Wait For Me: Samhain

originally posted in the online religion magazine Creedible, 2012

Like the pages from a Bradbury short story, October sweeps in with cold wind, bright colors and the scents of damp leaves, sugar and candy. The summer has been long and hot, school and work are in full swing and the holidays are right around the corner.

This shift in seasons is called the Wheel of the Year, and as the wheel rolls from the brightness of summer to the darkness of winter, the subtle swing from October to November marks a very important holiday in the Pagan calendar.

Known to most as Halloween (or All Hallows' Eve), Samhain is a favorite holiday among many Pagans. Considered by some to be the Pagan New Year, this holiday rests between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice and is a time of letting go of the old to make room for the new.

Commonly pronounced “Sow-ehn” (though this is debatable!) the observance of this special time of year has roots in ancient Europe, particularly among Gaelic and Celtic tribes. Many modern Halloween festivities observed in the United States come from Irish settlers who brought their folk stories and traditions with them to the new world. Trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins (or other vegetables) and wearing masks and costumes all come from old Samhain customs.

While Halloween may seem spooky to some, Samhain is a time to honor the blessed dead and to pay respect to those who have passed. Many display an “ancestral altar” with photos of friends and family as well as the deceased’s favorite food and trinkets. This isn’t too unlike the Catholic Day of the Dead festivities, where households pay their own respects in a similar fashion. Some Catholics also celebrate All Souls Day and All Saints Day shortly after Halloween, too, in which the hallowed and the dead are honored in other ways.

For Halloween this year, sit quietly outside. Listen to the leaves as they fall. Hear the kids laughing as they put on costumes and eat candy. Watch a few scary movies and indulge in the shadowy, darker aspects of life. Eat some crisp apples. Think of friends and family who were loved and lost. Celebrate the “Dumb Supper” and set an empty plate out for them at dinner time.

As the wheel turns and the year is new, think about those old, harmful things that no longer serve a purpose. Dismiss them and banish them away. The winter will be hard and cold, and there’s no use in keeping useless things around. As the nights become longer, contemplate on the shadow aspects of life. The wheel turns towards the darkness at Samhain. It will turn once more at Yule and the Solstice when the world will be brighter than ever.

In the meantime, Happy Halloween!

Pagan Blog Project - P#1 - Pagan Pride Project

This is a repost from the online religion magazine Creedible, 2012

Pagan Blog Project - P#1 - Pagan Pride Project

From the months of August to October, people from all over the world gather together to celebrate their pride in being Pagan. Centered around the autumnal equinox (often called Mabon in some traditions) Pagan Pride Day is a chance for Pagans, non-Pagans, friends and family meet in the spirit of community and open mindedness.

The Pagan Pride Project is a non-profit organization with the primary purpose of the “advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs.” Many people who identify as Pagan still keep their religious practices and spiritual beliefs “in the broom closet” and keep their lifestyle a secret from their family, friends and coworkers. Pagan Pride Day might be the only chance they have at gathering with other Pagans in an environment that encourages open-mindedness and acceptance. For others it might be the only time in the year that they have a chance to be around other Pagans.

The first official Pagan Pride Day was in 1998, and since then the event has grown from a couple hundred people gathering at a few small events combined to a few thousand gathering at individual festivals held in all the corners of the globe.

Each PPD aims to “foster pride in Pagan identity through education, activism, charity and community.” Pride events hold workshops, open discussions and panels to share ideas, challenge beliefs and to also help educate new comers and curious folks who may not be familiar with Paganism.

Mabon a holiday of Thanksgiving and thankfulness, so it is the perfect time of year to give back to the community. Pagan Pride Day is run by volunteers who offer time, energy and money to the event. PPD is free, but donations of canned goods or other nonperishable items are collected upon entry at the gate. Some events even host blood drives or give back to the community in other ways.

Pagan Pride Day isn’t just for Pagans, and people from all backgrounds and religious paths are welcome to enjoy the day and the festivities. A goal of the Pagan Pride Project is to encourage education, and that would include educating those who are still afraid of witches and druids, Pagans and Shamans. These events are a chance for Pagans to put on their best public face and encourage positive impressions and create new perceptions, while fostering a strong and helpful presence in the community.

