Samhain Thoughts as Pluto Walks

This is the time to reflect, and catalogue my experience from the past year.  Ever since Pluto has gone direct, things have been haywire.  2017 is not going out without a fight.  All of my friends are dealing with Fires, Floods, and Storms. Seems like everyone’s job is up in the air or going through some kind of Grand Recalibration.  Perennial relationship woes.  Mass murder in Las Vegas.  #Metoo. There is also a serial killer currently on the loose in my city.

Samhain is a weird time, but this is spookiest that I can recall.  My thoughts are dark and bloody with all of it.  The shit is thick my friends. It seems to have risen to the surface from so many directions at once. That happens in a flood though. All the crap rises to the surface.  We hope that it stops raining, and drains away.  I doubt our cultural infrastructure can maintain this level of debris at once.  So what will happen instead is that all of this storm water will mingle with the sewage, and we will be wading in this muck for weeks.  The effects will be felt for years.

Violence and secrets are ruled by Pluto.  As are disasters and mass migrations.  We are witnessing all of these things now, around the world and close to home.  The majority of Puerto Rico will migrate to the States in the next year or so.  #Metoo  has kicked off a very public conversation about the endemic culture of sexual harassment and assault that is inflicted upon us from a young age. Although some would like to reduce this to Pinks v Blues, the real crux of the issue is Power and Control.  The air is heavy with foreboding. I have not been sleeping well the past few days.  My mind is overflowing with images broken things and knowledge that has been gathered for the last harvest of a turbulent year.

I am hopeful though.   Pluto is also the planet of wealth and dynasty.  Apocalyptic endings but also historic beginnings.  Many good things have been accomplished this year, and swift, unexpected alliances forged.  I begin my new job on Monday, and I have finally been able to write a bit as I watch these events unfold.  Taking stock of the year in review, I am satisfied with how far we have come.  What has been accomplished.  We were lucky.  I can only shake my head to think how many times we narrowly avoid disaster and ruin.  So many people lost everything.

I am thinking of my grandfather T.S. who passed last December.  He was an entrepreneur in sewage abatement, and inspired my previous analogy.  Grandpa always said that there was money to be made for anyone who would work hard enough for it.  No one likes dealing with waste, and people will always pay others to clean up their mess. This idea has many applications.  Particularly when we are managing so much overflow at once.  It feels that way this year, like Pluto detonated the atmosphere and this flood of polluted energy is saturating everything.  This is inevitable.  You never catch the flaws in a system until it fails.  Most things are broken before they can be repaired, or improved.  Innovation occurs in response to problems that demand attention.  Shit still needs to be dealt with, even if no one wants the job.

These are the thoughts that I have as we make our preparations to honor our Ancestors and walk between the worlds.  I let the stories of the living and the dead flow through me to see what comes back in return.  I am humbled to be reminded of the pain and love that sustains humanity.  Unites us.  Sometimes all we can do is hold out our hands, to offer help or to claim it when we need it.  Pluto direct at Samhain means that there is no more time for falsehood or excuses.  All of our preconceived notions and cherished lies will be swept away in the tide.  I am thinking it is better so.  As the voices of unrest grow stronger, we are moving into a new era of accountability.  We must claim it.  The light, the dark, all of our virtues and vice if we wish to start anew.

I for one am sick of the nonsense.  The incessant online culture war that destroys all sense of connection. I am not the only one.  We are tired of the constant angst, the bullying, the silencing, the whining, and the venom that pours out in the name of “healing” and “love.”  We are sick of kissing the feet of charlatans.  We reject the pattern of aggression and retaliation that has been handed down to us from the old sinners.  We are taking back our conversations, our experience, and reject those who would continue the game of “Divide and Conquer” no matter how well-meaning they believe themselves to be.  We are ready to come together, to heal and move forward into the dark.  It is terrifying, and yet so satisfying.  This is ownership, Ladies and Gentlemen.  We are the ones in charge of our healing, and we are the ones who claim our flaws.  None of our hands are clean, and this is good.  It means we are working on it.  If you are not sweating, you are not working hard enough.

Recently, I was asked why I engage with the Pagan community at large.  It is a thankless, and some could argue, damaging task.  I really had to think on this for a minute.  My best response is that I am here to serve a purpose which is still unfolding.  I do not fit into a mold, but perhaps that is what I have to offer, something different.  Reminding people that the rainbow has many shades, some of them are dark and shine.  Perhaps we need Witches like me, that are hard as well as soft, with claws and teeth and wicked laughter.  Some of us are made of starlight, and some of us are forged from steel.  We play to win, we enjoy swimming with sharks.  We are not all victims, despite the scars of our past.  We are young and hungry. We have valuable lessons to teach and stories to share. We are part of this tribe, despite what the more vocal constituents choose to believe.  There is room in the dialogue for #allofus.  My goal is to create a community that is stronger than what I have known before.  Something that reflects true diversity, not the curated mess that is currently available.

So tonight I have included a picture of Pluto, from the New Horizons expedition.  Such an arresting image. Frozen volcanoes.  A huge heart with an angry eye behind it.  My response to this image is:  We see you.  We know what you are doing and we will speak it. We are not afraid of words. This is a hard and bloody task, but the heart will triumph.  We are here.  We are ready.  We will not be shamed.  Silenced.  We will love as we will, make alliance with those we choose.  We will not accept more of the same.  Let the old towers fall.  We will build something new, something better.  Sustainable.  The beginning is near.  We can taste it.  We were made for it.  So mote it be.