This weekend includes deeply powerful holidays. No matter what your religious affiliation, in many parts of the world the days from October 31st through November 2nd are filled with rituals, celebrations, community and/or family gatherings, and all kinds of festivities. These three days include the holidays of Halloween, Samhain, All Saints Day, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and All Souls Day.
Woven through all of these holidays and events are the themes of death and rebirth and connection to the cycles that bring growth and transformation of the spirit, as well as acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of all life. In much of what is celebrated during these three days, there is the message that from death, life emerges. For many, it is a time when the “veil between the worlds” is believed to be the thinnest. This is the ideal time to communicate with, commemorate and honor our loved ones who have died–who have crossed the veil and left this world. For those who celebrate “Dia de los Muertos,” death is not to be feared–it is to be embraced, especially on this day. For many, this 24-hour period between sundown on Samhain (Halloween night to many) to sundown today (the Day of the Dead) was and still is a time when deep insights can more easily pass to those open to them.
Whatever your belief system, these three days, and especially today, can be a time to remember our loved ones who have died as well as an opportunity to tap into our own inner wisdom. Whether you believe that inner wisdom is coming to you from somewhere or someone else or whether you believe it resides within you, this can be a day to take time for yourself and go within and/or spend time in nature.
As we leave the month of October and enter the new month of November, we are entering a quieter time. Nature shows us the way through all the fallen leaves and the fading of the autumn colors. As trees have lost their leaves, we can now look up through the canopies into the sky. At night, we have the chance to gaze on the same stars our ancestors did long ago. We can begin to smell the burning wood in the fires we light or see the stacked wood outside people’s homes. We hear the quiet in nature, the settling down from all the activity of summer and early fall. We begin to spend more time indoors and feel the urge to gather with our families and friends. We are moving towards Thanksgiving and the December holidays which speak of the returning of light.
This is a glorious time of year that we are entering. A time to contemplate that as nature quiets and goes within, the seedlings and the buds of next year’s bloom are already in process. We know that the cycle of death and rebirth is occurring. November shows us the way to tomorrow–teaches us that there will be a tomorrow. Our ancestors show us that there is a tomorrow as well. All life dies and finds rebirth in a new form. The cycle continues!
I wish you peace and love and connection on this first day of November!
