THE STANDARD HALLOWEEN IS NOT SAMHAIN POST

 art by Margaryta Yermolayeva

Standard Halloween/Samhain disclaimer:  Today is not Samhain.  All Hallows belongs to the Catholic Church, an amalgamation of Dia de los Muertos, Samhain, and probably some other things (like Diwali). 

Samhain (sau-en or sow-en or sav-en) and Bealtainne (be-yall-tin-eh or bel-tin-ah or bel-taine) do lie between the solstices and equinoxes, but they actually have to do with the position of the Pleiades.  (One reason I do not think it is Bealtainne in the southern hemisphere, despite the season.  But there is no record of Druids in the southern hemisphere to guide us on that.  And I have not been able to celebrate either in the Southern Hemisphere and see for myself.)

And there is a reason for it, magickally.  The gateway lies with the Pleiades, not the sun.  These "holidays" also lasts for 3 nights, although there are mentions of longer celebrations, but you really have to dig, and most just go with the Coligny calendar.

If you are only going to do one night, look for the sun at 15 degrees of Scorpio (Taurus for Bealtainne), and remember the "day" begins and ends at sunset, not sunrise.  So look for 15 degrees of Scorpio, after sunset in GMT, to be exact.

Having said that, Halloween is still awesome, still magickal, the veil is still thin, and so many people set out food and offerings that of course the spirits can come with an invite. 

It's just that Samhain is many more things than Halloween.

Happy Halloween peeps!

SPIRIT WINDS OF SAMHAIN SEASON

 In STL we have had a drop in temperature and heavy winds.  Like most magickal folk I live in more than one reality, and I know that in the mortal, shared, empirical world, it is explainable by weather and climate.

But as a witch I recognize the large spirit host that has arrived for the Samhain Season.  I used to delight in this, but as I get older and the empirical reality of this earthly life holds more power over me- the aging of my physical body, the loss of loved ones- plus the fact that I really wish I was back in Cali for the winter, and I am not at all happy about having the heat on so soon, well, let's just say it is not as delightful anymore.

In 2014 an important teacher and friend of mine passed mid-month (he asks that I never say his name- I have a nickname for him that I use), and 5 years ago my best friend, a person I love so much and miss every single day, passed on the 27th.  A sad month indeed.

And what is so disturbing this year is the presence of a "newbie".  Someone who died within the last year or two, or longer, but is just getting their "afterlife" feet under them.

(My teacher friend, whose death I blocked out, as I did Sean's, showed up around a year after his death and scared the shite out of me until he nudged me on to the computer to his page... similar thing happened with Sean.  My power to block out unhappy things I don't want to face are legendary, but thanks to social media and the internet generally, I can't block them out for as long.)

But this year I keep thinking there is a third anniversary, and I cannot figure out who it is.  Someone whose death I was not alerted to? It feels like someone close because I initially thought it was Gentleman John.

(A well-known local here, a good Catholic who went to Heaven and has no truck with Samhain and such, and who died in February, but so sure was I that it was he, I marked him on the calendar as having passed on October 14th. Now that the spirit is not so present- too many others have joined, having come in on the winds- I was looking at my calendar just now and thought "what? he didn't die in October, nor on the 14th!")

This is all par for course being a Medium and a psychic, but it is still confusing and worrisome.  And the Mystic Winds didn't just bring the visitors, the early Samhain arrivals, the winds brought some big change that is looming. 

I hope it is blue tsunami.  About the only thing the Dems have is pro-choice and Roe, and even though they are in some ways worse than the GOP, we need a big voter turnout.  What is happening in Missouri and across the country is nothing short evil.  It is the oppression of women and nothing else.  It is not about "babies" and it is not about God.  But so many progressives and liberals refuse to vote at all, much less for Dems.

And, in case you are wondering, no, there is not a spell for Democracy.  If there is, it won't work and will probably have a strong karmic kickback on the caster.

Also, Samhain is not Halloween.  It lasts for three nights, but was often feted for longer in olden days. It has to do with the position of the Pleiades but can be approximated to the sun at 15 degrees of Scorpio and if you do just one night I'd do November 8th this year.  Or if you want to do it on bonfire night in the UK, November 5th, that is probably good too.  Personally I think we should do it for ten days, starting with All Hallows. 

(Sorry I don't have the artist credit for this.  And reverse google search does not find one either.)

MOONSHADOWS AND MYSTIC WINDS

About the title, and the song Moonshadows, I still love Cat Stevens' music.  He was a different person then.  I still listen to his old music, but there is a twinge/cringe now.  Apropos, I guess, to the song's meaning. I know he is really seen as offensive to many people, but his is some of the first music I ever heard.  (Cat Stevens, Buffy Ste. Marie, Joan Baez, Mahalia Jackson, and Handel's Messiah.)

So my last post, like so many of my posts, I realize later are me just saying the same thing.  The communications between a person (magickal or otherwise) and the moon are revelatory, epiphanies, and always seem otherworldly. But maybe the Moon is always saying the same thing?  She has a pretty good view of us.  And as an immortal intelligence, whether you consider her a goddess or not, what might seem repetitious to me is not even a noticeable measurement of time. 

