Halloween is widely celebrated around the world right now. Personally I prefer to celebrate Samhain, but my girls tend to get swept up in the dress up and trick or treating hype. They know what Samhain represents and how Halloween was created as a way in which to try and entice people to join Christianity, by creating similar holidays, but instead calling them holy days.
Pre-Christian times, the people of Western Europe all lived lives that were very connected with nature and which celebrated the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. They honored the feminine, as being the creative force of the earth. So in order to convert as many people as possible, Christian leaders took their holidays and changed them in a way, that would benefit them, that would empower the church further.
Using this as opportunity to demonize women and the feminine force, mainly by calling any women who were involved in the healing arts, witches.
We all know what happen to any strong women who were given this label, they were burned or thrown off cliffs!
Us Folk, are so much easier to manipulate and control, when they live in Fear!
In the Middle ages, the crone or hag ( which traditional meant wise woman or healer) were targeted the most. These were the women, that were normally so respected, who were held in such high regard, who had helped to heal people within their communities, who helped women during birth, there where brutally tortured and killed. It certainly did not take the church long, to turn their own people against them, forcing the female to retreat into the unconscious.
Shifting the energy and creating unbalance in much of the world.
Samhain is when we enter the dark phase of the earth’s cycle, when we are called to connect with our root energy, just as the plants and trees are, all around us. It’s time to internalize our creative energy, to explore and understand ourselves better! This is the time when certain things within our lives will come to end, when we begin to incubate our dreams and visions, so that we can plant them out in the spring.
Observation is so important, taking the time to witness all of the subtle changes around us. Recognizing the signs, so that we can follow suit. We are about to head into winter, the trees are losing their leaves and their energy is traveling downwards. It is the time of death and decay, but with the knowledge of rebirth.
It is the time of transformation, of letting go of the old and embracing the new! A new that we need to take the lead in creating a better world. As we embrace this time of the year, embrace also the need for change.
Everything changes in life, we go through different stages, but they are always new opportunities to begin again. When we let go of this need to control, to hold onto things, life flows and we become healthier. We all know that blockages led to illness, that when we are stuck in our ways, stuck in certain patterns, we create dis ease within!
Nature teaches us to embrace change and to embrace the dark and so in the end we are prepared for what is to come. Yes so much uncertainty awaits us, but use this time for inner exploration. For reconnecting with our intuitive selves, so that we can face our fears and face the darkness that resides within us all. We need to face them so that we can release them and be ready for the next phase of our lives. so that we are ready for what is yet to come!
Such an important part of Samhain, is honoring the dead. Taking the time to remember and celebrate our loved ones, that have moved on from this lifetime. Light a candle for them, share your favorite memories of them and embrace any grief, as it is just another form of love!I will be lighting a candle for my sister and sitting with my girls, as we talk about our favourite memories.
Samhain,is a wonderful time to explore your relationship with Death. Death which is such a vital part of life. Once again making time to face our fears and transform them into something that can empower us, rather than diempower us.
Happy Samhain Everyone, Many Blessings on this very Magical Day of the Year!
The image I used, is not my own, I found it on Telegram.