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By the way, remember that from October 30 -November 1 is Samhain (Saw-wen) when the veil of time and space is so thin as to be nonexistent for some . For others, just a time to dress like your shadow and party. But for some, time to reflect on how the coming months will pass, try to feel where the flow is in life and ease into it. When we do the Samhain ritual with the fire, first, at sundown, we extinguish the lights of the house and the fire (if you heat with a woodstove, otherwise just the houselights). Then we sit in darkness for a time in silence. Next we light a fire (or candle) at sundown. Then we share stories of people, animals, trees, books, songs that have helped us to find ourselves over the years. These are gratitudes for how and where we have crossed paths or walked with wisdom (that would be the role of the ancestors, who are always present to guide us and seed our lives with opportunities to grow.). When we douse the lights and start the new fire (or light the candle), that is to honor the new year, and a new cycle in our lives, the shifting of our energy from being present for the world (action-mode) to living more thoughtfully, bringing our focus to our friends, our animals, family and those who are in our inner circle and in our lives. (We dont neglect the world but Samhain is a time to re-center ourselves in our hearts.) We pass around apples and bite into them, tasting the sweetness of life. Life is brief. The apple is sacred to the Celts. (We can share how life has been sweet to us over the last year.) After a few bites we toss the apple outside for the creatures to find. If we have a fire, we light a candle from the fire and place it in the west-facing window, cracking the sash. (If our fire was a candle, just use that candle.) This is to guide the new house spirits to our home, and to allow old energy to pass out into the night. Now we can turn on the house lights.
(Article changed on Oct 31, 2025 at 10:59 AM EDT)
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