With public rituals, workshops, vendors, and entertainment, there’s a lot to do for the whole family. It is a good opportunity to meet other Pagans and find groups, organizations, events and workshops.  There is usually entertainment in the form drum circles, bands, dancing, and lots of shopping. Volunteers host workshops for children, and there are often labyrinths, face painting, information booths and plenty of people to talk to. Some events are just a few hours long, while others last all day or even all weekend.

The Pagan Pride project helps coordinators with setting up events in new areas, and offers a wealth of resources and support to directors and PPD sponsors. The number of Pagan Pride Days grows every year, with more Pagans coming out and gladly celebrating their pride.

Those interested in the Pagan Pride Project can find more information at http://www.paganpride.org/.

July Announcement: "Magical Musings and Memories"

Already tired of the heat of the summer?  Tired of long days and short nights, sweltering sun and unpredictable and humid summer storms?  Already looking forward to the cooler months, to crisp evenings and warm scarves?  Delicious gifts of joy and cheer?

So am I!  So that's why I'm so excited to announce a winter writing project that is int he works - Magical Musings and Memories: a joint compilation of holiday cheer."

My good friend Vickie over at Aoibheal's Lair invited me, as well as a group of her wonderful lady friends to contribute to Magical Musings. Her idea is for all of us to include holiday memories, crafts, recipes, poetry, and other fun, exciting, and jolly articles and art projects.  What a great idea!

I'm excited to be invited to contribute to a fun project like this, and I'm excited for the friendships and connections that will be made throughout this process.  The holiday season might be just under six months away, but there's no reason to not get started now! 

So check out "Magical Musings and Memories: a joint compilation of holiday cheer" on these various media platforms, spread the good tidings, and see you over there in December!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagicMusings
Google+: google.com/+MagicalmusingsandmemoriesBlogspotholidaycheer

Blogger: http://magicalmusingsandmemories.blogspot.com
Email: magicalmusingsandmemories@gmail.com

Pagan Blog Project - week 19 - J – Just Dance!

Pagan Blog Project - week 19 - J#1 – Just Dance!

Oh, Thebes, nurse of Semele, crown your hair with ivy! Grow green with bryony! Redden with berries! O city, with boughs of oak and fir, come dance the dance of god! Fringe your skins of dappled fawn with tufts of twisted wool! Handle with holy care the violent wand of god! And let the dance begin! He is Bromius who runs to the mountain! To the mountain! Where the throng of women waits, driven from shuttle and loom, possessed by Dionysos!
Euripidies, The Bacchae, trans. Richmond Lattimore

Just dance!

I went to a concert recently (ARACDE FIRE) and I danced the whole time. I didn’t care how goofy I looked – a solitary fat sweaty girl in a space dress and a tiara, dancing and singing my heart out. It helped that I was in a different city (hell, a different state) and I thought “gee, I don’t know these people. I’ll never know these people. I don’t care what they think of me.” And I didn’t, and it was incredibly liberating and I had the best time ever.

I’ve been trying to dance more. I’m not very good at dancing. I’m not coordinated and I don’t have rhythm. But I really enjoy it. I really really really love dancing, actually. I love to go to dance parties and to go to concerts and to dance in my car and around the house when no one is home. I try to dance more and more every week, and one day when I have time and money (ha) I hope to take swing dance lessons with my husband so we can learn how to dance for realsies.

Dancing was never really on my radar until I went to a Midsummer ritual a few years ago, with a locally famous circle dance teacher in attendance. We spent hours outside in the heat and with the mosquitoes, dancing to the Cosmos. And while there were about a dozen of us, we were all too busy dancing for ourselves and for our Gods that it didn’t matter how goofy we all might have looked. No one was watching us because we were too busy focusing on ourselves, trying to get the moves right.

