Samhain, Finding Balance 

I have always loved Samhain, from the cool, crisp weather to the décor and festivities. Personally, this time of year has always been about coming full circle, not only in the general Wheel-of-the-Year sense, but the wheel of my own life as well. Projects come to a close, I start to withdraw into myself, and I sense a calm within myself and around the world.

I swear it’s not just the tea and the warm blanket and the cozy spot in which I carry a book talking! 

It’s difficult to achieve that balance, though, when so many other things around us, from jobs to families to events and everything in between, are pulling us in hundreds, maybe thousands, of directions every day. As much as we may want to allow the Earth to influence our lives – to want to slow down just as the days are – there may be no real way to achieve that!

Samhain emphasizes the need for more balance in our lives, especially when it comes to finding wholeness and acknowledging things that may be taboo or not very pleasant in order to achieve that sense of balance. Specifically, Samhain calls to our attentions the existence of death, the realities of the Underworld (whatever you may believe about afterlife), and the honoring of the end.

To achieve that equilibrium, especially at a time when life is most fragile and vulnerable, I’ve had to make a very difficult decision: To give a nod to my inability to manage too many things in my life, and to take on additional projects when I was already overwhelmed. I found myself procrastinating on things I needed to do, finding no time to do things I wanted to do, and still somehow feel like I was being pulled in those thousands of directions I was talking about! I was drowning. I like to think that was figurative, but there were some days I literally had to catch my breath.

I also had to accept the fact that I simply don’t have the physical or mental capacity to achieve everything I’ve wanted to do, especially this Samhain season, which was difficult to accept and even more difficult to follow through with in the form of limiting my activities and achieving balance between giving myself to others and giving myself to… well, myself!

There’s an interesting side to this realization and this attempt to find balance, and that’s wondering how your actions will affect those who have come to depend on you. This may lead to a sense of guilt for leaving those people high and dry, fear that you’ll not be invited to help later.

The stark reality, though, is that there may be some disappointment, but many will admire your ability to recognize when too much is just that, and will welcome your attempts to bring that balance to your life. (I wouldn’t necessarily recommend trying this with your boss without a discussion about how to bring about that balance without quitting a project or the job itself, though!)

I recently experienced this with Samhain's Sirens (yup, this very effort!!), and was so overwhelmed by the acceptance, the love, and the caring my fellow Sirens showed me not only through this whole project and in other parts of my magickal and everyday life, but when I realized that my plate was too full and I had to start dropping some things, including Samhain's Sirens. At least for my planned blog posts and giveaways. While I was worried about how they would think, what they would imagine, and whether they’d be okay with this at all, they were most worried about my health and my ability to find balance.

It was a very powerful, provoking lesson to learn: You often put more pressure on yourself than anyone else in your life, and while they won’t know your limitations, you will… so the one for whom you have to be most concerned should be yourself. Find that balance, achieve that serenity, and most of all, know that others will completely understand.

Thank you so much, my fellow Sirens, for teaching me such an important lesson. 

The Giveaway for Today!

Song of the Day with Kestril Trueseeker 

Altars for the Unpathed or How I Met My Athame

Kids, it was the springtime of 2002 when I first decided to take my life in a different direction. It wasn't so much that I disliked the religion I was brought up with, it was that I felt it really didn't feel like me any more – it felt like what other folks wanted me to be. And so, I did what so many others before me did – read up everything and anything I could get my hands on, especially Witchcraft 101 stuff.

Now I don’t know if any of you went through this stage, but I got in touch with my inner anal retentive (OK, maybe it isn't all that inner) as I obsessively did everything exactly the way it was spelled out in books. Any deviation meant the whole deal was shot to hell and not worth bothering with. I managed to put off doing pretty much anything, this way, which was not what I would call spiritually satisfying.

At some point it did dawn on me that not all the books agreed on every detail and not everything really worked well with my practice personally. I think the turning point was answering the call of my Deities (a call I worked really darn hard to ignore by the way – yes I am a Taurus with both a stubborn and a procrastinating streak) and coming to terms with the idea that if it didn't fit my work with Them, I didn't have to use it.

