Samhain is the night of remembrance, honour, connection, and communication with the non-corporeal.
I use the description “non-corporeal” rather than “dead” because after so many centuries of experiencing the grief and loss of loved ones and ancestors, “dead” has become a word identified with that great pain and suffering of the survivors.
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” – Thomas Campbell
To Live In Hearts
It has been my experience as a survivor to learn there is more to “death” than what we remember, and there is a deep, quiet joy in its existence.
It has been set upon my path this year to accept the loss of two “brothers-in-law”, a dear, old friend, two housemate felines, and one feline familiar who called upon me and my lady Sanci to be part of his transcendence ritual into being a non-corporeal.
My familiar’s name is Dresden. He transcended on October 1st after announcing to us that morning he was going to “do the thing” within the next few hours.
We put on gentle music and gathered together as a family of two pit bulls, three cats, and two humans. I lay back in my chair, and Dresden lay out on my chest, gently breathing and, every so often, stretching out his legs and back to ease the pain of passing. Sanci gave him CBD oil to help ease that pain. I covered him in a blanket that I then pulled over his head like a tent to capture the exhaled cannabis smoke I blew into his protected space. He breathed in the smoke and became more relaxed with each breath.
I could feel the music of his heartbeat softly pulse against my own. I listened to his music as it changed in tempo, sometimes fast, sometimes slowing, until it sang its last note, all the while supporting and encouraging him to keep singing until he had sung all the music he needed to.
Then the music went silent, but only from the body.
I listened further as it emerged from the body and expanded into the room, resonating deep within all of the family and the very walls of our home.
I was not experiencing a loss, just a change in existence.
Now, Dresden, in this truth, is not actually lost, and thus not thought of in the past tense.
I talk to him daily. I hear his commentary through the room almost every morning. I feel him brush against my leg as I stand in the kitchen prepping food.
“Those we love don’t go away; they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near; still loved, still missed, and very dear.” – Unknown
Always Near
With the first harvest, usually around Lughnasadh, the veil between the realms starts to thin.
By Samhain, passage between is wide open, allowing departed souls to cross the borderlines of our reality and connect with us in this Mortal realm.
UnSeelie Self by Alexander James Adams – single video
Old stories tell of a tradition where village folk set an extra place at their supper table for the unknown traveler, who needs a meal as they seek shelter for the winter. The open portal on Samhain night makes it hard to tell the difference between a mortal traveler seeking warm food, a lost departed soul with unfinished business, or a wayward God/Goddess seeking the warmth of welcome and worship. Thus, it is prudent of the host to have the best quality of food, drink, and hospitality ready so as not to offend or cause distress to their special guest.
As magic practitioners, we are skilled at recognizing otherworldly entities.
When we set the table on Samhain night, we beseech ancestors and loved ones, now non-corporeal, to heed our invitation and join us in the dark phase of life’s transition from one cycle of year to another.
We open our third eye and inner ear to see soul fires and hear the music of their hearts.
“No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.” – Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man
The Ripples They Cause
Samhain night is the easiest time to do this, but it does not have to be the only time.
In my recent work with non-corporeal, I found that when you put out favourite items in what then will feel like an altar space, they come across to hang around the items. They can pop into teacups and travel from one location to another. They can come and “share” or “mantle on” a current corporeal form and act as one. Some can actually affect contact on items, opening cupboards, tipping cups, dragging cat toys out to places where cats can’t reach or place them.
Maybe I’m just seeing these ripples of manifestation where random coincidence lies.
Maybe not.
One thing I do know: if you doubt the reality, then you will never see it.
But honestly, I think we can all point to a time when we didn’t see something that later turned out to be very real, so how can we truly know for sure?
It’s all about inner magical senses and spiritual honesty. You know when you’re using it and when you’re not.
Our life experiences are defined by what is and is not. We get to choose how we embrace both.
As practitioners of Magic, we can choose whether to make what is not into what is and vice versa.
Embrace This Samhain Night
This Samhain night, fully prepare your mind, body, and spirit to embrace the realm of the non-corporeal.
Center your spirit so that you can hold the contrasting realities of tangible and intangible at the same time.
Close your physical eyes to let more light reach your inner vision and behold those that are standing right in front of you.
Open your inner ear to hear the music of the Otherworld.
Find its key, become its rhythm. Release your soul’s voice into the music to become part of its resonance.
When connected to the Otherworld and the non-corporeal, you will find yourself holding contrasting energies of the Not and the So in the same place.
You are in possession of the All and the Nothing.
Do not focus too closely. You will only be able to see one or the other if you do.
The moment you look at one half, you immediately lose the other from your grasp.
It is the nature and limit of our cognizant comprehension, our corporeal existence.
We have to learn to see the forest while looking at one tree.
“We are still guided by your wisdom, and we always will be.” – Unknown
Guided By Your Wisdom
Samhain night allows the corporeal and the non-corporeal boundaries to blur and blend. When we allow ourselves to blend with it, we learn the Oneness of All.
Once you know that, you can step through the veil at will. No waiting for one day out of the year.
This is the gift of Samhain night and the power of our Ancestors and Loved Ones.
They are here. They have never left us. They never will.
We are the ones who close our senses and are the ones to be truly called “lost”.
As magic users, we don’t have to allow ourselves to be lost.
We can remain Empty by holding All.
We start by releasing what we hold onto, which fills our hands with what we already hold.
Blessed Samhain. So Mote it Be.
Diedre’s Lament by Alexander James Adams – live video
For more information about Alexander James Adams, including his collected articles here on Pagan Song, his bio, and links to Alec’s sites on the web, check out Alexander James Adams’ page on Pagan Song.
All music and images, including the featured image, are by Alexander James Adams.
As you prepare for and celebrate this season, may this Pagan Samhain Sabbat Spotify Playlist inspire and encourage you.
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