Samhain will soon be upon us. Most people know this ancient Pagan festival as Hallowe’en – All Hallows eve. The wheel of the year turns towards winter. The nights are long and cold, the days short and bitter bright. Leaves are falling, leaving skeletal trees on the horizon.

Despite the ‘civilised’ society that we have created, winter still tugs at our far memory. It reminds us that as Mother Nature can be bountiful so she can be brutal. In the past, this was the time of year when animals unlikely to make it through the cold season would be slaughtered and stored to feed the community. It was the time when the last of the harvest was gathered and the remaining food rationed. The period between Samhain and Winter Solstice is the time of no time. We are between the worlds, between dark and light, close to death and life yet touching neither. The earth waits for the light to return. Continue reading →