Image @digital_errors

As with many traditions and celebrations that appear in our modern age, Halloween holds strong roots to pagan rituals. While the term pagan can make people a bit uncomfortable, it simply refers to cultures and groups of people whose religious beliefs were/are strongly rooted in nature.

Back in the day, Halloween was referred to as Samhain, a word that meant “summer’s end”. For the pagans, October 31st was a day that marked the transition into a long, dark winter. This was a time that required an investment of faith with many questions up in the air regarding survival; will we survive through winter? do we have enough provisions? if a sickness runs through the clan, have we stocked enough healing herbs for cures?

And while faith needed to be strong, ritual was there to assist. On October 31st, pagans lit large bonfires to symbolically stave of the darkness and honour a new year, while curing their harvested meats for the winter. They also left out offerings for spirits and faeries, like the best meats and finest herbs. With October 31st being the darkest day of the year, it meant that spirits have more time on earth and pagans paid tribute accordingly.

The Underworld Veil 

Pagans honoured the crucial moment when October 31st became November 1st (or 1/11), as this is when it it was believed spiritual activity was at its highest. The vibration around the number 111 offers up symbolism surrounding the thin veil between the underworld and the living world. The number 1 in the middle is representative of being stuck between those two worlds. The veil between the living and dead is also thinnest as the sun moves into the sign of Scorpio, where intuition and connection to both the underworld and our shadow selves runs deep. This thin veil is also why we put out carved pumpkins and dress up, in order to confuse and keep away negative spirits that may be out and about.

As the veil thins between the two worlds at this time, spirits and humans alike have easier access to travel to different dimensions, offering a wonderful opportunity for us to connect deep with our shadow selves and find what may be holding us back. This accessible time to spiritual revelation can help open our eyes, letting us know what we need to let die, in order to move forward,  beautifully and with power.

Celebrating Our Deaths 

The alignment with Scorpio season is no coincidence. The energy of the Scorpio is all about celebrating transformation and honouring cycles. Death and rebirth are prominent themes during this time, bringing us to reflect that our lives, like nature, undergo deaths and rebirths frequently.

From a spiritual perspective, we can leverage the opening of this portal between the underworld and the living, and invite connection to our deeper shadow selves, as well as celebrate the deaths we experienced this past year. What old patterns did you let die? What new creations are you ready to birth? Halloween is a time to honour your past self, your past relationships, mindsets and habits and allow them to die. Halloween is a time to let go.

This is when we allow our energy to shift into a new cycle, in tune with nature and with the spirit realm. It is a powerful time to embrace change and move forward into a new journey, a new self.

Happy Halloween!

Autumn/Fall Equinox: September 23rd, 2019

What Is It? When the Southern and Northern Hemispheres experience an equal amount of daylight. In the Northern Hemisphere it marks the beginning of fall, when daylight hours start to shorten until winter Solstice in December.

Key Words: Reflection, change, harvest, gratitude

The spiritual meaning of the fall equinox can be found in the holiday of Mabon, celebrated in Paganism and other faiths that revolve around nature. Mabon marks the middle of the harvest cycle, a time when we are called to reflect upon and recognize the bounty that Mother Earth has brought to us over the past year. This is a time when we express great gratitude for a bountiful harvest and start to stock our pantries for the colder months ahead.

As many of us have transitioned our work from the fields to more modern methods of harvesting and creating bountiful existences, the Autumn equinox can be viewed as a magical time to honour our growth and abundance from a spiritual, professional, financial and relationship perspective. Finding ways to give thanks to yourself for all you have achieved over the past year is an important part of your journey. The more gratitude you give, the more reasons you will find you have to be grateful.

A way to tap into the spirituality of this Autumn equinox is to set aside a dedicated time of reflection and gratitude. Reflect on where you were this time last year in each area of your life that you find relevant; self-love, partnerships, work, etc.  Honour your journey and symbolize your gratitude with the simple lighting of a candle or new addition to your altar, such as a crystal that inspires and speaks your reflective energy. You can even do something a little less woo-woo like place a pumpkin on your doorstep to honour the abundance you have manifested.

Further to, the Autumn equinox is a time when both the days and nights are equal in length, inviting us to recognize what areas in our lives are craving balance. For example, if you have been scurrying away during the harvest season and running yourself a bit ragged, you are invited to surrender to your body’s important need for rest and recovery. These next couple days are a magical time to call balance into your life through self-care and meditation. We happen to love that we are in a resting period of the moon’s cycle (Gibbous) during this equinox, which allows us to pass our trust over to the universe that everything is happening exactly as it should.

Enjoy this Autumn equinox. Rest and prepare for the next phase of your journey.