When I’m facilitating rituals that involve movement or chanting, I try to reiterate this – that we aren’t doing the ritual for each other, we’re singing or dancing for Deity. It doesn’t matter how bad we think we sound – Deity is just glad that we’re singing and dancing and chanting and sending them love and devotion and energy. And if it’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that the Cosmos have a sense of humor, so even if we look or feel a bit goofy, it’s okay. The Goddess loves to laugh, especially when we are laughing at ourselves.

It’s hard to get into this mindset. Believe me, I know. After years of occasionally crippling social anxiety, it’s taken a lifetime to work up to this point, where I can sing and dance for Deity, that I can have fun with my voice and with my body. But certain Deities who I have been working with in recent years really want their devotees to do these things, so in my love to Them, I’ve been trying to put forth the extra effort. (Which is admittedly much easier when I’m by myself or in Priestess-Mode...)

Dancing can be a lot of fun, and ritually, it does a lot, too. It raises energy on many levels. Your body gets hot and sweaty and that raises physical energy. Your raise your voice as you sing or shout or chant, which is the energy of physical vibrations in the air. You push toward your comfort zones, which can be an act of sacrifice or devotion. It’s like telling the Gods “this makes me kind of uncomfortable but I love you so much I’m gonna push through it.” It’s an emotional exercise, pushing through the anxiety of dancing or on a less-traumatic level, having fun! The emotions of fun and ecstasy create energy, and that energy can be sent out to the universe! It takes mental energy to focus on dance moves, or even mental energy to allow your mind to let go a bit. All of these energies combine to create magical energy, especially if dancing within a magical circle or ritualized setting.

I recognize that dancing isn’t for everyone, but I do feel like most have a lot to gain by dancing a bit, if just around the house or while you’re in the car or at a nightclub or even in your dreams. Dancing might be a bit awkward at first, but the more you do it, the more joy you’ll feel, and the more the Universe will be celebrated. And the more magic you’ll create with your mind, body, and spirit.

Feeling So Real: Beltane

http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/beltane

(originally published in an on-line religion's magazine called Creedible, 2012)

Soon after the celebration of rebirth and resurrection of Easter, the springtime settles in comfortably. The flowers have bloomed and are thriving, the birds and animals wake up with the dawn to sing their mating songs, and though there may still be a chill to the air, it no longer carries the same bite it did a few weeks ago. 

May Day marks the height of spring and takes note of the promise of the growing warmth. Known as Beltane to the Irish, this is a time to finally throw off the dark and cold of winter, and to embrace the bright and shining gifts of summer. 

Beltane stands opposite of Samhain (Halloween) on the wheel of the year, and while Samhain marks death, this day celebrates life. Depending on when and where, celebrations for this holiday can take place any time in the month of May, though the first day of May is a common date. 

German folk stories speak of Walpurgis Night, associated with Saint Walpurga. Images of this Saint show her holding a stalk of wheat, similar to old Pagan ideas of a Grain Mother. Her day, April 30, or May Eve, may have originally been seen as a witch’s holiday, and even Goethe writes about the witches who fly around the mountains on this night. 

Catholics may also remember the crowing of the May Queen, parades in honor of Mother Mary, and maybe even dancing around the May pole. These celebrations are transplants from much older Pagan fertility rites. The May Pole can be seen as a phallic symbol, and the various May Day festivities are a celebration of the marriage of the God and Goddess. This is worship of the literal life-force. 

To our ancestors, this was a time to bless the fields and livestock to ensure a good harvest later on in the year. They would light giant fires and herd their livestock between them, the fire being the spark of passion, fertility, growth and light. The fire was also seen to be transformative and purifying, a symbol of hope and good fortune for the lighter half of the year. It was a good time to choose a lover and to focus on growth and fertility for oneself and the community. 

For modern folk, it’s a good time of year to put focus and energy into our own harvest – the projects at work that might need a little extra something, giving love to our families, or returning to our hobbies and passions that have set dormant over the cold of the winter. Make a wish and light a candle or even sit around a campfire and celebrate those things and people you love. Eat some spicy food and fancy chocolate and get your blood going. This is a season of fertility, after all!