A good term to describe my spiritual leanings would be Unpathed. I can’t take any credit for this clever name; it was a term used by someone on a Facebook group I belong to which I fell in love with. I think it captures the idea that, for both the good and bad, I am not a part of any clearly delineated path but I’m making my way through the woods. I am not a hyphenated anything, but do take my inspiration from what I find around me. Though I do try my damnedest to research the hell out of anything before I use it. That berry on the vine next to me in that hypothetical woods I just mentioned may be luscious on its own, but combined with the root I got somewhere earlier in a completely different part of the woods may cause extreme flatulence, metaphorically speaking .  The rationality of Air needs to mesh well with the intuition of Water, otherwise, it’s very easy to lose your way in Bog of Eternal Stench.

So what in bloody blue blazes does this have to do with altars or athames? Well, one of the first things I realized is that my altar set up does not have to look like anything I've seen in any book anywhere. Anything that doesn't add to what my intention is does not need to be there. Also, there may be some oddball stuff that never gets mentioned in any of the books that absolutely needs to be there. Again the determination is made through a balance of reason and emotion, and when something hits that sweet spot between the two, it gets tried out. And even then, the item in question may not really work when it comes down to actual practice. You almost have to approach this like a scientist. Come up with a good hypothesis based on your knowledge and don’t forget to observe and accurately record the results. So when you are working out those last few details for your Samhain altar, ask yourself, what’s on there simply because you think it ought to be there, and which pieces really bring the spirit of what Samhain is to you alive?

Oh, my athame…right! Almost forgot. Well when I first started I dutifully went out and bought a simple black handled knife. It was pretty much exactly what every book said it should be and although it worked well enough in its way, it just didn't seem to fit. That one eventually got cleansed and re-purposed as part of the décor. Then I got a prettier ornate knife from a Ren faire, and while it was just fine, it too didn't feel right. That knife was gifted to a friend of mine who was just starting out on her own path (after I cleansed it and cut the cord binding myself to it of course – always practice good metaphysical hygiene folks!). Finally I saw it – a bone from hilt to blade beauty from China with a dragon and a phoenix carved into the scabbard. Absolutely not black hilted or metal, but absolutely perfect for me.

Come to think of it, I really shouldn't call it an athame, because well, it just isn't  But it is a lovely ritual knife and exactly what I needed for this part of my journey on my unpath. I wish you productive traveling on yours.

Next up to go hand in hand with Kestril's blog of how she found her Athame is today's Giveaway. Eliora from Elegantly Enchanting is giving away this beautiful pendant

Athame & Pentacle Pendant / Necklace

Darling little Athame is paired with a silver-pewter Pentacle charm and hangs from a black waxed hemp cord.

The beautiful little Athame has a double-edged, stainless steel blade is accented with a metal hilt guard in the shape of the tail and wings of a great bird. The hilt has a black-colored grip and the hilt-end ring holds a silver-pewter Pentacle charm.

A tiny wonder, the Athame measures just 3.5 inches from tip to handle; the width of the hand guard is one inch.

The cord has a silver-toned lobster claw clasp, and measures approximately 24". The cord can be sized to your preference, at no additional charge.

Remember:

Your first entry is to follow us here. (make sure you comment and tell us that you're following!)

Bonus entries:

Go to Elegantly Enchanting and peruse her wares. Come back and tell us what you like best there.

Make her page a favorite on Etsy and come back and tell us (separate entry)

Like us on Facebook- come back and tell us (separate entry)

Follow us on Twitter (come and tell us!- separate entry)

Blog about this giveaway (comment separately and send us a link to your blog post)

Tweet about this giveaway (comment separately and send us a link to your blog post)

We are thrilled with how well received this project has been, and the amount of participation we've had! With this being our first ever, we've had a few "things that go bump in the night", but more importantly we've had TONS of enjoyment seeing the positive response! It's you, the readers and participants that make it all worth it!

As you are probably aware, we've been hinting at a Grand Prize Giveaway at the end of this project. The question that must be on most of your minds is, "But what exactly is included in the Grand Prize?" Ah yes, we've heard your inquiring minds, and I'm here to deliver! (both figuratively and literally - but I'll get to that in a bit.)

