Make an altar for the people you know who have died this past year.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Try this at home: Make an altar for the people you know who died this past year. Because of all the covid deaths during the last year, no doubt a number of you will get some peace from making an altar and doing a ritual. Every year at this time, the are two holidays from two different cultures, the Mexican Day of the Dead and the Irish Samhain, which we now call Halloween. I have always thought it was fascinating that these two different cultures chose the same day of the year to celebrate this tradition. Two cultures who had no ancient history together. The spiritual traditions behind these holidays is simple, yet powerful. We set up a table on which we place photos and things that remind us of those people we knew who died this year, what we appreciated about them and why they were important in our life. In the Mexican tradition, a plate of their favorite food is placed on the table. In the Irish tradition it is called the dumb supper, where a plate of food is placed on the same table where the family is having dinner. In both traditions, stories are told about those people, and if they had favorite songs or music, that is sung or played. Both traditions offer the loved one a last meal of their favorite food and drink and the remembrance of their friends and family wishing them well on their journey into the next world. Your altar can include a pet that died this year. Your altar can also include some person who you did not know personally, but whose work influenced you. I have seen altars for Dr. Seuss, Selena, and the Twin Towers of 9/11. I remember when some of my favorite authors like Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut and Raymond Buckland died. That makes sense because our favorite authors, artists, actors, musicians, athletes and other cultural stars were a part of our life through their work and our favorites often are significant influences on us. You can also make an altar for someone who died a long time ago, who you would like to do a memorial for. I know that this is a powerful simple ritual we can do to honor those we knew. Doing so provides us a powerful life lesson about what and who we really value. You can find more special offers on my website https://www.magicalawakenings.com

Feeling Our Seasons Turning

 

Feeling Our Seasons Turning

When the leaves turn, it is always a beautiful sight, different colors painting the scenes all around us until they finally let go and drop to reveal the skeleton of the tree for the winter months. As we watch the seasons turn, we reflect on the progress of our lives so far. We planted seeds in the spring and we harvested in fall. We set new goals and achieved them. Traditionally, the name of the full moon in October, which is this Wednesday, is the Hunter's Moon or Blood Moon. This is the time of year when we have hunting season. Our ancestors have done this for millennia so that they would have meat for the winter. Same way they would have cut firewood for the winter. There was nothing spooky about this, simply taking care of our needs for survival. What are you hunting for under the energy of this full moon? Elk? Deer? A new job? A new relationship? A new activity for fun and fitness? A new place to live? What will this Hunter's Moon illuminate for you? Of course, not all of us are hunters in that sense, but we all do hunt for various goals or targets that we have set for ourselves. This time of year brings those thoughts back to mind, the thoughts of big changes we would like to make, and the turning leaves remind us of the turns we have coming up. What do we need to do to get ready for our changes? Research new opportunities? Acquire new skills? Learn new techniques? Discover new ideas? I always feel a very reflective spirit at this time of year. Remembering our dead at Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead, expressing gratitude at Thanksgiving, celebrating our connections with spirit and the people in our lives with parties during Christmas/Winter Solstice. It is this time of reflection that is so rich for us. Amidst all these seasonal activities and the hustle of business, it is still very moving to savor the reflective spirit of our near past and future. What is your favorite part of feeling the seasons turn? Does the turning of fall awaken deeper passions in you? I know that it always does within me. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!

The Most Spiritual Season

 

The Most Spiritual Season

I have always felt that fall to the beginning of winter is the most spiritual season of the year. All of our most emotionally potent holidays fall in this quadrant of the year. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Yule and New Year's always pack a punch. The best parties with family and friends and people we care about visiting or spending some time with. Renewing old acquaintances and making new friends. This is the time of year we celebrate our harvests, we remember our dead, we begin new semesters of school, new seasons of work, a time to express gratitude, then celebrate the return of the light both in the form of the Sun and of Christ, then the new year. What a powerful set of subjects and feelings to focus on! Fall always brings the best new books from publishers and the best new movies from the film industry. Fall brings new seasons of shows from performing arts groups, orchestras and theaters. New seasons of shows on TV or streaming services. A lot of the best new things in many respects, come out in fall when you think of all the things I have mentioned. During this harvest season it is worth remembering that what we are harvesting is what we planted. As we express gratitude, this is also an opportunity to see what changes need to be made with what we did not harvest so that we can do better next time. We do that as we make plans for parties. These are times when you give consideration as to who you want to invite. Who are the people who are good influences, good energies, helpful people in our lives? Which people do we want to cut cords with? Reinforcing some ties and cutting others reflects our feelings about the holiday parties. These are not superficial choices. It is natural that as we evolve, our friends evolve. And as our circle of friends evolves, our social events and parties evolve. People we meet at these events might become more of a part of our lives in the coming year. Endings and beginnings are significant at this time of year. How spiritually guided do we feel with the way our lives are going now? If we have not thought about it before, now is the perfect time. To give it thought in preparation for future actions. It is a spiritual season for spiritual thoughts. I enjoy the whole feel of it with the turning colors, orchestral music, home cooking that makes the air fragrant, fireplaces, and all those other things that speak to us of love, comfort, home, friends, family and the time to reflect on our past, present and future. I always love hearing from you, so if you feel like sending me a note, calling or coming to see me, please do! Have a wonderful day!