Getting in the Spirit...

Photo courtesy of the Spirits in the Cemetary at Salem, MA and by me!


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Merry Meet and Greetings Friends and Lurkers:

Ok, so those of you who actually know me, know I'm absolutely nuts by now. I don't mean my usual state of madness, but that little extra insanity that creeps up on me around this time of the year. No, it's not that I'm so enamoured with the beautiful fall leaves or the fact that several places here were hit with snow yesterday. I begin to think about "better dealing" New Jersey as soon as the temps drop below 70 degrees, so a few snowflakes just don't do it for me. So what has induced my current state of euphoria??? And no, it's not the Lexapro! It's...come on, you can say it, I already know! It's...ah yes, Halloween!

As a kid, I always adored Halloween. What kid doesn't, right? But, it wasn't just the excitement of costumes, the candy or the decorations, but an underlying sense that something in the atmosphere was beginning to change. The chocolate was just a perk!

Since then however, Halloween has taken on an entirely different meaning me. For myself, as well as many Pagans, it's also known as Samhain (prounounced Sow'un). On our Wheel of the Year, it's the time of the final harvest, when we reap what we have sown throughout the year, both personally and agriculturally. It's commonly referred to as the Witch's New Year. It marks the dark half of the year when the Earth begins it's slumber until Yule (December 21st), when the light returns. It is also the time when the veil between ours and the spirit world is the thinnest, so for many, Samhain is the time when we honor our ancestors and loved ones on the other side.

This Samhain is particularly significant for me on so many levels. One of the most exciting being the Annual Witches' Ball this Friday night! This is a charity event that we lend our support to every year. I'm thrilled that the proceeds will be donated to a local animal shelter. It did pose a bit of a dilemma for me however. The date of this year's event coincided with the Samhain ritual that was to be celebrated by our own group, Anahata Wiccan Grove. Well, as much as I wanted to be with my own group on Samhain (last year's was particularly meaningful), I also didn't want to miss the Witches' Ball! Dammit! So many people wrote me last year to tell me how awesome it was, I just had to be there! So, on behalf of myself, as well as all the homeless puppies and kittens in the shelter, I pleaded and whined and we came to mutually agreeable solution. This year, Anahata Wiccan Grove will be celebrating our Samhain ritual with everyone at the Witches' Ball!!!! Our own Deborah Lipp, author and High Priestess and our High Priest, Dave, will be officiating with myself and the other members of our group participating. It's going to be a beautiful, sacred ritual dedicated to our ancestors with a slammin' party afterwards!!! I'm so friggin psyched, I could burst!!!!

All this being said, I've again had the sense of something quite different in the air. It's that same oddly calming feeling that I could never quite put my finger on as a kid. This morning, as I sipped my coffee and watched the leaves swirling in spirals around my garden, it finally hit me and I knew what it was!

I feel dead people!!!


In darkness, light!!!


Tracy


I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity" ~ Edgar Allan Poe