Every major Sabbat I post something that I hope is special, some new take on the holiday that we are celebrating. Samhain will be here in a few days, and I have struggled to find something new to say about this particular holy day. There is so much written and posted about Samhain that I knew there was little I could say that would be different. So I stopped and just listened. The wind whispering through the trees and the clouds scudding across the sky finally gave me some direction; or as I watched and listened to those whispers, my ancestors gave me some inspiration.
There are many types of magick that you can do during this period, but one of the big ones is to listen to your ancestors and pay tribute to those who have passed on, and that includes familiars who have passed. Two things regarding the dead have haunted me during the past few weeks. I will tell y’all a couple of stories, which is also traditional at Samhain, stories about those who have moved into another realm of reality.
The first story is about a beloved familiar named Buddy. We lost Buddy in January of this year to pancreatic cancer. He was only 10. Buddy had been through a lot. He was about a year old when we adopted him, and we adopted him because some cruel person had shot him in the face. He spent the next 9 years going through many reconstructive surgeries, and a lot of pain. However, with everything he went through he always had an upbeat attitude and was full of life and love. The other animals deeply loved and respected him, as well as the two-legged folks who filled his world. When his journey through the reconstruction was finally at an end, he developed pancreatic cancer and we lost him. His death has haunted me because it seemed so unfair, but he made his decision, and chose his own manner of death.
The second story is about family and a genetic heritage. I lost a cousin this past year. He and I were not close, but his sister and I have been close through the years. His last request was how to handle his ashes, and this month his sister and I honored that request. It gave she and I a chance to sit and remember all the stories of our common heritage. In that way we honored his memory, and the memory of our ancestors.
So, at Samhain take time to honor those ancestors and those who have gone before you into the next adventure. As for me, I will put out a plate for the ancestors, and a plate of Buddy’s favorite food. I will gaze at the pictures of the past and shed a tear for what was and is no more. I will listen to the wind in the trees and see the clouds scudding across the sky. I will ask my ancestors to guide me through this time of year so that the ground is clear for the future to take place.
Blessed Samhain to you all.