Blessed Festival of All Souls

A blessed Samhain to all those celebrating today! In my tradition, we celebrate this holiday as a week-long festival that culminates on the astronomical cross-quarter day. This year, that is November 6, at 4:08PM PST. That is the moment that marks the mid-point between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice.

This holiday is all about honoring our ancestors and beloved dead. Traditionally, we believe that the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is very thin during this holiday. This is a great time to commune with those departed spirits, which we can do in a variety of ways.

Historically, this holiday is the last harvest of the year, which helped to prepare for winter. Many Earth-centered spiritual traditions use the framework of the Wheel of the Year, which is based on the agricultural calendar. There are three harvest festivals - the Grain Harvest Festival, observed around August 2, also known as Lughnasadh or Lammas, the Fall Fruits Festival, observed at the autumn equinox, also known as Mabon, and this final harvest, the Festival of All Souls, observed on October 31, also known as Samhain. This final harvest was when many cultures slaughtered the livestock that they could not feed over the winter. It was also a time when traditional cultures hunted for meat to preserve for the winter.

In my tradition, the Clan of the Wildlings, we perform a seasonally appropriate observance each day. Today, I will construct an ancestor altar. Tonight, I will light a candle in the window to guide those ancestors in.

May the blessings of the ancestors be upon you and yours. May you have all that you need to survive and thrive in the winter that is to come. Naho. Namaste. Blessed be. OM Shanti!