As the Moon waxes from Libra New Moon to the Taurus Full Moon of Samhain, I offer these reflections and rituals of how I am marking this time. In my Pagan lineage, Samhain, also known as Halloween, is the New Year. I am still creating relationship with the New Year and coming into my own ways to mark this time of Change.
One of my practices this year has been noticing how my body changes with the seasons and how my mental and emotional spaces align with the seasons, too. This practice is noticing that I have my own Seasons and that they correspond with the Seasons of all Beings around me.
Over the last month I have been taking inventory of the Seeds that I have harvested from the fruits of this year's labor. I see the harvest of Seeds as the Marking of the End of the Year. These Seeds are the completion of a Life Cycle that began with a Seed.
The list includes things like:
my practices
my awareness
my embodiment
my presence
my pleasure
my magick
my empowerment
my movement
my healing work
my rituals
The above list makes me wonder...what's next?
thrash and winnow the seeds
prep beds for winter
turn in compost
plant the bulbs
store seeds in cool, dark area
scatter seeds on the soil
As of this moment, I have no idea what to do with this part of my list. This is the first year I have inventoried my Seeds. This is the first year I am putting my inner Garden to bed. And I have no "how to" book to guide me. Only my Body.
As I reflect more about this season and the work ahead of me, my mind comes to the upcoming Full Moon and the days after the Full Moon, the election. How will I honor this time? How will I make the most of my Magick?
And what IS Samhain? Why does the Vail thin at this time of year, the time of year when we are inventorying our Seeds?
The Vail thinning allows the Ancestors to go between the Worlds. We, too, have access to the Spiritual World with more ease during this time. Traditionally, we would call the Ancestors to feast from our labors, to taste that which they no longer can taste, to hear what they can no longer hear. We invite them to feast and celebrate with us. We nourish Ancestors that need to be nourished as the move toward the Hall of Ancestors and away from the material world of humans.
But what can the Ancestors do for us and our Seeds? As we tuck in our carefully harvested, thrashed, winnowed Seeds, we can ask the Ancestors to whisper to them what they need to Remember. The missives of Liberation. At Winter Solstice the Seeds enter the Dreaming time, when the Memories in their DNA- past and future- become Dreams of their Future Selves.
As the New Moon shifts to Full, we can take inventory of our Seeds and ask the Ancestors to remind us and all of the living what we need to remember for our collective Liberation. We can ask Them to remind our Seeds to Dream of Liberation.
Monarda is a gender-qweer plant medicine worker and witch. Their work centers around Liberation for all- people, plants, land. Guided by their Spiritual traditions- Buddhism, Paganism, and Catholicism- they see their life as practice and full of opportunities for growth.