I wondered about the tradition of carving turnips, and pumpkins, and placing lights inside. It occurred to me that, as they resemble skulls, it was significant. Then I had a vision of village graveyards, where folk would gather round the graves of their loved ones and place the carved turnips on the graves. It seemed to me that the light was to attract the spirit and invite it to enter the turnip and communicate with the living.
Although I appreciate it’s fun and exciting, Hallowe'en has become overly commercialised and overlaid with greed and consumerism, children knocking on doors and expecting to be given many sweet treats for no other reason than it’s Hallowe'en. When I was a child in Scotland, we called it ‘guising’. Yes, we dressed up, but not in anything ugly. Maybe a white sheet or whatever else we wanted to wear. We visited our neighbours, and we had to work hard for our one sweetie, piece of fruit or a few nuts. We each had to do our well-rehearsed party piece. Some of us sang, told jokes, recited a poem or danced. We might also sing in chorus. This delighted the adults (I’m sure they found us hilarious) and we were satisfied with our sensational performances. It had little to do with sweets, the fun, participation and appreciation was the main part.
If we wish to return to a more spiritual experience of Samhain and engage with the departed, we have need to alter our consciousness away from the everyday and logical, and enter into deeper parts of ourselves. We must delve into our ancient wisdom, the innate memories of times gone by, and into our intuition, our psychic consciousness, that we may become mediums and receive that which our loved ones bring to us. These forms of being are not popular in today’s world, being mostly ignored, derided or ridiculed, yet they are essential to a balanced life.
Wisdom is found in the Wise Woman and psychic powers in the Enchantress, two of the Twelve Archetypes portrayed in my book, ‘Live From Your Centre – on the Wheel of Life’. This work is based on the Four Elements and how their interaction gives rise to a maximum of twelve types of consciousness. There is an identification of the Twelve, each one fully described, with sections on how to recognise which ones we and others are using, and which ones we need to develop to evolve more of our true selves, which live in the Centre of our circle.
This is a big book, with many illustrations, including colour. It contains guidance on how to call forth these other parts of ourselves, that we become more balanced and well-rounded. It must be stressed that, although there are six female and six male Archetypes, they do not apply to men and women in stereotypical sexist roles. All Twelve are available to both sexes, as are all Four Elements. There are three Water Archetypes, three Earth, three Fire and three Air. It helps to think of them as Yin and Yang. Men can also be wise and psychic, just as women can be warriors and scientists for example.
This is a brief description of the Wise Woman and the Enchantress, bearing in mind that if our consciousness identifies with only a small part of the circle, it becomes stagnant, and we may exhibit some of the negative aspects of the Archetypes in which we are stuck. Practising others and awakening them in ourselves purifies them and we begin to feel more movement in ourselves and in our lives. Below, there is a link to my blog where you can read the entire first chapter.
The Wise Woman is an Earth Archetype, she is a storehouse of treasure of all kinds. In the material world, she stores our food for the winter and our money in her banks, but she also stores memories, including racial ones. She carries within her all the wisdom gained through the ages, she has inner riches, she values things, she cares for the earth, which makes her an excellent conservationist. She hates waste, and has concerns as to how we are laying waste to the land. We must not confuse her with Mother Nature, who grows our food and suckles all her children, all species on earth. When overused, the Wise Woman can become a suspicious, miserly worrier, but when balanced with other Archetypes she is a great blessing. We turn to her to invoke the memories locked safely away in the depths of our beings and call forth the souls who rise to greet us.
The Enchantress is a Water Archetype, she is our feelings, the deepest part of ourselves, as the ocean floor is to the earth. She is our intuition, our psychic abilities, so of course we have need of her when contacting the other realm. She is the medium, she has visions, her feelings are an essential guide, giving direction as to good choices and warnings of bad. Unlike the Actress, the Archetype who expresses our emotions, the Enchantress’s feelings are usually not known to others, unless they themselves are in the Enchantress. She is enigmatic, magnetic and mysterious. Perhaps this is why she is practically outlawed, she can sense what people are thinking and they fear her for it. Negatively, she can become melancholic, depressed and will weep tears for all the pain and suffering in the world. She also prophesies, so she could be seeing horrors to come, for unlike most, she has not lost touch with the collective consciousness, and it’s not a comfortable place to be in these times.
So, this Samhain, if you want to receive those who have passed on, have your turnip or pumpkin in front of you with a tealight in it ready to light, or only a candle if you prefer. Sit in a circle if with others, or comfortably if alone. Switch off the electric lights, imagine a protective bubble of light around the room and light your candle or tealight. Go quietly and deeply into yourself, empty your mind and wait for what may come. It could be the sense of a particular person, or a vision, a thought, some words, numbers, a recalled scent or sound. Don’t judge or question what you get, simply flow with it. We may not think we have received anything at all, but in the following days something might occur that makes us think. If in a group, take it in turns to share if desired, you may have messages to give to each other. When you feel you have finished, thank the spirits who have come, bless them on their journey home, and let the bubble of light dissolve. As soon as you can, write down what came to you, you may not realise you were in a light trance and, like a dream, things can easily slip away. I hope you have an enriching and comforting experience.
I wish you a wonderful Hallowe'en, however you are spending it, and may you go forward into the new year with renewed hope and energy. Blessed Be.
https://www.magentawise.com/post/read-the-first-chapter-for-free-here
mybook.to/LiveFromYourCentre
Also by Magenta on Amazon.
Poems – ‘Messages are Dancing in the Rain’ and ‘Dancing with Shadows and Ghosts.
Short stories – Kill and Cure.
https://www.magentawise.com
