Halloween

Halloween is the modern name of the ancient Irish and Scottish holiday of Samhain (pronounced SOW-win), a Celtic-Gaelic word meaning “summers-end”. It begins at dusk on October 31, and marks the doorway to the dark half of the Celtic year, the opening of a new cycle.

In the 7th-century CE the Pope established All Saints’ Day, originally on May 13, and in the following century it was moved to November 1. The evening before All Saints’ Day became a holy, or hallowed, eve and thus Samhain became Halloween.

The Reformation put an end to the religious holiday among Protestants, although in Britain Halloween continued to be celebrated as a secular holiday. The celebration of Halloween was mostly forbidden among the early American colonists, until the 1800s.

Agenda:

1. Make a costume

2. Trick or Treats

Lineage

Ancestry and lineage is one of my long-time fascinations.  I started doing research many years ago, starting with those who came to North America. I have a huge list of the names of early ancestors, but no context - no understanding of where they came from other than the name of the country: England, Germany, Holland, etc.

This year I'd like to begin to dive deeper into those lands of my roots to understand my origins a little better. 

 

1. Read "Root and Ritual"

2. Map it out

3. Dig a little deeper

4. Study more genealogy

Sabbath for Souls

Today is my Sabbath, and also the start of the week of Halloween, which marks the doorway to the dark half of the Celtic year, the opening of a new cycle.

The early Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin at this time of year, and so spirits of the dead could visit the living.

This is the time of year to welcome home the souls of your ancestors. But I definitely feel some angst regarding my relatives who moved here to the "New World" to take it away from the Native Peoples, and who bought into the false American Dream, built on the subjugation and decimation of so many other living beings. 

It has become my custom at this time of year to open my heart to healing the soul connection between me and my ancestors.

Agenda:

1. Unity Art for souls

2. Make Soul Cakes

3. Throw the runes

4. Have a soul ceremony

5. Offer ongoing support for my ancestors

Full Squirrel Moon

Tonight is the full moon called the Squirrel Moon, because now the squirrels are busily gathering nuts for the winter. This moon is also called Atchalankuaik, the "start getting sagittair roots" moon, by the Kalapuya of our area (sagittair is a potato like tuber). 

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Agenda:

1. Read "How to Manifest"

2. Take a vision walk

3. Celebrate abundance

4. Autumn blessings walk

Winternights

The Winternights, or Vetrnætr, is a twelve-day festival that begins on a night in mid-October, and marks the end of summer and the start of the winter. The name Vetrnætr (pronounced Vetter-natter) is Old Norse, composed of two words, vetr - meaning winter, and nætr - meaning nights. Vetrnætr is series of feasts and ceremonies (blóts, pronounced bloots) that celebrate the bounty of the harvest, and also honor the Disir, or female ancestor spirits.

Vetrnætr is celebrated by the Ásatrú; Ásatrú is an Icelandic name, taken by the modern-day Norse and Germanic people who worship the old northern gods (such as Thor, Odin, and Frey) and goddesses (such as Freya and Frigg). Though its practice was interrupted, Ásatrú has been reconstructed as closely as possible to the original religion of the Northern European people, based on the surviving historical records. Ásatrú intrigues me, because it would have been the religion of my ancestors.

2022 ofrenda

This month, Winternights festivals are held across Scandinavia, Germany, and New England and are marked by bonfires, tournaments, feasts, and arts and crafts vendors.

Agenda for today:

1. Read Root and Ritual

2. Set up my ancestor altar (ofrenda)

3. Disir meditation
4. Make more runes

5. Carve jack-o-lanterns
6. Feast and blót

Prepare for Halloween

Ms. Skeleton says, "Trick or Treat!"

This week we've been preparing for Halloween, with daily fun activities. Our oldest grandson has been talking about Halloween for months now - this is the first holiday he has a clear memory of.

