Animal footprint in the 2011 Halloween Snow
I had missed being able to post…
…while I had technical difficulties with WordPress and GoDaddy issues. Hopefully that is done now that I have upgraded my hosting plan. It’s all Greek to me, but now I am back at it.
The last month or so I have spent day and night at my wood stove stirring up some wonderful creams and butters for face and body. Now that the creating part is done, I am switching over to photographer. I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to photography. I do take all the photos and process them for this site, but now I have small bottles and jars to capture through the lens…
Full Moon and Memorials
Once again the full Moon has passed into its waning process towards darkness.
The October Full Moon time is very special for those who begin the new year with November 1st.
Throughout history, the month of October has been a time of acknowledging death. The harvest is over, the plants die back and the leaves fall from the trees. The cold starts to settle across the land forcing the birds to flee and we start layering on warm clothing after months of skin-baring summer wear.
It is also a time when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest and we can acknowledge their presence around us, pay respect and communicate with them.
I find myself visiting cemeteries. It’s not morbid or scary…though I go during the day. It is a way to remember those who have come before who have nothing but a tombstone to mark their existence.
Last year I wrote about Margaret Hills and her Halloween death, and again, I think of her as the month begins its waning to the end and closes in on Samhain.
Ms. Ma and the Music Lesson
I never knew if her name was Ms. Mar, Ms. Maher, Ms…definitely not Miss…but, she was our grade school music teacher…and we called her Ms. Ma. Continue Reading…
Margaret And The Halloween Sea
Poor Margaret and her husband, or consort, Oliver were on a sloop off the coast of Maine traveling to Boston. Oliver drowned and Margaret died of exposure before reaching shore on October 31, 1803 when the sloop ‘Hero’ was capsized by a gale off the coast of Kittery.
I lost my life in the raging seas,
A sov’reign God does as he please.
The Kittery friends they did appear,
And my remains, they buried here.
Yeah, the fine people of Kittery may have buried poor Margaret, but not in the main cemetery grounds, and not without feeling the need to pat themselves on the back for burying her. Though now her grave site is kept neat and mowed, I was there over 20 years ago when Margaret’s stone was overgrown.
You have to walk to the back edge of the cemetery and down a hill to reach Margaret’s stone in the last patch of flat land before the earth dives down to the sea.
Samhain – A Witch’s Halloween
Samhain – pronounced ‘sow-win’ like cow-win - meaning summer’s end – is when we celebrate Halloween on October 31.
It is also the end of the Celtic year with November 1st being the beginning of the Celtic New Year.
This is a time of transformation. The harvest is in and we prepare for winter.
We honor the dead by remembering them at this time.
The Celts called upon their ancestors to guide them through the dark of winter, and celebrated with feasting and dancing.
Set a place at the table for the recently deceased to honor and invite them to join you.
Fragrant foods will fill the house with peace and joy.
Decorate with seasonal foliage and fruit. Apples and Acorns. Leaves and Pumpkins.
Place flowers on the graves of loved ones.
Light candles and remember the circle of life and death and Spirit that does not die.
Energy is neither created or destroyed.
Witches do not command the spirits. Witches do not have seances to call the spirits.
With honor and respect we invite the spirits to join us.
We aren’t looking to be entertained by bumps in the night that make us squeal with fear and delight.
As one of the Sabbats – holy days, Samhain dates back over 6000 years and under various names is celebrated throughout the world, and has been Christianized as All Hallows or All Saints Day.
It’s a great night for making love with celebration and appreciation for the transitions of life and death and rebirth.
What came before and what is to be.
The Mystery of Sarah’s Gravestones
Poor Sarah died at 5 years, nine months and 22 days old in 1850. These two stones for Sarah are near each other, have the same information, and are definately for the same child.
Why?
