Samhain is When the Veils Get Thin

As the leaves fall from the trees and the pumpkins are carved, the Celtic cross-quarter feast day of Samhain (pronounced sow-en) arrives. Communities celebrate the start of the Celtic new year and prepare for the dark half of the year. The depth of the seasonal shift aligns with the meaning of the Sun in Scorpio, a deep time for reflection of the life cycles around us. This year we add the fallow reflective state of the balsamic Moon, with a new Moon at the beginning of November.

Image by Joe from Pixabay

The veils are thin. It’s a good time to

• Connect with the ancestors in a shamanic journey or meditation. Go with the intention of finding a helpful ancestor with relevance to your life right now.

• Meet the faery folk on the hidden paths. You can form a mutual relationship to bring about a better world, both in the otherworld and in this one.

• Ask the spirits for clarity about the coming year. Whether you use Runes, Tarot, Astrology, or other means, the veils are thin, so true meaning can come through.

• Engage in community shamanic activity to balance light and dark through a ceremony called the Wild Hunt. More on that in a minute.

We can marvel at the change in our natural surroundings as the leaves turn brilliant and fall. We can feel the chill in the air, as the denizens of winter prepare to test our preparations. One way to prepare on a psychic level is to balance dark and light in the other world. In the Wild Hunt ceremony you do this shamanic work by engaging with the forces of light to tamp down the forces of darkness.

Some people misunderstand this ancient Celtic ritual, as it calls for “ritual battle” as one of the activities. While rejecting all war in our modern world is a valid pacifist approach, ritual battle in the Otherworld is different. We do not work against individuals from this world, but challenge forms of darkness like hatred, dishonesty, greed, and racism. This ritual battle has its roots in the ancient Irish battle between the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann or the Shining Ones. More on that history and the Wild Hunt is here.

So, as we enter this time of the year when the veil is thin, we can take good advantage of the season by connecting with ancestors or the faery folk, engaging deep divination for our year ahead, or being a bringer of light to the battle between light and dark. You can find out more about the Wild Hunt and enter this practice with a self guided journey here. You may even want to gather a few friends for an evening of community shamanism and do the Wild Hunt together.

Fall Blessings,

Reid

October 2024

P.S. My new book has launched: Tarot Spirit Healing: A Shamanic Path to Clear Astrological Challenges. Check it out here!