Last year he learned all the iconic images of the season - pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, spiders, and bats - and this year he brings them into conversation - If someone says the word candy he replies, "Trick or Treat!"; If he sees a pumpkin or a ghost he says, "Ooo, scary." (He is also very interested in "blo-o-o-od".

The build up to Halloween is all about shifting to a darker phase of the year; darkness isn't bad, but it can be frightening, and having fun with fear is part of the process, something even a three-year-old can appreciate.

Agenda

1. Unity with pumpkins

2. Decorate inside and out

3. Cook pumpkin curry

First Quarter Moon of October, and Navratri, Part 3

Navratri continues for the final three nights. The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon. For these final three nights we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Saraswati, who is "the essence of self". Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace.

And this is the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. Now is the time to remain flexible, use my obstacles as fuel for growth, and show full effort for priorities.

Agenda Today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Journal queries

3. Make a full effort plan

4. Write a Mission Haiku

5. Practice visualization

6. Add to my altar

Navratri Continues

Navratri continues tonight with the visit of Lakshmi. 

The word navratri means nine nights; These nights are broken up into sets of three, and during each set we meditate on a different aspect of Shakti (the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us) - first the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati.

Each of the three goddesses signifies a stage of the spiritual journey we all go through: Durga’s strength and energy creates an opening, Lakshmi’s success and fortune nurtures growth, and Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace. Tonight we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Lakshmi, the Goddess of success.

2021 rangoli

Agenda Today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra 

2. Make a new rangoli design
3. Add to my altar

The October Garden

October is often wet here in our valley, and finally the weather is starting to cool off, so I face the challenge of the lure of hibernation: I'd rather not garden in the rain!

But if I can be strong, get on my rain gear, and take a daily tour of my garden, I find many simple things to do, without getting too muddy!

The best tip I've read in any permaculture blog Is this: Be consistent with 15-minutes a day, year round. I try to take a 15-minute walk through my garden each day, and I alternate the front and back gardens so I don't feel rushed. 

The consistency of the 15-minute daily visit keeps me connected to my garden even when I don't accomplish much. I notice the changes of the season, and how many bees I have. As Amy from 10-Acre Farm says, "It helps me to enjoy 'being' in the garden, rather than always focusing on the 'doing'."

Agenda:
1. October harvest

2. Save seeds

3. October garden care and bedding down

4. Fall planting

5. Raspberry pruning and thinning

Autumn Navratri

Navratri is a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us. 

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights, symbolic of the nine months in the womb.

Navratri is celebrated at least twice each year in India - in the spring and fall - because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Autumn (Sharad) Navratri begins on the day after the rise of the new moon in late September or early October.

The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon - the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati. Each of the three goddesses marks a stage of the spiritual journey we all go through: Durga’s strength and energy creates an opening, Lakshmi’s success and fortune nurtures growth, and Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace.

 
Agenda for today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Make a rangoli design

3. Plant grain seeds
4. Set up an altar for Mother Nature

New Chrysanthemum Moon

Endurance- acrylic and collage on canvas.

Tonight is the night of the new moon. The Chinese call this ninth new moon the Chrysanthemum Moon. The chrysanthemum is a symbol of long life and endurance because of its ability to withstand colder temperatures. According to Chinese scholars, it shows the virtues of one who can endure temptations and maintain grace.

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

Agenda for today:

1. Retreat Day

2. Read "How to Manifest"

3. Choose a month theme

4. Set intentions

5. New moon altar and meditation

6. Start an abundance journal

Wake Up Practices

Artists need a lot of mental energy to make art. We need to be fully awake, passionately curious, and open to joy. It's a kind of wild awareness that allows a "helpful obsession" for our art. When I am awake, I have a natural rhythm throughout my whole day, pulsing between focused attention and floating openness. I pulse as distractions arise, and as low energy slows me down; it's a kind of steady heartbeat that carries me with equanimity and perseverance.

When I'm not awake, I can't seem to make art at all. And so this week I'm using a variety of Wake Up Practices.

