So, what is this I hear about Samhain in November?
Samhain is one of four Sabbats known as the cross quarter days.  These four Sabbats, which also include Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Imbolc, are celebrations that mark the mid-points between the solstices and equinoxes.  For those that are unfamiliar with, or need to be reminded of the Sabbat calendar, it looks like this:

Samhain (cross quarter)
Yule (Winter Solstice)
Imbolc (cross quarter)
Ostara (Spring Equinox)
Beltane (cross quarter)
Litha (Summer Solstice)
Lughnasadh (cross quarter)
Mabon (Autumnal Equinox)
…and then back to Samhain

The solstices and equinoxes are known as the Lesser Sabbats and the cross quarter dates are known as the Greater Sabbats or the Fire Festivals.  As most of you know, the solstices and equinoxes change dates each year (see this prior post for more about these celebrations).   So we see four of these celebrations shift each year by a few days on the calender.  The reason for this has to do with the movement of the earth and the sun; the earth doesn’t always that the same amount of time each year to revolve around the sun (to put it in simple terms) so there will be times that Yule might be on December 21st while other times it might be on December 23rd.  This simple fact (should) raise the question: “If the solstices and the equinoxes fluctuate based on the earth’s rotation, shouldn’t the dates that mark the midway point between them shift as well?”  The answer is yes, they should…and do!

These cross quarter dates actually happen when the sun reaches a certain astrological point during the earth’s movement.  This is sometimes called a “true sun date” or an “old style Sabbat”.  The solstices and equinoxes happen at the cusp, or beginning, of of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn.  The cross quarter days occur when the sun is 15 degrees of the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius.  This is when the earth is truly at it’s mid-point, or cross between a solstice and equinox.

So it looks something like this, staring with Yule:

Yule (Winter Solstice) – Capricorn – December 19-23
Imbolc (cross quarter) – 15 degrees Aquarius – Feb 2-7
Ostara (Spring Equinox) – Aries – March 19-23
Beltane (cross quarter) – 15 degrees Taurus – May 4-10
Litha (Summer Solstice) – Cancer – June 19-23
Lughnasadh (cross quarter) – 15 degrees Leo – August 3-10
Mabon (Autumnal Equinox) – Libra – September 20-24
Samhain (cross quarter) – 15 degrees Scorpio – November 5-10

What about the fixed dates?
Yes, many of us are used to celebrating Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh on fixed dates at this point.  Does it matter when you celebrate?  Does it change the meaning of your Sabbat if you celebrate on one date and not the other?  This is all a matter of opinion because there are certainly reasons to celebrate on the fixed date we’re used to and reasons for celebrating on the astrological date.

There is an energy that resides in the fixed dates because we have celebrated them that way for so long.  I don’t think you can deny that, even if you celebrate it in November, October 31st still feels like Samhain to all of us.  But it’s worth considering an astrological marking of the date as well, especially if you’re someone that uses astrological timing in your magickal work.

It’s also important to consider, especially with Samhain, that when we celebrate October 31st there are really three holidays happening at once.  There’s All Hallows, or All Saints Eve, a holiday that many of us probably don’t mark in any way.  However there is not only Samhain but also Halloween.  I think it’s really important to remember that even though we may lump Samhain and Halloween together much of the time, they are not the same holiday and they deserve to be honored separately.  This is where holding some kind of observance on the astrological Samhain date can be helpful.

What can I do on this November date?
You can hold any of the same rituals you normally would for Samhain on the 31st of October on the 15 degrees Scorpio date in November.  Take time to honor the dead, do divination for the coming year, and leave offerings for the spirits.  Personally I believe that October 31st is truly the best time to honor the dead and leave offerings for our ancestors, but astrological Samhain is the better time for Samhain related spellwork and divination.

For myself, I like to reserve the Sabbats for celebratory work and for marking the turning of the Wheel and the changing seasons.  It’s very rare that I ever work magick on the Sabbats or as part of my Sabbat rituals.  I tend to do that a few days before or after the Sabbat date.  But this is where using the astrological dates really comes in handy, so to speak.  Use these dates to work magick that might be related to the themes of the Greater Sabbat that you’re observing and let the fixed date, which you’re likely to see more commonly celebrated in the community, as a date for general observance and celebration.

