NMR ISSUE 27

An Urban Wicca
Astrological Forecast 27
Cat
Crimson and Gold
Editorial 27
Elf-Calling
For Scott
Great Universal Mystery
Letters 27
New Abundance
Overcoming Inertia
Samhaintide Ritual
Shark
The Crystal Tree System
The Elves are Returning
The Life Flower Formula
The Secret of Magickal Power
Two References
Water Spirits

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An Urban Wicca: Samhain

Alex Miller-Mignone

OK, I'll admit it; I celebrate and commemorate all the Sabbats, but I live Samhain (maybe it's my Scorpio Rising). Ever since I can remember, the lure of Hallowe'en has been strong—probably a remembrance of lifetimes lived by Wiccan principles.

In general, we keep our celebrations focused outdoors from Vernal Equinox to Autumnal Equinox, and indoors for the dark half of the year. But Samhain is one of those periods where we overlap. At Samhain, we take full advantage of all the property has to offer.

Our celebration of Samhain is? Extensive (to say the least). Preparation often starts as early as August, when we begin raiding the local card shops and dollar stores. (For the uninitiated, these are chain stores with frequently rotating stock where everything costs a dollar; they're great for seasonal decorations, etc.) We seek that perfect addition to the boxes upon boxes of saved decorations from Samhains past.

Much of the natural decorations of Autumn Equinox—pumpkins, Indian corn, gourds—are just as appropriate for Samhain, and we sometimes discreetly sneak in an art tissue bat or ghost when we begin to prepare for the Equinox celebrations, about September 15th. We try not to overstep the bounds of good taste before October 1st, but by mid-October the house is festooned with spider webbing, the ten-foot-high walls have borders of art tissue skull and jack-o-lantern garlands, and dozens of bats (last year we had 99) sweep and swoop their way across the ceiling.

Outside is no different. Small ghost, bat or pumpkin figures have replaced the fireflies on the strands of mini white lights that line the birch tree, its leaves now a golden yellow, and the perennial bed beneath the birch has been transformed into a temporary cemetery, complete with realistic tough plastic tombstones and a papier-mâché mummy hand clawing its way out of the earth.

Fresh-cut jack-o-lanterns glow from each window and fill available table space inside. When it comes to Samhain, we leave little doubt that we endorse the season. But it isn't all secular. Alongside the pumpkin carving and bat hanging, the preparations for the Samhain ritual proceed apace.

Samhain is one of the most sacred days of the Wiccan calendar, representing the shift into the balsamic phase of the psychic year (a time of purging and cleansing for the new year ahead that will be birthed at Yule). It is also a time of tremendous psychic energy, having retained more of its original symbolism than any of the other Great Sabbats. It seems that everybody, Pagan or not, is tuned into Hallowe'en—the children most of all. It is refreshing to tap into this strong psychic current which resonates even in our modern times.

The garden table where we perform our open-air rituals is ringed with four black and four orange glass-encased candles, and small pumpkins are carved as markers of the Four Directions. We prepare special locust pod rattles for the Samhain eve ritual, and heap the table with the fruits of the season: dried corn, gourds, chestnuts (both in and out of the hull), sycamore pods, fallen colored leaves. It's easy to find whatever you need in the city, if you know where to look.

Identifying trees in local parks and squares is a fun and useful summer occupation. When autumn comes, you'll know where to find the best droppings. There are several ancient, hoary locust trees about a half-mile from the house, and it is here in mid-October that we gather the fallen pods for our Samhain.

The rattles are easy to assemble: take six to ten long, perfect pods and a good length of twine (you could use thin wire or regular string or thread, but we like the old-fashioned look of the twine). Holding the first pod horizontally in front of you, wrap the twine three times around it, catching the end under the loops. Add the next at a forty-five degree angle from the right end, wrapping it securely with the twine, and then add a third to mirror that one from the left. Afterwards, you can add as many or as few as desired, at the end carefully untwisting the original tip of twine to knot it with the tail end bit. The resultant rattle is a perfect accompaniment to the litany of the ritual, its soft and almost snake-like tones forming the ghostly response to the spoken word.

The official celebration of Samhain takes place over a full week, from the Sun's conjunction with the black hole Dionysis on October 30th until the astrological Power Gate of 15? Scorpio is illuminated by the Sun about November 7th. Black hole Dionysis is about sexual healing, and we usually reserve that night for a special celebration of the Great Rite, which seems all the more an affirmation of life in this season of death (I was conceived on Hallowe'en, so there may be a personal connection for me in this). Hallowe'en and traditional Samhain is the occasion for the more secular aspects of the season, and the house is always bursting with guests from near and far (our Samhain table is justly renowned, and invitations are coveted).

Hallowe'en afternoon we host a children's party, with ground chicken barbecue, potato chips, deviled eggs and pumpkin cookies or iced black magic chocolate cupcakes. By dusk the kids have gone, and the adults descend upon the garden. We take turns performing the part of the Horned One, complete with a leather mask topped with white-tail deer antlers (from a buck my father killed with a bow) and a flowing black cape. The pumpkins and candles on the garden table are lit, the litany is spoken, and the rattles give their replies. If the weather is chill, we will often light a small bonfire as well.

Samhain usually falls near the Blood Moon, the traditional time when farmers slaughtered their animals before the coming winter. It is one of the few times we still eat red meat during the year, in commemoration of the spirits of all the animals who gave their lives to nourish us and our ancestors. So the Samhain Feast is a hearty one. Dinner begins with a salad of escarole, arrugula, smoked gouda cheese, pears and assorted nuts in a cider-caraway dressing. It highlights fried pork chops (with rosemary from our garden and a rich veal demi-glace), jamishka (a Hungarian dish of chunky mashed potatoes with lots of pepper and caramelized onions folded in), dried corn and broccoli in browned butter. (Enough fat and cholesterol for an entire year goes into this meal, so it's just as well we only do it once!) And for dessert there is pumpkin cheesecake (a Samhain favorite) and cutout cookies in the shapes of bats, cats and brooms.

We usually have a group meditation after dinner. There may be some scrying to see the future, or we might use the use of an overturned wineglass and bits of paper with the alphabet inscribed to receive messages from departed friends and loved ones.

We honor the Samhain Fast almost a week later, when the Sun has reached the astrological Samhain point of 15? Scorpio. We spend this day in contemplation of the fruits of the past year, and planning for the work to come in the year ahead. About the fifteenth of November we begin mournfully to remove the ghosts, bats, witches and skeletons, but are heartened to realize that, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, many of the natural decorations will still be appropriate.

It is with a sad heart that we bid this most Wiccan of all seasons farewell, but we remember that in just nine months we can start preparing for it again!