Wiccan

Blessed Samhain

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From Wicca Teachings:

Today is Samhain. It is one of the most important of the 8 Sabbats as it is the Pagan New Year. The wheel of the year has turned full circle and a new year begi…ns. The word Samhain means ‘Suns end’. It is pronounced Sowin.

Leaves fall and the trees become silent and skeletal against the darkening skies. The sap which rose in the spring and made the land fertile and green, now returns to the roots of the earth, where it will wait silently until the warmth of spring and rebirth draws it back to the surface.This is the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, not a rigid straight line, but rather a continual cycle, season by season, year by year.

Samhain is the third of the harvest festivals, only this isn’t a harvest of crops or grain it is the harvest of flesh. It was the time of year when farmers and families would slaughter cattle and preserve the meat to last through the cold winter months.

Samhain is a festival of death as it is the death of the year and of the waxing Sun. It is also the death of the earth when Plants, seeds and acorns are now slowly descending underground to ready themselves to be reborn in Spring. Animals will start to hibernate, and the earth will appear barren as it sleeps through the winter months.

Earth energies are being pull inwards at this time, this is the time we should also be looking inwards at ourselves. Contemplate the year we have had and what lessons we have learned, whether they were good or bad, what can we take from them and use in the future.

The God of the waxing Sun descends into the underworld opening up the veil between the two worlds of the living and the dead. At Samhain spirits can commune with the living and visit us. We remember our ancestors and the people and pets who have died. We honour them by placing pictures of them on our altars and invite them to join us. We should also adorn our altars with seasonal fare such as fallen leaves, twigs, acorns, nuts, turnips and pumpkins and offer these as gifts to the triple Goddess who is now in her crone phase, she is the wise dark mother of knowledge and days past.

Although a time of death Samhain is also a time of fresh starts and new beginnings. It is a time of ‘out with the old and in with the new’ To start looking forward and to our future.

On Samhain we should light a fire as this is primarily a Celtic fire festival where the villagers and towns folk would light giant bonfires to say goodbye to the God of the waxing Sun and to thank the Goddess for her harvest of gifts bestowed upon the earth. There would also be big feasts with stews, corn and breads and we would give thanks for people in our lives and show gratitude for all that we have, and we give thanks to the people who are no longer with us and invite them to join us at the feast.

Light a candle tonight and put it at a window west facing to light the way for our lost loved ones and invite their spirits to visit us.

Today is a great time for divination, for doing Tarot reading and looking to the future and asking ourselves how we can improve our lives and move forward for the coming year.

Have a Blessed Samhain may the God and Goddess watch over you.

May you all be Blessed and have a wonderful Samhain!  Blessed Be!

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The Black Moon

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This was re-blogged from Wicca Teachings :

Tonight is the second New Moon in September making it a Black Moon. The Celts and the Druids seen a Black Moon as a time of great changes and an Omen of a big event coming. The Romans and Greeks seen a Black Moon as a symbol of good luck. Take a deep breath. You’ve made it to the Black Moon. The last month has been very hard for many of us but things will start to settle down now and fall into place. When a Black Moon happens it amplifies the effects the Moon usually has over us, our emotions will be heightened, our intuition will be on high alert. It also heightens the magical affects of the Moon which is why this is also known as the Witches Moon, in fact Black Moon isn’t a scientific term at all it comes from ancient Witchcraft.

Tonight’s New Moon is in the constellation of Libra, which represents freedom and liberation. Liberate your mind first and your freedom will follow. Libra reminds you to follow the beat of your own drum. Be unique. Be original. Be who you really are. Take a walk on the weird side of life. You may find a part of yourself that has been begging for expression. This is the Libra New Moon message.

A new cycle is beginning for you. The Libra New Moon can empower you to move in a bold direction. You may break free from bad habits and relationships. You are no longer distracted by fear and doubt. You are ready to be who you were born to be. This is a time of great luck, so go out and try new things, use this lucky time to grow businesses, start new jobs, go to interviews, find a new love.

