the phagos blog

Woohoo!!! Samhain is coming!

Tomorrow morning I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a very long time.  I’m going to get up a little early, and I’m going to do ritual before I go to work.  Over the last few days, I’ve realized that fear has been keeping me from taking the next step into the unknown.  Last year, when I was taking the second module at the dojo for restoration therapy, we were given exercises to do to develop our internal abilities.  Chi strengtheners, things along that line.  For reasons that have only become clear to me to this week, I never did them.

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In many neo-pagan religions, today is Imbolc, which the Catholics have borrowed and now refer to as Candlemas.  In Wicca, this day is dedicated to the Irish goddess Brigid, Goddess of Poetry, Smithcrafting, and Healing.  There are many associations for today, and even now a fraction of these traditions have been passed down and changed into what Americans refer to as Groundhog Day.

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Well, Samhain (pronounced sow en), or Halloween is tomorrow. After much debate over the matter, I’ve decided to publish here the article currently circulating in the Ave News, since it’s not available online. If you’ve read the printed version, you may notice a couple of slight changes, but those were for space and left the article essentially unchanged. Without further adieu, here is the article.

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For anyone who doesn’t know, yesterday was Mabon, a Wiccan holiday that most people in the northern hemisphere know as the autumnal equinox.  Mabon is a harvest holiday, a celebration of the bounty of the fields.  It’s a time to acknowledge the things we’re harvesting in our lives for the year.  Except this year was a little different for me.

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What a crazy week it’s been! Regardless, I have finally managed to finish transcribing this year’s Imbolc ritual into electronic format, which I present here for you.

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Imbolc, also referred to as Candlemas, came and went saturday, though it was only yesterday when I was able to do my ritual.  I can’t post it online just yet, I only have it in handwritten form and haven’t typed it into the computer yet.  As soon as I do that I will post it, though the holiday is past.

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A couple nights back I went to the lights at the zoo at Riverbanks Zoo. I went last year too, but this year wasn’t the same. I got there later, there was a bigger crowd, and it was nowhere near as cold as last year, being a balmy mid-50s compared to last year’s low 30s.

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someone or something you trusted beyond question or you just knew, that today was the last day of your life? Would you live differently than you are right now? What if it were a month from now? A year? What if somehow you knew exactly when and how you die, and you couldn’t change it? Would you still live the way you are now?

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I thought I’d posted at least once since last Sunday, but I guess not. Exhaustion will do that to you. Samhain is only a three short days away… the Veil between the worlds continues to thin. Although Samhain is my favorite holiday, it is not without a bittersweet taste, having lost people and pets close to me. I know they’re close to me, thoughts of them come into my mind unbidden.

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