![\"photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2024\/10\/Halloween-2022-03-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>1. Death is always near<\/h2>\n
Whether you\u2019re watching a slasher movie, communing with your ancestors, or journeying beyond the Veil, our October observances are a strong reminder that death is always near.<\/p>\n
Oh, we know death is always near. The news tells us all about cancer and heart disease. Gun violence. War and famine. Natural disasters\u2026 some of which are exacerbated by climate change. Have we already forgotten about the worst pandemic in a century? But that\u2019s all something that happens to other people in other places. We\u2019re too busy to think about death.<\/p>\n
Samhain reminds us that even if our time won\u2019t come for decades, sooner or later it will come.<\/p>\n
This we know: all that lives will someday die.<\/p>\n
Knowing that \u2013 actually accepting it, not just nodding a vague acknowledgement \u2013 we can give this life the priority it deserves. We can use the time we have here \u2013 be it long or short \u2013 to care for ourselves and for others, to build a better world, and to enjoy ourselves while we\u2019re here. We are here to learn and grow, but we are also here to \u201cdance, sing, feast, make music and love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Death is always near, so live now as fully as you can.<\/p>\n
2. Our ancestors are still with us<\/h2>\n
Ancestor veneration is an intuitive and universal practice. Walk into the most devout of Christian homes and you\u2019ll see pictures and other mementos of grandparents, great-grandparents, and relatives even further back. Making offerings to my ancestors is a weekly thing for me \u2013 other Pagans have other practices and other frequencies. But at Samhain, we make a special effort to remember and honor our ancestors. And when we do, we find that they are still with us.<\/p>\n
Do their spirits return from where ever they are to visit with us? Are they always here beside us and we just sense their presence more strongly at this time of year?<\/p>\n
This much we know: that which is remembered, lives.<\/p>\n
Our ancestors of blood live on in us. We carry their blood, their genes, their DNA. We compare old pictures with our pictures and we see the family resemblance.<\/p>\n
Our ancestors of spirit live on in us too. We carry their thoughts, their ideas, their stories. I am the descendant of James Francis Beckett (my great-grandfather) and I am also the descendant of Ross Nichols (the founder of OBOD). They and many more live on in my actions and in my writing.<\/p>\n
Samhain reminds us that those who came before us are with us still.<\/p>\n And if our ancestors live on in us, we will live on in those who come after us. I have no biological children, but I will live on in those I\u2019ve touched and influenced in my writing, in my work, and in life in general.<\/p>\n Is there more than that? I think there is<\/a>. There is evidence \u2013 though none that rises to the level of proof \u2013 in past life memories, in the stories people around the world have told about the various Otherworlds, in the implications of animism and the idea that consciousness and not matter is primary to the universe. Mainly, my own experiences of Gods, ancestors, spirits, and the Otherworld convince me that there is more to life than this one world.<\/p>\n But this much we know: some day we will be the ancestors. Let us live so as to be worthy of the honor of those who come after us.<\/p>\n Halloween is the one time our mainstream society says it\u2019s OK to be scared. Horror movies give us the thrill of being scared while being in no real danger.<\/p>\n But at other times society tells us that fear is just our imagination working against us. Would that it was so. There are things that we fear for good reason.<\/p>\n Most humans have an evolutionary fear of spiders and snakes, a fear shared by our primate relatives like chimps and gorillas. That means it\u2019s several million years old. While most spiders and snakes are not venomous, some can be deadly, and the bites of those who aren\u2019t are still quite painful. Our fear helps us recognize real risks so we can avoid them.<\/p>\n We have good reason to fear the outcome of the U.S. elections. Of course, different people fear different things. Some fear a culture that\u2019s becoming more diverse and accepting, while others fear forced conformity and loss of freedom<\/a>. If we are wise, our fear will motivate us to vote and to encourage others to vote. When good people turn out to vote, freedom usually wins.<\/p>\n To paraphrase a quote of mixed origins<\/a>, fairy tales do not exist to tell children that monsters are real. Children know that monsters are real. Fairy tales exist to tell children \u2013 and the rest of us \u2013 that monsters can be defeated.<\/p>\n We need no Devil to explain evil. Humans are perfectly capable of doing great evil to each other and to the world at large. Terrorism and genocide are running rampant, White Christian Nationalism<\/a> threatens this country, and a major party candidate for President is running on a platform of revenge and cruelty.<\/p>\n There are also things that wish to harm us that are not of this world. They range from those who simply want to regain a place of prominence that has been lost to the human dominance of the ordinary world to those who, in the words of Morgan Daimler, \u201cseek to unmake all things.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n We ignore those who wish to harm us at our peril, whether those threats are natural or supernatural.<\/p>\n I love the costumes at Halloween. Some are scary, some are sexy, and some are incredibly imaginative. Costumes give us the opportunity to be something \u2013 or at least, to pretend to be something \u2013 we normally can\u2019t be.<\/p>\n But wear a costume for long enough and at some point it stops being \u201cplay dress-up.\u201d It starts being part of who and what we are.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason why witchcraft continues to grow in popularity. Some of it is people \u2013 mostly young women \u2013 who like the \u201ccostume<\/a>\u201d of the witch because of how it makes them feel. But more are the \u00a0people who seek the skills that witchcraft teaches, who share the outlook on life that witchcraft provides.<\/p>\n Anyone can do witchcraft, although as with all talents, some have more natural ability than others. More importantly, some are willing to put in the work<\/a> to become a skilled witch, and many aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n Witchcraft is unauthorized magic \u2013 magic done for a witch\u2019s own reasons. Like all forms of power, it is neither good nor bad. What makes it good or bad is how it\u2019s used. Some fear power in the hands of people they can\u2019t control\u2026<\/p>\n Halloween and Samhain remind us that there is power in becoming what some fear, in wielding the power others are afraid to seize.<\/p>\n For some of us, Halloween and Samhain are less of a season and more of a way of life. But even for us, this is a special time.<\/p>\n Enjoy your Halloween parties and do your best to support Trick or Treating. Watch a good horror movie<\/a> or read a good novel<\/a>.<\/p>\n And also, honor your ancestors. Celebrate the final harvest. Contemplate death, and if you have the courage, journey beyond the Veil to get a glimpse of what comes afterwards.<\/p>\n There are things out there that mean us harm. Some are spiritual and some are very, very tangible. Know that they can be defeated with hard work and dedication, and with magic and witchcraft.<\/p>\n Have a happy Halloween and a blessed Samhain.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I see no reason to separate our celebrations into \u201csecular\u201d and \u201csacred.\u201d They\u2019re all part of what it means to experience October in the modern world. I see six lessons of Samhain and Halloween for us all, Pagan or otherwise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":31035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[187,42,4,5,188,67],"class_list":["post-31023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magic","tag-halloween","tag-magic-2","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-samhain","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>3. There is more to life than this one world<\/h2>\n
4. Sometimes fear is a good thing<\/h2>\n
5. There are things that wish to harm us<\/h2>\n
6. There is meaning and power in becoming what some fear<\/h2>\n
Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain<\/h2>\n
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