Change your mind. You change your life. See your challenges from a different perspective. See your challenges as opportunities for growth. They keep your life fresh and lively. Your life can be much freer than you may have realized. In this way, new opportunities will emerge for you. Believe in your dreams coming true. Believe when you wish upon a Star your dreams come true. The Star is shinning on you. The New Moon is lighting up a new path way for you. Perhaps it was there all along and now your eyes are opened.

The Black Moon strengthen the impact for change. This is setting the tone for a new you. Get out of your own way. Move out of your comfort zone. Make bold beginnings. Venus is encouraging you to have a fresh start. Be innovative. Don’t allow the negative ego to hold back your dreams. Listen to your intuition. You intuition is your inner knowledge. Allow your Higher Self to guide you to new relationships and goals. Sudden unexpected opportunities can come to you from out of the blue.

There are new perspectives to be enjoyed now and this Moon reminds us that no matter how far we may have strayed from where we want to be we can always get back there as long as there is hope and the will to move and grow yourself. The Black Moon is a time of releasing and letting go and this New Moon’s energy is going to be giving us that final push in the right direction so that we have the courage, confidence and willpower to sever ties with anything that has been causing us difficulties or to struggle with unnecessary and prolonged emotional pain.

The Black Moon opens a portal to other dimensions. Honoured by Wiccans and various schools of Magic, the Black Moon is a fertile time to connect with spirits and other realms and the planes where the ascended masters walk. It brings a cycle of mystery and magic, even more mystical than any other Moon phases. The double New Moons are associated with higher consciousness, altered states of awareness and hidden wisdom. Use the energy well.

Have a Blessed New Moon and may the Goddess watch over you.

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May you all be blessed!  Blessed Be!

Happy Mabon & Autumn Equinox

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Happy Mabon and Autumn Equinox!  I hope you all have a wonderful day! May your harvest be positive and plentiful!

Below has been copied from Wicca Teachings on Facebook:

Today is the Autumn equinox when night and day are exactly at equal length. It is also one of the eight Pagan Sabbats called Mabon, It is named after the God Mabon. He is the Child of Light and the son of the Earth Mother Goddess, Modron.

Mabon is mainly a harvest festival, it is the last harvest before winter comes. In old times it would be a time to start stocking up on fruit, wheat, corn and grain for the winter months ahead.

This is a time of transformation, The great wheel has turned as we pass into a new season and say goodbye to Summer. The earth is going through a major shift, where darkness will now start to take over light as the nights get longer and days get shorter. Cold will start to take over warmth and death will start to take over life as plants will wilt and trees will start to loose their leaves, fields will become baron and grey. wild animals will start to hibernate and gather food for the winter months.

Mabon is a time of thanksgiving, we thank the God and Goddess for all that we have and thank them for the harvest. The sap of trees returns back to their roots deep in the earth, changing the green of summer to the fire of autumn, to the flaming reds, oranges and golds. We are returning to the dark from whence we came. The Goddess is radiant as Harvest Queen and the God finally dies with his gift of pure love with the cutting of the last grain, he will descend into the underworld, his last day on earth will be Samhain when a gate will open between our world and underworld. We enjoy the abundance of fruit and vegetables at this time. We should adorn our alters with pumpkins, nuts, corn, wheat, squash, fruits and other seasonal fair and any falling leaves or acorns we may find to honor the season and to thank the God and Goddess for the wealth of harvest bestowed upon us.

Mabon is also a transition for the Triple Goddess as she goes from her mother phase to her crone phase, her final phase from her journey of the year.

The Autumn equinox is a time of balance, of both light and dark, it is a time to look within ourselves and balance our thoughts and emotions, and to find balance in our lives. To embrace our dark and our light equally as one cannot exist without the other. it is when we stop and relax and enjoy the fruits of our personal harvests, whether they be from toiling in our gardens, working at our jobs, raising our families, or just coping with the hussle and bussle of everyday life.

Mabon reminds us of the cycle of life, death and rebirth. As we go into the dark half of the year, we also know that Spring and Summer will be upon us again.

Hoof and Horn, Hoof and Horn
All that dies shall be reborn
Corn and Grain, Corn and Grain
All that falls shall rise again

May your Mabon be memorable, and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing.