<\/a>Here in the Southern Hemisphere we are honouring the Spirit of Samhain. I\u2019m finding in Tasmania I am much more in tune with the seasonal shifts compared to life on the mainland where we we warm and bathed in sunlight all year round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaves turn russet and orange and as we say in Scotland \u2013 \u201cthe nights are fair drawin\u2019 in\u2019. The sun is now setting at just after 5pm, and people naturally seem to withdraw indoors and enjoy more homely pursuits and heartier meals. While there are still a few warm moments and blue skies to be enjoyed \u2013 there is a definite change in energy accompanied by a bracing nip in the air. The harvest has long been gathered, our stores now filled ready for the spiral journey down and inward – the journey through the darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditionally, Samhain was a time when the community would come together to light bonfires and make offerings to the ancestors and spirits. Who doesn\u2019t love gazing into a great roaring bonfire – watching for shapes and faces to leap out? These festivals were a way of honouring the continuous ebb and flow, inward and outward cycles of life, death, and re-birth, while acknowledging the interconnectedness of all natural things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a time to remember and honour our ancestors and loved ones. If you wish to welcome Samhain into your home, you may wish to gather a few photos of your loved ones, or you may feel drawn to honour a particular loved one you have lost over the last 12 months. You can add an extra place at the dinner table or light a candle in their memory. You may wish to spend time in contemplation, reflecting on shared memories or words of wisdom they shared with you. You may honour your ancestors and loved ones in any way that feels like a sacred connection to you. If you feel so drawn, sit in quiet contemplation and ask what your loved one would say to you now if they were here. Sit in silence \u2013 perhaps gazing at the flames of a fire – allowing whatever comes to you to just flow. Contemplate the \u201cgift\u201d they shared with you \u2013 a lesson taught, a smile shared or an extended hand through a difficult time. Even if you struggle to connect with their energy or essence, you can simply give thanks, love or gratitude for their presence in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I write this I think about the significance of the creative project I\u2019ve just completed. I have just started a 3 month-long course learning how to create using needle felting \u2013 not something I ever considered before but I am already loving the craft. Connecting with the wool fibres as my ancestors would have done in the Highlands and the Outer Hebrides has felt surprisingly deep and meaningful – almost moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our first project to get the feel of working with the wool was to create a Dream Egg \u2013 filled with intention and magic. The idea of the exercise I\u2019m sure is just to get used to different needles, the coarseness of different wools and how to create shape. I felt drawn to add in some snakeskin (for transformation) and citrine (connected to the \u2018solar plexus) and herbs including homegrown sage and lavender (to name but a few) \u2013 all placed lovingly and with intent in the centre of my egg. My wish as I worked with the needle, was to find answers to something I\u2019ve been wrestling with for a long time relating to my idea of \u201chome \u201d and how it connects with a healing journey of my own. As I got busy creating this egg and connecting with the wool fibres, I experienced a connection to an ancient grandmother who came forward to draw a spider web on the palm of my hand. The spiderweb means different things to different cultures and belief systems but it was certainly a message for me and was connected to my intent already imbued in my lovingly crafted dream egg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somehow through weaving the fibres and surrendering to the connection \u2013 the egg took shape and became a magical tool in its own right. Now as I look at it I feel the connection to my female lineage in the most powerful way imaginable. I have no experience of needle felting so I allowed myself to be guided by whoever was working through me \u2013 and somehow I created a stylised, though recognisable spider\u2019s web on my Dream Egg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I realise now, this was a beautifully timed project connecting me with my ancestors as we journeyed into Samhain. I have something tangible from that journey on my altar now and I can\u2019t think of a more appropriate homage to the Scottish, Irish and even earlier the Norwegian and Icelandic women in my line \u2013 all who have battled the harsh elements and been resourceful in the face of adversity. They Loved and they Survived \u2013 or I would not be here. I realised the strength, resilience and resourcefulness of these ancestors are within me – and my daughter too. This web of interconnectedness is strong whether through space, time, or distance<\/p>\n\n\n\n The little citrine crystal calls out to me from the centre of the earth \u2013 in the middle of my Dream Egg \u2013 like the seed of the sun buried deep in the soil. I know the sun will rise and warm us all once more, but until then I will work with the magic within, secure in the knowledge we are all connected through the flower of life, the spider\u2019s web, the ebb and flow of the waves, the inward and outward breath of Gaia, and the cyclical nature of birth, death and re-birth of all things. As weave, we can all embrace the Spirit of Samhain in our hearts. Honouring the cycle of endings and beginnings Here in the Southern Hemisphere we are honouring the Spirit of Samhain. I\u2019m finding in Tasmania I am much more in tune with the seasonal shifts compared to life on the mainland where we we warm and bathed in sunlight all year round. Leaves turn russet and orange Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,315,316],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-samhain","category-the-wheel-of-the-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17874,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17873\/revisions\/17874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lightmygaia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Creative Connection<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Blessed Samhain, may the veil between worlds allow you to connect with loved ones who have passed and may you have a peaceful journey into the darker months of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"