By any name... Samhain is only its Gaelic name. Dia du Muertos in Mexican culture. Many peoples from many times and places set aside a day to celebrate and honor death and the dead, most frequently coinciding with the period surrounding the final harvest. This period is a time in-between times. Summer is over, and winter is already casting his shadow over us. We teeter on the precipice of autumn, watching it slowly cross-dissolve as the leaves fall. This is a powerful time. W

The Celts The ancient Celts divided their year according to astronomical cycles. They recognized, (we think): The Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Autumn Equinox as the 4 quarters of the year, and the dates halfway in between each of those dates as the “Cross-Quarters.” The Cross-Quarters, (Imbolc, around February  2, Beltane around May 1, Lughnasadh around August 2, and Samhain, around November 7) were and are the major turning points of the year, and th

The Celts The ancient Celts divided their year according to astronomical cycles. They recognized, (we think): The Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Autumn Equinox as the 4 quarters of the year, and the dates halfway in between each of those dates as the “Cross-Quarters.” The Cross-Quarters, (Imbolc, around February  2, Beltane around May 1, Lughnasadh around August 2, and Samhain, around November 7) were and are the major turning points of the year, and th

Samhain: “Sow’-en” Gaelic word meaning Summer’s End. Samhain was the final harvest festival of the ancient Celts, a time when the crops were all in, animals were slaughtered to provide food for the coming winter, and the Veil Between the Worlds was believed to be at its thinnest point of the year. Most of our Halloween customs, from wearing costumes to carving jack-o-lanterns, are based on the beliefs and traditions of the Celts. If you want a book that covers them all and th

Samhain: “Sow’-en” Gaelic word meaning Summer’s End. Samhain was the final harvest festival of the ancient Celts, a time when the crops were all in, animals were slaughtered to provide food for the coming winter, and the Veil Between the Worlds was believed to be at its thinnest point of the year. Most of our Halloween customs, from wearing costumes to carving jack-o-lanterns, are based on the beliefs and traditions of the Celts. If you want a book that covers them all and th

Tuesday October 18, 2016 Friday October 21, 2016 Mid-Autumn: Season of dramatic change If we look at what’s happening outside us, in nature, we are seeing a mirror image of the changes going on inside us, in all aspects of our lives and our businesses. Up to now, Autumn has been beautiful; bright, vibrant colors for weeks on end. Warm, balmy temperatures from pleasant sixties to upper seventies that kept me outside, thinking every jacket-free day might be the last. But more k

Tuesday October 18, 2016 Friday October 21, 2016 Mid-Autumn: Season of dramatic change If we look at what’s happening outside us, in nature, we are seeing a mirror image of the changes going on inside us, in all aspects of our lives and our businesses. Up to now, Autumn has been beautiful; bright, vibrant colors for weeks on end. Warm, balmy temperatures from pleasant sixties to upper seventies that kept me outside, thinking every jacket-free day might be the last. But more k

Today is Samhain (sow’-en or sometimes sow-een’) the Celtic festival of the final harvest, and the time when the Veil Between the Worlds is at its thinnest. It is now the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, and it is the time when we turn inward. Our outdoor work is winding down to its finish, and our focus turns indoors. Likewise, our minds turn introspective. The focus at this time of the year is on gratitude for all the blessings we have har

Today is Samhain (sow’-en or sometimes sow-een’) the Celtic festival of the final harvest, and the time when the Veil Between the Worlds is at its thinnest. It is now the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, and it is the time when we turn inward. Our outdoor work is winding down to its finish, and our focus turns indoors. Likewise, our minds turn introspective. The focus at this time of the year is on gratitude for all the blessings we have har

Today is Samhain (sow’-en or sometimes sow-een’) the Celtic festival of the final harvest, and the time when the Veil Between the Worlds is at its thinnest. It is now the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, and it is the time when we turn inward. Our outdoor work is winding down to its finish, and our focus turns indoors. Likewise, our minds turn introspective. The focus at this time of the year is on gratitude for all the blessings we have har

The Reason for the Season It’s almost Halloween, and we’re all decorating with spooks and pumpkins, orange lights and gold and yellow garlands. We’re picking out costumes for our kids or ourselves, and indulging in candy corn, not because we like the taste, but because that’s what you do at this time of year. But for me, there’s so much more to the season of the final harvest. It’s truly all about that horror we think of as death and what lies beyond it. Last week I took fi

The Reason for the Season It’s almost Halloween, and we’re all decorating with spooks and pumpkins, orange lights and gold and yellow garlands. We’re picking out costumes for our kids or ourselves, and indulging in candy corn, not because we like the taste, but because that’s what you do at this time of year. But for me, there’s so much more to the season of the final harvest. It’s truly all about that horror we think of as death and what lies beyond it. Last week I took fi

The Reason for the Season It’s almost Halloween, and we’re all decorating with spooks and pumpkins, orange lights and gold and yellow garlands. We’re picking out costumes for our kids or ourselves, and indulging in candy corn, not because we like the taste, but because that’s what you do at this time of year. But for me, there’s so much more to the season of the final harvest. It’s truly all about that horror we think of as death and what lies beyond it. Last week I took fi