To show our appreciation to all of you lovely folks out there who have been following, liking, tweeting, and just being engaged in our project, we have been fortunate enough to have no less than TWELVE beautiful people who have contributed to the Grand Prize. And now, it's with great pleasure, I present to you "The Un-Veiling"! *cue dramatic music and drumroll!*

To start off with, we have a beautiful offering from Sosanna's Closet. She's donated an 8 Inch Wheel of the Year wreath to adorn your altar. Sosanna has been a frequent contributor to our blog, and has many lovely hand-crafted items in her shop. Sosanna has a terrific blog at Confessions of a Modern Witch.

Gift Certificate #1

Next, we have a Gift Certificate from Eliora at Elegantly Enchanting good towards your very own custom Athame/Bosom Knife, embellished to honor the Winner's deity or magickal theme of choice. Not only are her hand made athame's out of this world, but you really want to check out her hand painted glass items and wands!

Nothing says "Samhain" like this offering from Mrs. Oddly! She's put together her own blend of Ancestor's Oil and Incense, beautifully packaged in a drawstring bag, for your Samhain workings! These items are used to call upon your beloved dead to enlist their aid on your behalf. The oil may be used to anoint candles, special tools, yourself etc. the incense is loose herb mix to be burned on charcoal. There are no fillers; straight herbs and resins. Mrs. Oddly handcrafts her own oils, charms, magickal tools, incense, and bath salts. She also has a wicked-cool blog that you'll want to follow: Something Oddly.

                          

Getting excited yet? Ohhh, hold onto your brooms my witchy ones - I'm not done! LOL! This hand made Black Sparrow pouch offered by Kestril is an Asian style pouch designed and charged for ancestral workings. It's adorable, and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it!

 

Because I can be a ditz-of-a-witch sometimes, the picture you see up there to the right also includes a peek at part of WitchLab's offering.

Tiffany over at Witch Lab has donated a set of her hand made Ritual Oils and Solid Perfumes - 2 Ritual Oils (Sun & Moon) and 2 Solid Perfumes (Serpent Mound & Snowbloom) The ritual oils are in 5ml dropper bottles and the solid perfumes come in 1/2 oz tins.

What's Samhain without some divination? Well take a look at this donation by Jen Rue at Three Cats & A Broom! The Sweet Twilight Tarot deck and is uniquely illustrated with artwork reminiscent of a Tim Burton film. Take a look at this link to see more about this deck! Jen also blogs over at Rue and Hyssop.

Also pictured (although hard to see, whoops!) is my own offering. I hand blend my own Flashing Spell Powder that is great for burning on a charcoal disk. This offering is my NEW blend ~ "Happy Hearth & Home". Just a sprinkle on the charcoal will bring peace and happiness to your home! I'm in the process of adding items that I sell at my brick and mortar shop, Eye of Nuit. My Enchanted Moon Alchemy line offers candles, spell blends, and my own hand crafted Smudging Mist.

Here's another gift certificate, this one donated by East Coast Craft & Curios!  Tess is a lovely artist who enjoys creating art through the beauty of the devine. 

While I don't currently have a picture of this next gem, you'll absolutely love the handmade 20cm x 20cm box canvas painting offered by Pixie Allen at Willow Tree Art Studio ! Pixie also blogs at Pixie's Musings

This totally unique Hecate Glass Pendant is the artwork of our very own Loren Morris of Saga's Cottage Storybook Art. Her beautifully handcrafted original artwork is sealed in glass and hung on a pretty organza ribbon. I was the lucky winner of one of her pendants in a recent giveaway, and I can tell you that it's a piece I totally treasure!

  

And last, but not least, this FANTABULOUS Grand Prize package includes an offering by the very talented Danni over at The Whimsical Cottage! Danni has offered up one of her beautiful wire wrapped pendulums, complete with organza bag to keep it safe. Due to a :coughtechnicaldifficultycough:, I do not have a photo of the pendulum yet. We will try to get one up soon, along with the canvas painting mentioned above.

Earlier I mentioned something to do with delivering both "figuratively and literally". While we were in the planning stages of the Samhain's Sirens project, we just knew that whoever was the lucky winner of all these WICKED COOL items in the Grand Prize Giveaway would want to receive all of their items at one time. My contribution to the project was to have all of these lovely ladies send their donations to me, and I will be the one to ship ONE BIG BOX of amazing Samhain goodness right to your door!

