SAMHAIN

Hello you,

This is the view from my kitchen window this morning... bleak isn't it. Just the right type of weather for Samhain. Long gone are the summer's days (if you had a decent summer and were not plagued by fires, high temperatures, and freak floods) and tonight, in Europe, the clocks are going backward. Why the whole world has to change times and cannot get its act together to do it at the same time (!) is still a mystery to me.

But then individualism is becoming more and more well, individual. I have thought a lot lately about the Commune. An idea that emerged from the 1870 revolution in France, another failed one by the way. The idea was that we were stronger together rather than striving alone. Nothing new here, I hear you think. 

But...

For the past however long, we have been encouraged to "be the change you want to see", "create your own reality" , etc. It is all about you. On your own. On your tod. You doing stuff alone.

Is this the way forward? In ancient times, which I honor at this time of the year, our ancestors' tribes would literally lock themselves into a cave as the winds and snow of winter raged. It would have been far too dangerous to get out. You would have gotten lost easily. The tribe would probably have around 10 people in it. They would have to live (and sometimes die) together for the next few months, hoping that they had enough food in the reserves, and enough wood to keep the fire going. They had gathered all of this together, during the Autumn months and together they would sleep, eat, love, and quarrel (I am sure there were quarrels) until the first ray of the growing sun started the melting of the snow.

The idea of a tribe, something bigger than you, that you can belong to, go for help, and share the joy with is very attractive to me right now. I have found that this can happened when I have a gathering in my house or indeed if I have a gathering online. The feeling is the same. A sense of belonging. A sense of sharing a space, an energy field.

So I am this Samhain, the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of the next cycle, letting go of the individual, the "I do not need anyone", the "I am doing fine, thank you, I do not need you". I am letting it go and I am curious to find out what will come after letting go. 

At Samhain, the tradition is to welcome the darkness that falls upon the land. Go back within and sleep/dream like a bear in a cave. Take our time to unravel ourselves, without expectations of an immediate solution. Now is not the time to launch projects publicly, now is the time to mull them over, gently teasing them out of the dark earth, and allow their seeds to unfold. Patience is not our forte, is it? We want action NOW, we want a plan, we want to get on...

I suggest you take a walk and see what is happening on the land around you, even if you live in a town. You will find a tree, a patch of weeds, and a bush. You will look at them. Stop and look at them. You will see that really nothing is happening to them right now. No buds. The leaves that needed to fall have fallen. Everything is happening underground. All the energies of the plant are redirected down, away from the rain, the fog, and the snow. The plant has to re-source itself.

So, as the 31st of October appears, what are you allowing to happen to re-source? You will notice that I did not say "What are you DOING", don't DO, just for a while, just for today, try to allow things to happen, open yourself to your people, your tribe, and let your leaves fall and allow your roots to stretch in the land.

Happy New Year

With love

Baya