When is there more energy? All hallows Eve? or Halloween? If one was going to go for a walk and soak up this energy which day would you recommend to do so?
- Adriane

Actually, Halloween is All Hallow’s Eve.  The name All Hallow’s Eve is a reference to the night before All Hallows (“hallows” meaning “holy”), also known as All Saints Day which occurs on November 1st.   October 31st went from being called All Hallow Evening to All Hallows Eve to eventually being known as Hallow’een giving us our modern day name for the night, Halloween.  So if you really wanted to take in the energy of Halloween, October 31st is the night!

I will have another post coming in the next few days though that will explain a little bit about some of the confusion about Samhain, Halloween, and when they occur.  The actual date of Samhain, while we celebrate it on the 31st, it actually occurs in November when the sun reaches the point of being 15 degrees Scorpio.  I’ll talk more about this and explain that and how it impacts the energy, especially magickally, in a few days.  But there is certainly a lot of energy to soak up, work with, and interact with on Halloween.

What is your favorite spell to cast on Halloween?
- Teresa

I actually don’t really work much magick on the Sabbats.  I reserve the Sabbats specifically for honoring the God and Goddess and celebrating the turning of the Wheel.  Samhain is one where I might sometimes do a small spell here and there but I don’t have anything specific that I do or that I prefer to do for Samhain.

The types of spells that I would recommend for this time of year would be things for drawing protection, bashing things that are weighing us down, spells for luck and drawing new opportunities, and anything that either is meant to enhance or open the psychic channels.  I really think that if you want to do something but you don’t know what to do, do a spell designed to bring you luck and good fortune for the coming year.  When you do this, do it by calling on your Ancestors for help.  They are your blood and your family, even if you’ve never met them, but they care about you and want to see you do well because you are part of that bloodline.  So since this is the time of year for connecting to the spirit world and working with them, as well as being the beginning of a new year.  Make offerings to your Ancestors, specific things if you know who liked what in life, and ask for their blessings.  You can light a white candle, write down your desires, and then burn it in the candle and scatter the ashes in the morning to the winds.

One thing that I do do on Samhain is a reading with a 12 month wheel spread with my tarot cards to see what is going to be coming for the next cycle of the Wheel.  This is the perfect time for divination so I always make a point of doing this for myself during the Samhain season.

I always have read that the veil between the worlds is “thinner” on this day…. Do you have any suggestions on the best/easiest way to contact someone on the otherside?
- Lori

The easiest way to contact and communicate with a loved one who has crossed over s to just talk to them.  Talk to them just like you would have in life, there’s no reason to treat them any different than when they were alive.  While Samhain is one of two times in the year when the veil is particularly thin (the other time being Beltane on April 31st/May 1st), that doesn’t make it the only time you can do these things.

What you can do is set up a small place in your home to honor your loved ones who have passed on.  A table top, a shelf, a small end table set aside just for them is perfect.  Place pictures of the people you wish to connect with and leave them little gifts (a candle, some flowers, things they liked in life).  I have a space that encompasses everyone, but when it’s someone’s birthday, I tend to clear things away and just put them there and do something special for them.  But you can go to this space and sit down and talk to them if you wish like you would have in life (sit down and bring your grandma a cup of tea, that sort of thing).  You can do this stuff anytime!  We should remember our dead all year long, not just on Samhain. 

What’s the best use of Samhain energies for ritual? Is it best for contacting ancestors, or is there a different, more creative use that the energies surrounding Samhain can be put to? For example, since the veil is thinner, is looking for truths that are clouded from us an appropriate ritual goal? Similarly, what about the idea that since its a day that “doesn’t exist” you can work magic without repurcussions? (I don’t believe that myself, but I hear it a lot… Three-Fold always holds true in my view!)
- Cassandra

There is no such thing as magick without repercussions.  There is no time of the year where the laws just cease to exist.  I guess that would be kind of nice, but it doesn’t happen. 

As for what to use with the energy of Samhain, there are really a few specific things that the energy is best used for:

1. Connecting with the Ancestors, Mighty Dead, and the spirit world
2. Divination
3. Cleansing and making the way for new things

Seeking truth through divination is an excellent way to work with the energy of Samhain because you can basically try and pull back the veil in your own life and your own situations.  You can call on the spirits to help you find that truth.  How creative you want to get with these things is naturally up to you. 

So, while for some Samhain is come to end tonight, it’s just getting started for me.  Over the rest of this week you’ll see me posting some more information about Samhain, explaining the differences between Samhain and Halloween, and talking more about the ways you can work with the energy for this night in the Witch’s Year.

