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> Samhain
Nightchild 
Posted: 28-Oct-2006, 06:29 AM
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Hello there.
I'm back again, at least for a while and since it's about time I thought I'd just say 'Have a great Samhain.'
So...: Have a great Samhain.

I know it's actually still some days until the day of samhain, but our circle decided we'd celebrate the saturday before the actual date and I figured some of you might as well.
Have a great celebration, whenever it might take place. And maybe the one or the other feels like letting us know how they celebrated and whether anything... 'unusual' happened around the time.

That's it from me so far. Once again: Have a great time. biggrin.gif


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Senara 
Posted: 28-Oct-2006, 07:09 AM
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Wishing you a good Samhain as well Nightchild. I'll probably be doing my celebration in phases...tonight is a candlit walk through the nearby state park...and probably some pumpkin carving. I don't know if I will try any magick or not. Things have been plenty weird enough lately...somethings you just can't wrap your brain around....


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Senara-ism : Life is like a theatrical production only you get to be actor, director, and audience all at once. So break a leg, sit back and enjoy the show!

"When the waves are high and the light is dying, raise a glass and think of me..." -Gaelic Storm

Cha chòir dòrn a thoirt an aghaidh pòig.
A kiss ought not to be met with a fist.

Thig crioch air an saoghal, ach mairidh gaol is ceòl.
The world will pass away, but love and music last forever.

"I am a crazy, rabid squirrel! I want my cookies!" Hammy-Over the Hedge
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 28-Oct-2006, 08:02 PM
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There is one thing I do, every year for over a decade now. It is nothing I ever read about -- it simply felt right with all the symbolism, and also my own personality makeup (for those who do any work with astrology, my "trinity" is all of the fall quadrant -- sun in Sagittarius, moon in Scorpio, Libra rising. This is my time of year altogether, and I trust my instincts).

I prepare the kitchen -- in my tiny apartment, my "hearth" is the top of the stove -- and clean carefully. I choose a votive candle, the four-day, tall kind, in a sun color -- orange, or red, or dark golden yellow (pale yellow doesn't seem to do it). Fortunately sun color votives are always available. After dark on the night of the 31st I simply light it and stay by it for a while, meditating, thinking about my dead and the turning of the year toward the dark.

It is a vigil. The impulse is completely to do with the symbolism of being a guardian or a preserver or a keeper of the light during the darkest of the year, while the sunlight hours are waning day by day. There is an element of pregnancy about it -- the flame within the clear glass. All through the time between Samhain and Yule I light one votive from the last, without letting the fire go out. (It's tricky with tall candles that have burned low in glass -- the best thing I have found is long incense sticks soaked with oil or melted candle wax on the end, to transfer a strong flame to the new candle from the bottom of the old glass.)

At Yule, after dark, I transfer the flame of the last votive to a tall, thick, open pillar candle, not in glass any more. It is always red. I may try to have some sprays of holly around it. But the important thing is that the fire is out in the open -- the sun has turned, the light is born and out in the open day. To transfer the flame, I use a tall white taper, not the incense stick, and the taper burns in its own holder standing next to the red pillar. I have a frosted glass holder that suggests an elemental female form, that I use just for the white candle.

In the days when I was growing chili peppers, my seed peppers for the next spring's crop would rest with the candle, in a tiny primitive Mexican clay cup. The flame banked low, the sun sleeping in the seed of fire, surrounded by earth. Again -- it felt instinctively correct. The strongest placement in my astrological chart is Mars in Capricorn on an angle (the nadir), and the symbolism of fire protected and controlled by earth is rock-basic to me.

And that's it. Most years I make it all the way without "dropping" the flame from Samhain to Yule. Once in a while it goes out while I am transferring it. It's disappointing, but I light it again from the stove and keep going. It is in carrying the light forward that the meaning lies, and in all humility I have to say sometimes I do drop the light. We all do. But we can all relight it.
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Nightchild 
Posted: 29-Oct-2006, 05:15 AM
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ZodiacHolly


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That both sounds really great.
We had our usual sit-together, a lot of talking and a remembering phase during the dark time of the ritual. I somehow tend to see less and less during those phase of the ritual. This year I more felt then saw a wood all around me and although it's not new to me, being in a Samhain ritual for the fourth time already, I'm still amazed, how far a room can stretch.
After that and before we had some food, including a pumpkin pie cake, the recipe of which my sister brought home after her exchange year in Missouri. Unfortunately there was no pumpkin soup, because the pumpkin that should provide the main ingredient was rotten inside. sad.gif
Now I can wait for the little monsters to show up, which I guess should be on Tuesday. *g*
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Shadows 
Posted: 03-Nov-2006, 05:32 PM
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ZodiacHolly

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Tonight (Nov 4th) and Saturday night ( Nov 5th ) is when I celebrate Samhain this year in accordence with the lunar cycle.

