Halloween, Day of the Dead and the Death card

Ancestors Day of the Dead Death Halloween Healing & Wellness Magic Ritual Samhain Spirituality Tarot Wheel of the Year

We are well into the dark Season now, today being Halloween and Samhain - feeling like the quintessential fall day: gusty winds blowing leaves off trees, air chilling to the bone (with a side of rain which we can do without, I think!). It's a most perfect time to cozy up, surround yourself with candles, sip piping hot tea, put together tasty sweets for trick-or-treaters. But more than that, it is an excellent time to turn away from the  distractions of the outside world, and turn the focus inward, reflecting on how we feel during this time of year; how we can better attune to the energy and cycles of Fall.   

Mother Nature gives clear signs through bare trees and decomposing leaves, indications that the cycle of death is upon us once more. 

Although the experience of death in all its' facets can be difficult to navigate through, it is not a dead end. 

Death teaches us how to surrender to the grand scheme. Where to fully let go of what has dissipated, decayed or been lost. It is honest and raw, providing opportunity to acknowledge and release what is no longer serving. It gives us another chance to reflect on our experience so we may shed, cleanse and discard anything that is a hindrance to our greatest potential - which could be a belief system, behaviour, relationship or habit etc. Once we do the work to remove what is not useful, we clear space to begin again. Death allows transformation and evolution to occur in our lives. 

The Death card in Tarot represents the finality of a situation - which is always followed by the promise of a new day, represented here by the horizon's dawning sun. Because life is not static but continuously in flow, where there is death, a rebirth is bound to follow. 

Think on ways to embody this energy. Where does death fit symbolically in your life at this time? What requires your release to begin anew?  

by artist Maria Dimova

By artist Maria Dimova

At Halloween and Samhain we celebrate death in both its symbolic and literal forms, making it a most fitting time to also honour the dearly departed from our lives. Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican celebration around this time which specifically honours deceased loved ones through colourful imagery and costumes of skeletons adorned in jewels and flowers. 

Take a moment tonight to honour your ancestors by creating an altar for them, light candles and leave offerings they would appreciate. Perhaps you can incorporate some form of divination to communicate with them such as tarot cards or runes. Remember, life does not truly end but is transformed by death, and the veil between worlds is thinnest tonight. So during this liminal time, you just might find the ancestors reaching out to you...    

Wishing you a magickal Halloween and blessed Samhain, witches!

 


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