In the meantime you can check out some of the previous Samhain posts I’ve had like this one, this one, or this one.  And over this week, if you have other questions about Samhain and the Dying Half of the year, please feel free to send them in to me and I’ll be happy to lend my knowledge and insights!

Pagan priest, author, and DJ Raven Digitalis joins us this week on The Modern Witch!

This week is our Samhain show!  This Tuesday, October 25th, we’ll have the always fun and interesting Raven Digitalis with us to talk about this most sacred night of the Witch’s year.  We’ll be talking about magick, honoring our Ancestors and Mighty Dead, and what goes into working with this gateway to the dark half of the year.  We’re also going to be joined early in the show by David Salisbury, the head of the DC area PNC bureau and a member of the staff at the Capital Witch blog.  David is going to be talking to us about the event planned for October 30th in DC for the Pagan community to work some counter prayer and energy work in answer to the DC40 51 Days of Prayer initiative.  We’re also going to be very briefly talking about the newly begun reforming of the American Council of Witches, now being called the US American Council of Witches and some of the…well…interesting…things going on there.

Later in the second half of the show we’ll be opening up the phone lines to take your calls with questions for Raven Digitalis along with your Ask A Witch questions.  You can call with questions about Samhain or anything else magickal that you wish to discuss!

So be sure to join us!!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25TH!!
6PM PST/9PM EST
THE MODERN WITCH LIVE!

Hi Rowan!

I loved the show last night and I hope they have you back on.  You’re fun to listen to!  But I had a question since this never was mentioned on the show.  I don’t know the origin of the name for Halloween.  Could you explain where the name comes from.  If Halloween is rooted in Samhain, like you explained, I don’t get where the name Halloween comes from.

Thanks!
Dave

Hi Dave!

Thanks for listening to the show and writing in, and with such a great question!  I can’t believe I missed out on talking about that.  Halloween is rooted in Samhain, but it’s also somewhat connected to an early holiday of the church that was celebrated in Rome, a holiday called Lemuria, also known as the Feast of the Lemures, which was actually a Pagan celebration originally to honor the restless spirits of the dead.  This was a holiday celebrated on May 13th and on May 13th of 609 Pope Boniface IV had consecrated the Pantheon building in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyred saints.  This began the yearly celebration of All Saints Day, which at the time was known as All Hallows; hallows is another word for saint.  It was a way for the church to use a similar theme of an existing Pagan celebration as a template for their own in hopes of making conversion and transition easier for the Pagans, something that you see all through the church’s attempts to Christianize the Pagan world.

Pope Gregory III was responsible for changing the date of All Hallows from May 13 to November 1 after realizing that the Celtic people had another festival, similar to Lemuria, which occurred at this time.  This festival was known as Samhain and, as we know, is both a harvest festival as well as a time for honoring the dead.  Pope Gregory realized that these people weren’t celebrating All Hallows so their attempt to use the May 13 date for the purpose of conversion wasn’t working so the holiday was moved to November 1 at some point during the 730s.

Now we can see the beginnings of the name a bit more clearly by understanding these holidays that are all happening.  November 1 is All Hallows so the night before, October 31, was known as All Hallows Evening which would later become All Hallows Eve.  Over time this the “All” would get dropped and it would soon just be Hallows Eve and eventually Hallow’een though a mish mash of the words and corruption of the pronunciation. Eventually (and I believe this was an American influence) the word came to be spelled Halloween.  So the name Halloween comes from All Saints Evening.

Rowan,

On the NuLife show you talked very briefly about trick or treating but I was hoping you could add to what you said there.  I grew up not allowed to trick or treat and we didn’t really celebrate Halloween because my grandmother felt it was “the Devil’s holiday”.  I have always allowed my children to participate in Halloween because since they are in public school it would be hard to really shelter them from it.  I don’t believe it’s an evil holiday but I’ll be honest to say that I don’t know the origins of what I am allowing my children to do.  I would just like to know if you can give me some ideas about where trick or treating really came from.

Thank you and Happy Holidays to you!
Meghan

Thank you for your question Meghan!

