SAMHAIN: A Time of Remembering

THE PORTAL OF CONNECTION

Through the Veil

It's not the candy

It's not the ghouls,

not even the jack o' lanterns

or cute toddler-sized pumpkins

or the pre-teens in their black witch's hats.

It's the portal of connection,

the opportunity to travel

following a peculiar depth of longing that

is more akin to a kind of magical stirring of belonging.

It's the shimmering in the air,

and the whispering that meets our weary ear

that offers us this moment of remembering,

a remembering that brings souls together

at this waning time of year.

Those whose love lingers,

groups of pulsing shadows waiting

in our vision's periphery

ever so subtly approaching,

our auras intermingling.

Through the sparks and glowing fire,

the bare branches frame,

held suspended in the mists

coolness meeting our fingertips,

our hearts warm and open

stretching out

we reach across the veil,

we yearn for the potency,

the truth,

the fulfillment,

that, with a humming and drumming beauty,

only the dead can reveal.

On this Samhain eve I offer you this poem as an alternative to the silly and profane, the sugar-laced moments and pumpkin-studded gatherings of Halloween. Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter; it's the beginning of the Celtic New Year. As the ancient Celts believed, and which on many levels is true, all that is new, all that will come into being in this world, starts in the dark. By remembering and honoring our ancestors, and those that dwell intimately close to us just beyond the veil, we help to carry forward their legacies and receive inspiration for our lives, ensuring our ancestor's presence in the coming new year.

I hope you have a blessed Samhain!

Love,

Janet