 For those of you who do not know me, I am Snowy Morrighan. I own Eye of Nuit, and an online shop called Pagan Stuff Cheap.  I blog at Caldron Werx, A Room With A Brew. It's been my absolute pleasure to help the darling ladies of Samhain's Sirens!

So there you have it, a complete list of our Grand Prize Giveaway! I hope you enjoyed this tour and had a wicked fun time hanging out with us today!

 Grand Prizes

Magickally yours,

And now for our winners!

Thursday's winner of  Sabrina The Inkwitch's Aradia Print: Hex Parker!

Friday's winner of  Eliora's Besom Candle Snuffer : Iesadora!

Saturday's Craftacular winner of Sosanna's Scrying Mirror: Bella Foxglove!

Saturday's winner of the signed copy of "Veil Between the Worlds" by Sally Dubats: Gina 

Congratulations to all our winners this week! Remember, every time you enter, that's an entry for the amazing Grand Prize Giveaway at the end of the month. 

FYI: All winners are chosen through Random Number Generation. Winners, please don't forget to send in your shipping details to samhainsirens@gmail.com or through the jotform at the top of our blog page.

Remember, you have until 8pm tomorrow to get in on today's great giveaway! And, as always, if you have any questions at all about the giveaways, please don't hesitate to reach out to Kallan, our Giveaway Siren. 

By Sosanna from Confessions of A Modern Witch

When I started this project it was unthinkable that I would be able to actually complete the entire thing.  I was concerned about finding enough topics to tackle this unique but understandably unifying event.  We've taken the letters of the alphabet and brought them together for an entire year.  Not only that; but I have also unknowingly united three separate blog projects into one.

My post today is for The NaBloWriMo, The Pagan Blog Project 2012 and The Samhain’s Sirens Blog Extravaganza.  I decided that one word wouldn't be enough to cover all the different blogs so I thought, why not use ALL of the words.  I also decided that instead of using “bold” to emphasis the words, underline would be more fitting.

Samhain is the beginning of the New Year for unashamed Pagans around the world.  We spend our time preparing for the thinning of the veil so that undoubtedly we can reach out,  pay respects and possibly unite with our ancestors.  On a personal note, Samhain is when my partner and I uttered a set of vows that tied our lives together as well as our hands in a lovely ceremony.  People said it was uncanny and unusual, but we have been together for ten years now.

For me Samhain is quite different than the traditional Halloween.  Now I do love the costumes, people walking around as the undead, ugly witches walking the malls, while teenagers dress as sexy Cancan girls or the lovely assistant on the high wire delicately keeping balance with an umbrella certainly providing their parents with ulcers.  With umber skin or the grayed out uniform of Ulysses Grant our families march along the parade routes in the US for one lone night allowing our kids to indeed do the unbelievable deed of taking candy from strangers.  Samhain opens the divide in the spirit realm and allows us ever so briefly to see those that are gone from us.   It allows for happiness and understanding as we pay our respects by setting out apples or lighting a candle for those long gone.  Ultimately the way one celebrates is very personal.  Those unable to take an offering to the crossroads or to bury your apples at the four corners can take it upon themselves to find a way to pay homage.  There are really no unacceptable ways to pay respects to the dead. 

A great way to celebrate Samhain is to bring those unaccustomed to real meaning of this time of the year and show them a new way of thinking.  We take an unaccepted position and a view of a holiday that is unjustly and unfairly labeled as an unholy day and change it to something utterly amazing.

Use your time here to remember that those that are gone into the spirit world are not unavailable to you.  Simply open your mind and your heart.  They are not unreachable. They are just unaware of the barrier.  Do not unbalance the force but use it to create an unbiased space for your ancestors to unite.

With that, I hope that I've uncovered the point I was unarguably trying to make.  I had hoped to unmask the uncertainly and show that this wonderful Samhain holiday needs something that is not unattainable in order to be successful.  Just like life, this day requires one thing…..

U

Namaste and Blessed Be

Sosanna

)O(

Today's Giveaway