There are several believed origins of trick-or-treating.  One is the one that I believe I had shared on the show which had to do with the processions from towns and villages out to the edge of the woods or the boundaries of the town to leave offerings for the spirits.  Since it was believed that the spirits would be able to come and interact with the living on this night it was also thought that they could come and do you harm if they had any reason to want to do such a thing.  This lead many to believe that if they made offerings of food and left them out at the edge of the village then the spirits would be appeased by these offerings and not come further into town to bother anyone. Even with this as a practice not everyone walked out of the village with their offerings and instead would just place them at the front door of the home for the visiting ghostly guests.  It’s believed that people would leave food and drink that were favorites of the people who had passed away hoping that this would be even more incentive for them to leave the living alone.

Another possible, and likely more direct origin, is that of Souling, a tradition that was born out of the British Isles in medieval times.  People would dress in rags and disguises, though often the people that participated in this tradition were actually poor and not just regular town folk dressed in rags. These people would go from home to home offering up prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes.  It was believed that on this night the souls that were trapped in purgatory could be released into heaven, or hell if that was their fate, by having prayers said for this.  These soul cakes were spiced cakes made with raisins or currants in them.  The more cakes someone was given the more prayers they promised to say over the graves of a loved one for a person.  The more prayers that were said, the faster the release from purgatory.

The church actually encouraged this tradition because it took the idea of making offerings to spirits away and replaced it with the idea of prayer for the departed.  So rather than trying to bargain with spirits the church saw this more as just a tradition of prayer and therefore it was welcomed.  It also was a way to lessen the interest and desire to participate in the Pagan offering traditions and instead follow a church sanctioned practice.

In the 18th century this tradition became a bit different as people would go from home to home offering up songs and carols, even putting on little skits and plays for people, in exchange for food.  At this point giving apples and warmed nuts became the traditional Halloween treats.

As time would come to pass this tradition would go from being about prayer and the church to being much more of a begging tradition.  People of all manner of circumstance would dress in disguises and come to the doors of people’s home and ask them if they would give them a treat or suffer a trick.  If you didn’t have something to give them (a treat of sweets or other food) then you would be subjected to a trick.  These could vary greatly from having something moved or overturned on the property to things more serious like broken windows.  In England a popular trick was to have smoke blown into the keyholes of doors or have glass bottled broken against the home to simulate the sound of windows being broken.  Over time it would be seen that, to give a treat was a far better option than to possibly suffer a trick.

Happy Halloween Rowan!

Thank you for the fun and entertaining show!  I had to listen to the stream the following day but I really enjoyed it and I do hope you get a chance to be on the show again or maybe you should think about starting your own podcast!

Anyway, I wanted to ask about Jack O’ Lanterns.  I remember as a kid hearing a story that explained where they came from but I don’t recall it.  I have a 5 year old son who loves them, he calls them pumpkies, and I would love to be able to tell him the myth about them next year.  I’m also just curious about why we still use them like we do.

Thanks for doing what you do!
Crystal

Hi Crystal!  Thank you for your kind words!

The origin of the Jack O’ Lantern comes from a folklore tale from Ireland about a character known as Stingy Jack. The story has some decidely Christian elements, namely the Devil and the involvement of heaven and hell, things not native to the Irish Celts, so it’s possible that this is a tale that came about much later in the formation of the holiday after the Christians came to Ireland.  There are two versions of this story, at least that I know, though I’m sure there are others.  One involved Jack stumbling around drunk and being found by the Devil; he strikes a deal with the Devil to allow him to get even more drunk before being taken to hell and when it comes time to pay the bar tab he convinces the Devil to morph into a silver coin with which to pay the tab.  Instead of paying with the coin Jack places the coin (the morphed Devil) into his pocket where he also has a small crucifix.  He agrees to free the Devil from his pocket in exchange for 10 more years of freedom.  When the time passes and the Devil comes to collect Jack puts up a fight and wins again but eventually his continued life of drinking causes him to meet his demise and when he’s sent to hell the Devil refuses him entry and sets him off with a piece of coal to light his way across the darkened earth where he is doomed to roam aimlessly for all eternity.

The other story is a little more “cute” and a bit more child-friendly, you could say, and is actually the one I personally like.

Jack was a farmer who was known by everyone as an absolutely horrible person.  He was a drunk, a liar and a cheat and everyone in his village avoided him and he avoided them.  He was a tall, lanky man who was missing teeth and often scared small children because he was so ugly.  So Jack kept to himself and stayed on his farm, not doing much work, and really just killing time.

One day the Devil was looking around for a soul to take into hell and he stumbled across Jack who was just laying around in the sun on his farm, completely neglecting his duties.  The Devil sneaks up to Jack as he sleeps and says “Jack, I’ve come for you soul.”

