Samhain Thoughts

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 harvested throughout the year, as it has been for the first and second of the three harvest festivals. But this time we go deeper. We think about the fact that everything we must harvest in order to stay alive, be it vegetable or fruit or meat, literally gives its life to us. And that makes us think of the nature of life, and of death.