The full moon will be the first of the fall.


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I support the separation of church and hate!

IMAGINATION - the freest and largest nation in the world!


One can not profess to be of "GOD" and show intolerence and prejudice towards the beliefs of others.

Am fear nach gleidh na h–airm san t–sith, cha bhi iad aige ’n am a’ chogaidh.
He that keeps not his arms in time of peace will have none in time of war.

"We're all in this together , in the parking lot between faith and fear" ... O.C.M.S.

“Beasts feed; man eats; only the man of intellect knows how to eat well.”

"Without food we are nothing, without history we are lost." - SHADOWS


Is iomadh duine laghach a mhill an Creideamh.
Religion has spoiled many a good man.

The clan MacEwen
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Avonlea22 
Posted: 03-Nov-2006, 06:04 PM
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Enjoy your celebration, Shadows.


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le gach dea-mhéin
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Shadows 
Posted: 20-Oct-2007, 07:27 AM
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ZodiacHolly

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We are again near the celebration of Samhain...only 6 days away...1st full fall moon this year is the 26th.

How are you celebrating this year?
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sisterknight 
Posted: 22-Oct-2007, 08:30 AM
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i hoping the weather will co-operate as i wish to be out,there is a forest not far from me then after gather for some mulled apple cider with my friends


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non nobis domine,non nobis sed nomini tua da gloriam.


OKAY, WHAT DID I DO NOW??
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 22-Oct-2007, 09:28 AM
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The same as last year (see above) -- this year I seem to have a mania for apples, eating them of course, but also contemplating them and keeping a basket of them full for my office mates to share. I guess it's easy for a native New Englander to feel strongly about apples anyway, but the symbolism of full circle seems very strong to me this year for some reason -- blossom, full fruit, fall and decay, and the sleep of the seed through the winter.
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 30-Oct-2007, 09:31 AM
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http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/halloweenlectu...029&pc=Campaign


I hope this works -- this is one of the fabulous lectures from The Teaching Company (I've been their customer for a long time). If you can open the link to this page, I would guess you can download this lecture, which was sent to me as a Halloween bonus, about being a witch in the 16th century. I have not heard it yet, but their stuff is always a very high quality academic talk, and nicely produced.




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Sekhmet 
Posted: 30-Oct-2007, 11:51 AM
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Worked for me...hot damn. I love this company.


My Samhain will be spent laying my table for my dead, and having a good long talk. Something tells me there's one or two who aren't resting as well as the others.

Otherwise I'm probably going to be stuck on the ghosthunting sites I'm on fielding the weirdos. ::sigh::
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Arianrhod1025 
Posted: 31-Oct-2007, 02:41 PM
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tongue.gif Hello,

I just introduced myself in the sticky party. Tonight I plan on putting on my comfy elastic waist band black pants (because I ate too many treats today) and Halloween themed shirt to hand out candy for trick-or-treat. That's the first thing I'll do. I am a big dork on 10-31. I'll play music and have fun with the kids who come to the door. The front porch is decorated with jack-o-lanterns and corn stalks with skeletons hanging around. LOL

Halloween (sorry to me it is Halloween right now) Samhain to you- has always been a very special time of year for me. It holds fond memories of my childhood, and the paranormal spiritual atmosphere has always spoken to something deep inside of me. To put it lightly, I live for October and Halloween.

I won't go into details, but last year around this time of year something very paranormal happened to me in my house, and while it did not scare me (and it continues to happen from time to time) it made me realize I need to facilitate my desire to be more in touch with my spiritual energy. So, tonight after trick or treat I'm going to light a white candle and attempt to clear my mind to speak to my spirit guides. I'm asking for assistance with the following: spiritual strength, relaxation of my mind, a clear focus to allow my creative juices to flow, and protection from some things I need to stay away from, so basically more mental and spiritual strength. I just want to be the best person I can, and I know tonight is a good night to reflect on this last year (which has been rough but an eye opener) while looking forward to the next year. I feel my guides will be very "contactable" tonight!