Jack jumps up from his sleep and is a little startled but says to the Devil “If you can climb up to the top of that oak tree you can have it.  I know my soul is pretty worthless so it doesn’t matter to me.”

The Devil climbs the tree but on his way up to the top he gets stuck.  The Devil calls down to Jack for some help but Jack refuses and tells him that he figures if the Devil is trapped in the tree he can’t take his soul and he’ll be safe.  The Devil thinks about this and tells Jack that if he helps him get down he’ll grant Jack a wish, basically, and that anything he wants will be his.  Jack agrees and decides to help the Devil down and tells him that he wants to make a deal.  The Devil says, “Anything you want, you can have it.”

Jack says “Promise me that no matter what I do and no matter what happens to me when I die, I’ll never have to go to hell.”  The Devil agrees and tells Jack he’ll never had to worry about going to hell.  The Devil leaves and Jack is pleased thinking he’s just outsmarted the Devil.

Jack goes about his life and continues to be a miserable person, lying, cheating, stealing, drinking, doing everything that probably should have gotten him sent to hell.  Then one day it all catches up to him and Jack dies.  Jack goes to heaven and he’s refused almost before even getting to the pearly gates.  He’s told he has to go to hell as that’s where he’s expected.  He goes to hell, momentarily forgetting his deal he made with the Devil, and he’s denied entry there too.

A demon guarding the entrance to hell tells Jack that he’s not allowed in.  Jack, confused about what he’s supposed to do now, causes a scene and begins to argue with the demon.  The demon tells him that he made a deal with the Devil to never be allowed in hell and that unless he can do something that would exchange his soul for the soul of another, he can’t come in.  Jack, a bit confused, is told that he can go back to earth and seek out a soul to exchange for his.  As Jack gets ready to leave he realizes he can’t see and he again begins to complain to the demon.  The demon throws Jack a glowing piece of coal and tells him that the coal will never go out and to use it to light his way.  Since the coal was hot Jack found a turnip in his garden, hallowed it out, and place the coal inside and carried it this way.

Now, the origin of creating and lighting Jack O’ Lanterns comes from the idea tied to this myth that says if you light a coal or a candle and place it inside a hollowed out turnip Jack will think you’re a lost soul as well and therefore he wont come to bother you to try and steal your soul.

The other inevitable question here is why then do we use pumpkins if the story talks about turnips?  Pumpkins are not native to Ireland; they are a native vegetable of America and when the Irish begin to immigrate to America they brought this tradition with them but quickly found that the pumpkin, which was ripe and in season during the harvest festivals when a story like this was told, were much easier to hollow out.  It was also in American in the Victorian age when the practice of carving faces into the pumpkins began.  It is thought that this was another addition to trying to convince any wondering spirits that the people in possession of the scary looking lantern were either lost souls themselves or generally not someone that you would want to approach.

I just wanted to, again, thank everyone for their questions and thank everyone who listened to the show!  Be sure to check out the playback stream and if you want to hear me back on NuLife Radio drop Dax and Mark a line and let them know what you’d like to hear me talk about on the show.  I know I’d be happy to be back on so let them know you’d like to hear me come back. 

A search of the BBC News site turned up a few different pieces with update or post dates of Oct 30th to Nov 1st including these:

Druids, witches and other Pagans celebrate festival of Samhain

Druids mark festival after becoming official religion

Paganism: a modern religion

However the specific piece that seems to be getting the attention from Mike Judge and the Christian Institute is one by BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott entitled “Pagans celebrate Halloween as part of the country’s newest religion” which has a short video clip, only slightly more than a minute and a half in length, and a full article attached to it.

There is also this piece from BBC editor Kevin Bakhurst titled “BBC reports on pagans at Halloween” which also talks about the accusations pointed at the BBC for reporting on the Pagan activities at Samhain and Halloween and how the BBC seems to be making an attempt to push Paganism into the mainstream while downgrading Christianity.

With the recent changes of the legal status of the Druid religion in the UK at the early part of October, it’s not much of a surprise to see local Druids and Pagan groups finding their way into the news media.  It’s also not uncommon given that it is Halloween and Samhain, a time that is rooted in ancient Pagan practices which, even when veiled by pop culture and  modern society, are still going on today when every child goes trick or treating and when each of us dresses up in a costume.  So why the sudden surprise about the attention to Pagans in the media in the UK?  It seems that some feel this even which they feel received “extensive coverage” was such a minority even that there must be some sort of underlying agenda to represent Paganism at length.

