The Spooky and The Sacred
It’s less than a week away, so what else would I write about? Samhain. Halloween. All Hallow’s Eve. Depending on what you believe it’s a time of celebration, or remembrance, playing dress up, watching scary films, the end of the harvest season and the end of the year for many witches in the Northern Hemisphere (Beltane blessings for those reading on the flip side)… or any combination of these things.
I find I don’t have too much to say this week, I can feel my internal energy follow the wheel inside the wheel as it turns inward. I’m firmly in the ‘sacred season’ over ‘spooky season’ camp. Strip away all the lore and traditions (both legitimately ancient and those created under the guise of such) and there’s little point denying the connection between the worlds is stronger during late October and early November than the rest of the year.
Or is it? Is the veil thinner, or are we braver, more willing to peer through because everyone is doing it (or says they’re doing it). There’s safety in number, maybe? If you follow the lore, the veil is thin again at Beltane, but we don’t hear much, if anything, about it then.
The reality is that whether it’s at its thickest point or its thinnest, it’s a veil. Transparent enough to let the light and shadows through either side. Easily moved to allow access, it’s not a barrier. It’s barely a partition between life and death. Let that sink in.
I know I keep going on about the witchy aesthetic, but I sure hope it takes a break once #spkyszn is over. I don’t visually identify in any manner, although I do wear a lot of black and small spiritually significant jewelry. Don’t get me started by talking to me about all the witches who were burned, or your 6th great-grandmother who was a witch. Those convicted as witches and put to death were almost certainly not witches, they were targeted for other reasons. Please don’t romanticize this period of history. Life was incredibly hard for most people. Comfort, kindness, and stability were in short supply, and they couldn’t even imagine life as we know it now. While your grandmother could very well have been a witch, she sure didn’t use that label.
Hell, I’m about ready to ditch the label myself but I’m not talking about all the practicing witches who make a substantial amount of their living in October. Your spooky season equals a welcome uptick in income for many so book a reading, visit the shops, and buy things made by modern witches, take a city ghost tour, and if you’re lucky, attend a public ritual. Respectful curiosity, questions, and even skepticism are welcome. Mockery in the form of uninformed appropriation of any spiritual practice or belief… not so much. If you’re serious, you are welcome. See my previous column about doing the work. https://the-mystics-parlour.ghost.io/into-the-shadows/
This coming weekend spooky season and spiritual season converge with costume parties, scary movie marathons (no, thank you), and the rituals of myriad traditions for whom group scheduling requires a weekend gathering. Then on Tuesday, while children run wild through the meticulously decorated upscale neighborhoods hoping for the ‘good candy’, the covens, groves and solitary practitioners of the craft and ancestral work light the way to the offerings left for our own beloved dead. Mine are partial to quiet remembrance, strong black coffee, chocolate, and buttered toast. I come from people who appreciated simple pleasures and proudly inherited these traits and sensibilities.
They walk with me. As do a fair number of yours. Such is the life of an ancestor whisperer.
If you would like to know more about my ancestral connection work, my Daoist path, or my other offerings such as tarot readings, spiritual guidance and mindset coaching, you can find more detailed information by using the drop-down menu on my website: The Mystic’s Parlour (the-mystics-parlour.ghost.io)
You can also contact me via email at themysticsparlour@gmail.com or on any of my social media channels. Your continued support and encouragement are greatly appreciated.