So~ although I don't know any rituals and I don't own any sage or rosemary to burn (except for what is in the spice cabinet) *wink* I do have some special incense and some stones and a pendulum I need to cleanse, and tonight is a good night to do so-so that's my plan!

Have a wonderful evening.
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Rindy 
Posted: 31-Oct-2007, 04:26 PM
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Welcome to Celtic Radio Arianrhod1025. I hope you will enjoy the music as well as the wonderful people that are here on the forum. Your story is very interesting. I hope you have a wonderful Halloween! I look forward to you posting.

Happy Halloween & Shamain to all


Slainte
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stoirmeil 
Posted: 31-Oct-2007, 04:55 PM
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Just a note -- things fall out the way they will, and sometimes for the better, or more thoughtful. I went out very late last evening to buy a pumpkin, because I've been so squeezed for time lately. And there were none left at any of the stores. I did know it was a short crop this year, but -- AGGGHHHH!! No pumpkins! Not even the tiny ones! And I don't feel just right putting a can of pumpkin puree in the table arrangement with the nuts and apples and corn and leaves --

But just as I was feeling pretty blue and kicking myself besides, I spotted a small table of the most beautiful pomegranites. Very large, like a big grapefruit of a deep ruby color. I picked up a few of them until one spoke to me -- heavy in the hand, smooth skin, deep rich color, and away home we went, the red fruit and I, very content, not even thinking of pumpkins any more. Now pumpkins are fun, and beautiful, and good as gold, but pomegranite speaks to something else entirely.

So that's the kind of year this is, or is going to be, and so let it be.
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Nightchild 
Posted: 31-Oct-2007, 05:50 PM
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ZodiacHolly


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First of all:
Happy Halloween to all of you. smile.gif

As some of you might know, I make a difference between the celebration of Halloween (which for me is the commonly known stuff like Trick-and-Treating) and the celebration of Samhain (which I was told to take place at 15° of Scorpio, which was known as Eagle earlier in the history of mankind...) that I consider the actual feast.
So I did celebrate Halloween today, but Samhain is still to be waited for. It'll be on November 11th this year and me and my group will gather Saturday 10th to have our celebration.

We still don't really know, what we'll do this year. The group works well together and so we often just meet and see, what we'll do. This year, and that's for sure, we'll have some guys new to the subject with us and even some guests. Another thing that's for sure, because it's obligatory part of our Samhain ritual, is a phase of sitting in the completely darkened room and remember the dead.

As for today: I like to dress up, so I took the chance to wear my favourite clothes, a black skirt and a violet blouse. This year I even put a plastic spider in my hair and a stuffed spider on my shoulder.
We had some small monsters coming to our house, but sadly it were fewer than last. Some didn't even dress up. But I'm glad that they come at all. Unfortunately it's not that big over here in Germany...

Besides that I started lighting one Jack O'Lantern outside about a week ago. It's no real pumpkin, so it's recycable for next year. *g*
And two days ago I started putting a light in my window. I feel the need to guide the spirits by doing so (as I feel every year).
I'll keep that habit until mid November, I guess, but at least until November 11th.

I'm not sure if I liked not having pumpkin for lunch, but we had some still warm pumpkin-pie-cake in the evening, so I guess, it's okay.

Having learned to love pumpkin in very many different meals, I really feel sorry for you, stoirmeil, for not getting any. But I think I actually don't have to. You seem to be pretty happy with your fruit. After all it's the fruit of the goddess (at least someone once told me so...)

So now after talking and talking (it just flowed, sorry), I wanna say:
Welcome, Arianrhod1025.
What you describe sounds really great. Samhain rituals are the strongest I have witnessed yet. Good luck tonight. smile.gif
Oh, something I just remembered: My friend used to use the sage from sage tea, before she found s shop selling the good white sage. Just thought there might be a chance, you didn't thought about that possibility yet, if you wanted to really use sage...

Okay, I guess, I talked enough by now. I'll better be off.
Have a great night, everyone. smile.gif
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