Agenda:

1. Read the Creativity Book

2. Tiny tasks list

3. Review-Prepare-Flow

4. Clean the studio

5. Waking up!

Ayathrem

Ayathrem is the fourth Gahambar celebrated by the Zoroastrian community, who honor the six seasons of the year with six Gahambars - the word gahambar means "proper season". Each of these six festivals is celebrated for five days, and each honors one of the six material creations: The heaven, water, earth, flora, fauna and man.

Ayathrem celebrates the creation of plants, the time to sow winter crops, and the season when the herds come home from pasture. It takes place each year from October 12th through the 16th.

Agenda:

1. Recite prayers
2. Make Ghormeh sabzi (beef & herb stew)
3. Sow fava beans and plant garlic

Indigenous People's Day

Happy Indigenous People's Day! Some people celebrate the second Monday in October as Columbus Day, but many of us prefer to honor instead the people who were here in the Americas for centuries before Columbus "discovered" it. 

Many cities are finally making the name change official, adopting Indigenous People's Day to celebrate the people and their culture, and also to reflect on their ongoing struggles in this land. The celebration today includes powwows, drumming, dancing, Native American foods and crafts.

Agenda:

1. Skywoman falling

2. A note about appropriation

3. Land and people acknowledgement

4. Drumming

Third Quarter Moon of October

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Today is the Third Quarter Moon: This waning moon energy is yin - quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness. At this phase we can ease off a bit on actively pursuing goals, slow down, go within, and attend to inner work and self-care.

Agenda today:

1. Read "How to Manifest"

2. Renewal plan

3. Generosity plan

4. Evaluation House

5. Monthly journal brainstorm

6. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Unity Art for Pollinators, Part Two

I've been seeking unity with pollinators, and I'm ready now to take the next steps, which is to plant habitat. Fall is the best time to do that.

Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area: Here in the Willamette Valley, we live in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest ecosystem (same as the Puget Sound Valley). Before cultivation, we had dense coniferous forests, prairies that supported open stands of oaks, and wetlands with swamp or bog communities. The original, natural vegetation provided continuous cover and adjacent feeding opportunities for wildlife, including pollinators.

We can no longer assume that nature "out there" somewhere is taking care of the wildlife. We need to turn our urban and suburban areas into habitat, starting with native pollinator gardens. Imagine a pollinator-friendly neighborhood, with native plants in bloom through as much of the growing season as possible, from one yard, patio, front porch to another! Imagine birds, bees, and butterflies welcomed back to our cities!

“What if each American landowner made it a goal to convert half of his or her lawn to productive native plant communities? Even moderate success could collectively restore some semblance of ecosystem function to more than twenty million acres of what is now ecological wasteland. ... we can create this country’s largest park system. It gives me the shivers just to write about it. Because so much of this park will be created at our homes, I suggest we call it Homegrown National Park.” 

― Douglas Tallamy, Nature's Best Hope

Agenda: 

1. Prepare to create pollinator habitat

2. Gather plants and seeds:

3. Start seeds and transplants

4. Planting milkweed and lupine

5. Butterfly craftivism

Mehregan

Mehregan (pronounced ‘meh-re-gahn’), is an ancient Persian festival, older even than Zoroastrianism, that began as a feast for the sun god/dess, Mehr.

Mehr (also known as Mithra) is responsible for knowledge, love, friendship, promises, and the light. The word "mehr" in Farsi means kindness.

When Zoroastrianism took hold in Persia, in around 1400 BCE, Mehr was reduced from a God to an angel, but the festival of Mehregan remained. Now Iranians celebrate it usually on October 1st or 2nd, as a day of thanksgiving and the start of the second half of the year (Noruz, in March, is the start of the first half). People decorate their houses, put on new clothes, and visit their relatives and friends, wishing each other a good harvest, long life, and happiness.

Agenda Today:
1. October thoughts

2. Journal queries

3. Read "Root and Ritual"

4. Make Aash-e-jo (barley soup) with lamb
5. Set the table
6. Fire