October 25, 2013 Ann Kreilkamp
Abby and Mary’s artfully scary figure, front yard down the street from me, Green Acres Neighborhood.
The sun, this morning, when I took this photo, happened to be directly behind the figure’s “halo.” Hmmm. Dark and light together? Or as one wise sage told me, decades ago, “all light gives off a shadow” — except, I presume, at high noon at the equator, on this sun-drenched planet Earth.
As we lurch towards Halloween, that cross-quarter day between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice, we inhabit what seems to be an increasingly polarized world —between those who are waking up and those who are still asleep, between the truly alive and the apparently brain dead zombies).
Meanwhile, since 2008 and the bankster debacle, the rot has migrated from the inside out, to “zombie homes” and “vampire homes.” Cf. two articles, from Las Vegas and Southwest Florida:
NEVADA: http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/business-press/realtytrac-finds-zombie-and-vampire-homes-have-potential-harm-recovery
FLORIDA: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20131004/ARTICLE/131009847
Here’s a “funny” video from Ellen DeGeneres, showing how repeated sudden appearances in darkness terrify. What can you do but laugh!
Likewise, when shadow stuff in our own crowded psyches suddenly makes an unwelcome appearance, let’s learn to recognize it, honor it, laugh and let it go. C. G. Jung taught me to do that, way back in my 40s. So grateful for Jung’s pioneering work in the personal and collective unconscious.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=208728115975710&set=vb.100005155690229&type=2&theater
Here’s one article on the original meaning of All Hallow’s Eve, this night when the veil between the worlds thins, allowing the spiritual to mingle with the material. May we prepare for when the worlds not just mingle but fuse, delivering all of us into the arms of Magic, allowing the dissolution of that which no longer serves to seed the holy ground for new light, new life.
The Lost Meaning of Halloween
BY CHRISTAN HUMMEL
paranormal.about.com
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All Hallow’s Eve, Hallow E’en, Halloween, Day of the Dead, Samhain. By whatever name it has been called, this special night preceding All Hallows day (November 1st) has been considered for centuries as one of the most magical nights of the year. A night of power, when the veil that separates our world from the Otherworld is at its thinnest.
As ubiquitous as Halloween celebrations are throughout the world, few of us know that the true origin of Halloween is a ceremony of honoring our ancestors and the day of the dead. A time when the veils between the worlds were thinner, and so many could “see” the other side of life. A time in the year when the spiritual and material worlds touched for a moment, and a greater potential exists for magical creation.
Ancient rites
In ancient times, this day was a special and honored day of the year.
In the Celtic calendar, it was one of the most important days of the year, representing a mid point in the year, Samhain, or “summer’s end”. Occuring opposite the great Spring Festival of May Day, or Beltain, this day represented the turning point of the year, the eve of the new year which begins with the onset of the dark phase of the year.
And while celebrated by the Celts, the origin of this day has connections to other cultures as well, such as Egypt, and in Mexico as Dia de la Muerta, or the day of the dead.
The Celts believed that the normal laws of space and time were held in abeyance during this time, allowing a special window where the spirit world could intermingle with the living. It was a night when the dead could cross the veils and return to the land of the living to celebrate with their family, or clan. As such, the great burial mounds of Ireland were lit up with torches lining the walls, so the spirits of the dead could find their way.
Jack-o-lanterns
Out of this ancient tradition comes one of our most famous icons of the holiday: the Jack-o-lantern. Originating from Irish folkfore, the Jack-o-lantern was used as a light for the lost soul of Jack, a notorious trickster, stuck between worlds. Jack is said to have tricked the devil into a truck of a tree and by carving an image of a cross in the tree’s trunk, he trapped the devil there. His pranks denied him access to Heaven, and having angered the devil also to Hell, so Jack was a lost soul, trapped between worlds. As a consolation, the devil gave him a sole ember to light his way through the darkness between worlds.
Originally in Ireland turnips were carved out and candles placed inside as lanterns lit to help guide Jack’s lost spirit back home. Hence the term: Jack-o-lanterns. Later, when immigrants came to the new world, pumpkins were more readily available, and so the carved pumpkins carrying a lit candle served the same function.
Festival for the dead
As the Church began to take hold in Europe the ancient Pagan rituals were co-opted into festivals of the Church. While the Church could not support a general feast for all the dead, it created a festival for the blessed dead, all those hallowed so, All Hallow’s, was transformed into All Saints and All Souls day.
Today, we have lost the significance of this most significant time of year which in modern times has turned into a candy fest with kids dressing up as action hereos.
Many cultures have ceremonies to honor their dead. In so doing, they complete a cycle of birth and death, and keep in line with a harmony and order of the universe, at time when we enter into the cycle of darkness for the upcoming year.
As you light your candles this year, keep in mind the true potency of this time, one of magical connections to the other side of life, and a time to remember those who have passed before us. A time to send our love and gratitude to them to light their way back home.
About the Author: Christan Hummel is the creator of the “Do It Yourself Space Clearing Kit” and an international lecturer and workshop leader. She has taught thousands around the world how to create sacred space in their homes and cities through connecting with the divine in nature and ourselves. For information see: www.earthtransitions.com