The BBC has both given the “no comment” statements about the coverage and then, in contrast, had Kevin Bakhurst’s op-ed piece explaining that the BBC is using opportunities like this one to explore the varied beliefs of the people of the UK.  This still seems to concern a handful of Christians and Christian groups.  Andrea Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, was quoted in an article in the Telegraph as saying  “It’s not always healthy to represent such beliefs as paganism as mainstream…” and  “It’s vital that our national broadcaster remembers our great Christian heritage and all the precepts that come from it that are good for the nation.”

So are the Christian majority feeling as though the are being somehow pushed aside for the “new religion” of the UK?  In a brief article on Gather written by Doug York titled “BBC Criticized for Halloween Pagan Coverage” he makes it clear that he feels the change of the Druids legal status is creating an environment that could lead the way for the minority to become the majority, something he seems to feel is already beginning to happen. “…but when the majority is pushed out, and the minority gains majority coverage, people get annoyed. That’s what is happening in the United Kingdom.” He also makes the estimation that this is what’s happening here in the US with the Christian community clashing with not only Pagans but the Muslim community saying “It is happening in the United States as well, and Christians are waking up to the one-sided reporting, not just of pagans but of Muslims as well.”

It will be interesting to see if anything more comes of this and if the BBC makes any official comments or statements as the week carries on.  It’s probably more likely that, with Halloween now falling into the rear view the controversy will die down and the Druids and other Pagans will fall back into obscurity until Winter Solstice events at Stonehenge become planned.

I think it’s a bit odd that there has been so much surprise Pagan groups, Pagan events, and Pagan related articles in general should dominate the news during the time of a Pagan rooted holiday.   And while the Druids got their legal status in the UK and Paganism and Wicca are fast growing in the UK and around the world, I hardly think that the Christians in the UK need to worry about being overrun by Pagans and being made to be the minority any time soon.  Maybe instead it’s time for the Christians to realize they aren’t the only ones there and that there’s plenty of room for the Pagans to life side by side with them.

Congratulations goes to Ellie!!!  I decided to go with her suggestion of The Witch’s Parlor!

You can find the shop at TheWitchsParlor.Etsy.com

There is nothing in the shop just yet since I’m still getting the technical things taken care of (settings for everything and whatnot).  But I will be putting things up in there by the end of the weekend (maybe sooner if I can get this into my schedule tonight).   I am planning to have some pendulums, oils, incense, spell kits, bath items, and a few other odds and ends up by middle of next week.

So congrats to Ellie who has won the shop goodie bag with a custom blended oil and incense pairing, a custom made pendulum, a set of moon divination stones and a couple special treats for the season!  Keep an eye on my Facebook and Twitter pages for announcements about items being posted to the shop.

Tarotscopes for Monday October 4, 2010 through Sunday, October 10, 2010

Aries  The Magician
During this week you will find yourself anxious to impose your power in a creative way.  There are other people who you may be working with this week who seem to lack the fire or passion that you do and your ego may feel a little bruised by their lack of excitement or support of your ideas.  When you decide things need a little change in order to pick up the pace, work with your magickal creativity using your magickal skills to help get things back on track.  Don’t be afraid to use it!  However it would be wise to do your best not to become too forceful with others that you might be trying to sway in your direction.  Remember that you have the power to turn things into what you like but the process is one that needs gentle balance.

Taurus  Four of Knives
The need to take a break this week and take time to really sort our your thoughts and feelings is going to be a nagging thing.  It’s not going to be a feeling you can shake until you really commit to making time for yourself this week.  Something has been off and you may be feeling like you need to seek shelter but finding where to turn seems to have you a bit confused.  Take this as a sign that it is really time for you to take a pause.  This week you need to make the time to rest, do something relaxing, something to feed your soul, and remove yourself from anything that has you particularly stressed.  Be mindful however of those around you who are sympathetic to your situation and are willing to support you and provide a shoulder to lean on.

