!
Live loud, love fierce, and suffer no fools. Kat x0x0x