Samhain: Change and Renewal

The Wheel turns with the steadfastness of Earth; the breath of Air; the spirit of Fire; the passion of Water and the purpose of Spirit. It brings us once again to the Third Harvest – Samhain – a time to let go of the past, reflect and prepare in the present, and take ownership of the future.

Samhain lies on the edge of cyclical time; along with Bealtaine, it sits just outside of it, at a vantage point on the Wheel of the Year where Past, Present and Future are all visible. Samhain is a point of dissolution; it’s ending gateway a preparation for the new made manifest in the present – in the now.

The Cycle of Birth, Death and Rebirth is a familiar mystery to the darktime of Samhain. As Samhain represents the moment of simultaneous change in the Cycle, heralding endings and beginnings, it also signifies the Eternal Purpose: the promise of potential for change and renewal.

Samhain, 2008 – SLW

When all of us in Terra Mysterium decided several months ago to coordinate a calendar rotation for our blog posts, I was already thinking about my October contribution. It seemed an important one; weighty and significant in that, for our community, Samhaintide is the pinnacle of our seasonal observances; it is our New Year – our annual death and rebirth, bursting with passionate culmination and potential. It also marks the time for me in a personal way, through a memory in which my own magickal practice continues to teach me the greatest lesson of my life.

So, I find this opportunity to blog a happy one; it is my chance to return to and remember with reverence a time, only three years ago, when I had a very real brush with mortal death. In September 2008, a quick, potent and devastatingly efficient pneumonia found its way into my lungs through a hole in my Spirit, and brought me to my knees in a stunning realization that my core magickal belief in the power of Connection and Transformation through Intention is indeed an indisputable one. I was reminded, brutally, of my responsibility of Bringing into Being.

By October of that year, during a month-long convalescence alone, I realized that my experiences gained through my illness were sublimely timed. As I slowly healed, I wrote a Samhain ritual for my then-temple members, and against the warnings of my dear friends that I was still physically weak, officiated at the event. It was important that I make manifest my experience in the hopes that by sharing it, I would help others to understand the sometimes frightening, yet wonderful potency of this time.

And as I write this today, I am grateful once again for that chance. I am blessed with a reminder each year at Samhain, which allows me to remember that in this lifetime, I must continually strive to understand the importance of staying on task – in accordance with a personal responsibility to manifest change and renewal.

The Promise of Death – and Life – are woven into each moment. Samhain gives us a unique opportunity to employ the miracles of each to enrich our own life experience.