Monday, October 17, 2016

Halloween—Visits from Beyond

      I love this time of year—pumpkins and cider, ghost stories and creepy movies, costumes and treats. But October 31 also has a mystical and occult significance, which is, in fact, the root from which the secular holiday evolved. That deeper meaning is something I always remember.
      For practitioners of Western Celtic Wicca, there are eight “power points” on the Wheel of the Year, Eight Ritual Occasions that mark important shifts in invisible forces on our planet. October 31, Samhain, is one of those power points. In keeping with ancient Celtic tradition, this is an occasion for giving thanks for all that was reaped during the harvest. It is also the time when the “veil between the worlds” is thin—a potent time for magic and mystical insight, and for connecting with those who have passed to the other side. This is the occasion, Wiccans believe, for celebrating eternality and triumph over death. I know there really is something to that.
      There’s an air of power and imminent mystery at this time of year, a sense that something unseen is very close—I’ve felt it. And I’ve had some uncanny and memorable experiences on Halloween.
      After handing out treats to the little visitors who come to my door—a custom I really enjoy—I sometimes do a small ceremony or prayer late on Halloween night, to honor the deeper meaning of the holiday. One year, when Samhain/Halloween coincided with the full moon, I lit a candle and did a special meditation to bless my loved ones who had passed over.
      I had an older cousin who had died a few months before. Shortly after I began my meditation, an impression of his tall, lanky figure flashed unexpectedly into my mind. I heard, more as an idea than a set of words, that he had come to say goodbye, and to let me know he was proud of me. Whoa! I didn’t expect that. I hadn’t even been thinking about him when I started the meditation.
      And then a procession of people—some of whom I hadn’t thought about in years—began to stream through my mind. Their images, their energies, were so vivid and clear. They had come to wish me well, and to connect with me again for just a little while. When I had lived on the East Coast about twenty years before, I had worked in a nursing home, and had become really close with the residents. So many of them came back to visit me that Halloween night. I was awed and amazed.
      My father, who had already been entering my meditations for years since his death, came that night, too. He offered words of encouragement and approval. And: there was a neighbor from my childhood who had committed a huge wrong against me and my parents. He also appeared. And he apologized for what he had done.
      October 31 really is much more than just the Halloween festivities I love. So: along with the fun this Halloween, I might light a candle or send a blessing to someone who’s passed on. I could raise a cup to immortality. Maybe I'll have some visitors from beyond. It would be the perfect time for it.

Author Ann Young
Fantasy, Paranormal Fiction … and Fact