Gemini  Seven of Skulls
In the face of success we can sometimes become paralyzed by fear.  The fear of living up to the expectations of others or the worry that we’ll never again do anything as great as this thing that we have just accomplished can be difficult to get out from under.  This also can cause some of the sweetness of our success to vanish.  This week you might find yourself feeling that even with a recent success you aren’t really moving forward or feeling like you thought you should.  What fears about the future are keeping you trapped in the present?  Letting go and being able to evolve is the only way to see true success and progress.  Don’t become stuck in the small victories and the fear of reaching your dreams.

Cancer  The Fool
The sense and energy of the fall season is going to take over for you this week and you’ll really be feeling the spirit of the season.   October is going to be a month that brings on a feeling of new beginnings and new possibilities for you and may feel you’re channeling a bit of the regeneration aspect of fall.  Be mindful this week of messages, signs, and omens coming to you in your environment, especially from animals that you may encounter.  Do you keep hearing the same bird calls or seeing the same types of animals crossing your path?  Take time to pay attention to these animal messengers because there is something in their presence that is trying to get your attention and help direct you on this path of renewal.

Leo  The Lovers
This week you may find that issues of trust come up in many of your close relationships, especially romantic ones.  Have you been giving or taking too much in this relationship and causing and imbalance?  Making changes to create more balance and reestablish a sense of unity and connection will help to bring things back to where they once were when you felt things were most balanced and at peace.  You may find some of this draining and a little difficult but in the end the work will be worth it.

Virgo Eight of Grails
Lately you may have been feeling like something has you slowly slipping into a state of depression or stagnation.  It’s that time of year where we often start the transition from being very focused on the outer world and other self and we start turning inward.  With this being the nature of the season, now is a time to start leaving behind the emotionally draining things that keep you from being your true self and instead begin the hard but worthwhile journey of seeking to connect with your higher self.  Begin this journey with simple changes such as meditation or a change in diet, but do it with excitement for what is to come.

Libra  Prince of Skulls
This week you may find yourself drifting off into deep thought without realizing it, day dreaming but not about anything really exciting.  Rather you’re mind may be easily pulled into the mental merry-go-round of thinking about the day to day responsibilities we need to deal with.  Things like paying the bills, making dinner, planning for the future all seem to really pull at your awareness and have you spending a great deal of energy on their needs.  You may begin to get some sense of how to make some existing financial concerns more workable with some creative money planning.

Scorpio  Five of Knives
You may find yourself in a state of haziness this week, feeling somewhat stuck in thinking about things of the past that haven’t panned out as you might have hoped.  You may even start to feel like something or someone has a strange hold on you, keeping you stuck in the past.  In a sense this is true but the only person robbing you of peace or happiness is you.  Work to fight back this week and get past feelings of guilt, shame, or sadness by accepting that these things are in the past and can’t be changed.  Instead focus on taking your power back and moving forward, waking yourself from your states of stagnation.

Sagittarius   Nine of Knives
When we get to a point where we have reached our most distressed state we can, sometimes we end up acting out in really irrational ways or ways that just aren’t indicative of who we really are.  This week you may find yourself acting out after some difficult times with friends who you may have suspected don’t have your best interests in mind.  Face the shadow side of these people and work through the fear of having to address that these people aren’t who they seem.  As you do that you’re need to react will stop surfacing and you’ll be able to let go of the defenses you may have been creating and carrying with you.

Capricorn   Ace of Skulls
The key focus for you for this week is about finding balance between the spiritual and material worlds.  The real focus will be bringing the spiritual into the material.  This is the time for you to get your spiritual work out of your head and apply the things you have learned and developed to everyday life.  Your spiritual growth has really bloomed on the inside but now it needs to be expressed and put to use.  There’s no point in just gathering up this information and never using it practically!

Aquarius  Daughter of Skulls
There is a great amount of power and potential around you this week to work on getting new projects going if you’re willing to do the work to make everything happen.  You have the tools and the ideas but when it comes to getting your hands dirty there seems to be a hesitance.  This week pay attention to your inner spark and see what it is that really keeps it burning.  Determine what will help keep you going, working toward your goals, and what will prevent you from becoming distracted and falling off course.

Pisces  Nine of Grails
This week you’ll find yourself feeling the complete content nature of true connections in your life.  Love seems to be in great abundance and a feeling of bliss seems to follow you wherever you go.  Allow yourself to open up to those around you who care and want to be part of your life more fully.  Wishes and desires, especially related to love and family are going to start showing signs of coming to fruition.  Keep up the momentum of positive energy because it is the glue that keeps things together for you.

Have a great week everyone!