Of course, I only pick the part that is on my wavelength spiritually.  Other people will receive other visions or reveries. 

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But I do think that all of Nature mourns for how humans are gobbling up their habitat.  The Soylent Green future of steaming piles of garbage and no animals looms. (There I go again.)

The Mystic Winds feel cold this year. It will be an interesting Samhain, I think, and a lot of visitors that stay through to Spring.  I feel like it might be a hard winter for many, in terms of honesty. 

We had a Global Pandemic.  (A lot of people refused to acknowledge it, true, but it occurred nonetheless, and it affected everyone in some way.) Now we need to have a Global Healing. Humans have morphic fields just like animals.  Even if we can't change everything right away, changing how we think matters.  

We are enjoying beautiful weather.  That is a such a blessing in St. Louis.  I think we are looking at a lot of color, too.  It started this week and if it progresses it will be fantastic.  Last year we didn't get any of that bright orangey russet on the oaks.  The oaks didn't get much color at all.  (As a witch I usually worry that is because the old Druid/Dryad spirits aren't visiting.  But there are many realities, and in the empirical one it had something to do with the weather conditions.)

There have been some planetary shifts going on, and more to come.  My feeling right is now is, pare down and prepare for a possibly lean survival.  I think a lot of times, the preparation for something claims the energy of the thing itself, and banishes it from happening.  (Sometimes.  And maybe if done with that intention. Either way, at least you are prepared.)

I also feel like I need to make more time to listen.  Like another of Cat Stevens' songs "I listen to the wind of my soul..." See what blows away; see what I don't really need anymore.

xxoo peeps 

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THAT BEAUTIFUL LADY LOVES YOU

The moon has no light of her own.  She collided with the earth ages ago, and all of her volcanos have cooled.  She is a reflection of the sun.  Something beautiful for anyone to see.  That is, anyone who looks up on a dark night.  

For nature lovers and pagans and sky gazers she is a constant miracle, a regularly scheduled and anticipated blessing. 

Below is a thought that I posted on social media after gazing at Selene tonight- worldly, not esoteric, but vital to our species continuing to witness the beauty of life from this planet.

Gaze at the Lady, if you haven't already.  She is gorgeous tonight.

***

Executives, billionaires, and such act like being in control of a lot of money means they are good with money.   Like they have some superior skill. 

Acquiring something is not the same as being good with something.  (I have, for example, acquired a great deal of men in my life, and treated many of the horribly and failed to retain any lol.)

If they did something to acquire that money- actually had something to offer- that's great.  But usually it was a good idea, shared by a lot of other people, and they just happened to have the luck or the money/muscle/guns. 

It's obvious that the majority of people are willing to live with some wealth inequality.  Most people don't need so much.

But if we are going to have such differences, where some people live so easily and well, and others barely get by, it is going to need to become more equal.  The imbalance cannot be this great. Not with 8 billion people and this level of technology.

Even if we take all emotional, spiritual, ethical- everything non-tangible and non-material out of the equation- this current wealth inequality is too wasteful. 

Centi-Billionaires joyriding in space and people starving to death, or not being able to afford insulin?

If you are good with money, you don't hoard it.  The evolution of our species right now is our own personal growth. Hoarding money and living well might be nice but it is not evolution, and in the modern world an "average" lifestyle consumes too much.

In France the famous 12 star restaurants and fine cuisine are not because of the chefs. No.  It is because the average labouring man- the stonemason, butcher, bus driver- can make capons with cinnamon, chocolate souffle, cassoulet, confit au canard.

That is why Paris is the cuisenary (not a real word) capitol (I mean Paris as a building filled with chefs) of the world.

We are not rich because of our billionaires.  In fact we are impoverished by them.  If they want to keep their wealth, they will have to share more of the feast, so to speak, with all of us. 

Or we have to demand our fair share.  (This is actually the only realistic possibility.) And I feel climate change is really forcing the issue.  As a species we cannot allow individual profit with no regulation to rule production and consumption.  We don't have the resources anymore. 

And these old "solutions"- like have a war and destroy some people and capital?  That does not work in modern times.  We are too dependent on each other.  The supply chain issues and labour shortages from Covid haven't even begun.  Drop war on all this wealth inequality and it is a disaster for everyone.

Developed nations consume more resources in a year than we consumed during the entire span of World War 2. The US spent 345 billion over the course of the war. That's about 5 trillion today. In comparison the US spent 5 trillion in 2022. Factor in differences in population and resources and you see how quickly we are draining the earth of our habitat.

People that control the money aren't good with it.  They are just good at making themselves rich and hoarding it.  UBI, Medicare for all, wages, unions, wealth caps, regulated rents based on wages, and let's bring back the 94 percent top tax bracket from WW2.  Pay more for goods so that workers are paid more.  Let these greedy sociopaths hoard, but don't let them hoard so much.  Demand more for the people on the bottom. 

This world is teetering precariously.  We really must move to the next level.

Art: https://www.instagram.com/animalenas/?hl=en