Honoring the Ancestors at the Samhain Threshold

Altars with my teacher, Kim in Becket, MA (left, middle) and my personal home altar with my beloved (right).

Sacred Remembrance

Samhain (pronounced "sow-ebn") marks the end of the harvest season and the descent into the darkness, as winter begins. It is the halfway point between fall equinox and winter solstice and is an honoring of the liminal space. During this time, cultures around the globe see this time as a threshold, a space where the "veil" between material and spirit world is thin. In this time, we sense the oneness with all beings and honor transitions. This is when the cosmos, earth and below realms align in balance, promising the return of the light and rebirth to come.

Energy Changes Forms, Never Dies

Traditionally, in Dia de Muertos, the ancestors are believed to be walking amongst us and our altar spaces are the light as the bridge between worlds, a space to return. Ancestral offerings on our altars are the tangible and spiritual connection and symbols of remembrance that their spirits have changed formed, even as their physical vessel has passed.

The honoring of death is also the reminder of the continuity of life, rebirth, and death as their cyclical natures is constantly amongst us. We deepen our connection with the unseen and unknown, while holding that our ancestors are always guiding us. We can thank and ask forgiveness for that which is in our ancestors past and learn from their experiences. Now more than ever, this is the time for repair, from our ancestors who contributed to the fragmentations we see now. Also, to give gratitude and petition for support and guidance to those who are healed and contributed to all that we have benefited from in peace and love.

We remember, in our DNA, lives the experiences of those who came before us. It is time we reach into the depths of our conditioning, recognizing our past, honoring the ones before us, and face what we must in order to birth into the universe deeper healing for all. It begins within.

This time is for:

• eating/offering a meal for the ancestors

• lighting candles

• the marigolds are traditional representations of the light

• introspection and reflection

• prayer or song

• celebrating mystery

• honoring the cycles of death, rebirth, and life

• transforming from the darkness

• making medicines with plants from your lineage

• sitting with the stars and asking for their support

• sharing stories around fire

• creating ancestral altars