One of the best places to do this is through Etsy.  Etsy is one of those wonderful little places on the web that is truly about creative people sharing their talents first and everything else coming along second. I have found some really wonderful artisans of all kinds on Etsy.  I purchased the most wonderful resin ring pop ring from a girl in New Jersey that does amazing, adorable, and unique things with candy themed jewelry.  When I was getting ready to fly for the first time in 16 years I wanted a plushy, pillow like thing to carry on the plane to calm my nerves and discovered someone that was making the most amazing kawaii themed pillows; I ended up purchasing a giant kawaii marshmellow which I now sleep with quite often because it’s so cozy.  And the list just goes on.  But when it comes to Witchy themed things I have shopped with a bunch of different places and have found them all to be great.  But my most recent purchases for Samhain came from a shop owned by a local Pagan from San Diego and Facebook friend, Karina Young, and her wonderful shop The Well and Spindle.

The products you find at The Well and Spindle are rustic, old world feeling herbal based items that have a bit of an eclectic flair.  You can get Four Thieves Vinegar in a beautifully put together class bottle along with some Command and Compel oil and handcrafted Sabbat candles.  A little Hoodoo, a little Heathen, and a whole lot of magickal!

Sections in the shop include hand blended oils, home and bath products, amulets and jewelry, spell powders and incense, candles, vintage and altar items and even handmade poppets and cut herbs.  All of the handmade items, which is the majority of the shop with the exception of the vintage items, are presented in lovely bottles with wax seals and herbs floating inside.  I have to admit that I’m a sucker for oils made in this way.  They tend to retain their scent much longer and look so beautiful and Witchy displayed on the altar or on an apothecary shelf. The Well and Spindle has a wide range of herbal blends, incense and powders for a number of different intentions, most packaged in lovely glass jars and bottles.  The handmade yarn poppets are adorable and a really unique way to work with a poppet for ritual and magick.

I received six items for Samhain from The Well and Spindle:

• Realm of the Dead oil
• Flor de Muerto offering herbs
• Realm of the Dead incense
• Realm of the Dead candle
• Pumpkin basked (with Flor de Muerto inside)
• Home AFTER Midnight soap

There is a certain smell that, in my opinion, truly magickal and properly intentioned Samhain items have and each of these items has it.  It’s that smell of death that lingers in the depths of autumn as leaves and plants rot on the ground and mix with the sweet aromas in the air with the damp dew that clings to just about everything.  Some people might find it a little displeasing since it’s not a sweet, candy like smell, what is usually the other favored scent for Samhain, but this, to me, is the smell that says “I acknowledge this season of death; I call welcome the spirits of the dead and I honor my ancestors that have gone before.”

The Realm of the Dead oil is easily my favorite Samhain oil since discovering the Samhain oil from Hex in Salem a few years ago.  This is a blend that is clearly designed for anointed your ancestor candles and using for offerings and spells to honor the dead on that sacred night.  The Flor de Muerto are not only wonderful to smell but they are beautiful to look at and will be fantastic sprinkled around the altar and ritual space to invite the dead to join in the magick.  The Realm of the Dead candle is large and sturdy and has herbs on top and the same wonderful smell as the oil.  And the incense has many of the same items from the offering flowers and oil and is blended to call in the Goddesses and Gods associated with the season.

The soap is a dark brown, almost black, goats milk blend that is spicy and thick smelling with tones of cloves and fall spices and a slight touch of pumpkin to bring it all together.  The soap is a love and lust blend and could easily keep Cinderella out past midnight while attending a Halloween ball.  There is a gentle feel of nuts and grounds that help to exfoliate while infusing your sink with its enticing scent.

I was highly impressed with everything.  It’s very clear that Karina puts her love and her magick into everything that she makes and she is working with some very old school herbal and root magick with her products.  The prices are beyond reasonable and show that, again, it’s about the work of creating and sharing magick.  With 100% positive feedback you can certainly purchase with confidence, and Karina is easily reached online for questions about her items and their uses.

Be sure to keep an eye out for pictures in the coming weeks of my Samhain altar with these wonderful products being put to use.  And I’ll be sure to report back on their use in ritual, which I’m sure is going to be amazing.

You can find Karina Young and The Well and Spindle online at the links below.  Be sure and tell her you read about her wares on One Witch’s Way!

The Well and Spindle (main website)
The Well and Spindle (Etsy Shop)
The Well and Spindle (Facebook page)