Celebrating Samhain
Samhain, pronounced "SAH-win", is the eighth Sabbat and final spoke on the Wheel of the Year. With ancient Celtic origins, Samhain was one of the four fire festivals, and falls at the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox ans Winter Solstice. Opposing Beltane on the Wheel, Samhain also similarly features a 'thinning of the Veil', a time when the barrier between our world and that of spirits and other magickal entities is weakened and easier to cross. While Beltane famously is a strong time to interact with the Fae due to the Veil thinning, Samhain is most known for interactions with spiritual entities, the dead, and ancestors.
Samhain is also known as the third and final Harvest Festival (the first being Lughnasadh, and the second Mabon). The frost is coming, and most of the produce has been collected from the fields and stored away. As people prepared for oncoming harsh weather and lack of food/resources, they had to cut back on everything that wasn't crucial to their survival. Thus, this festival was the time of the animal harvest. All creatures who could not be fed through the harsh Winter were harvested during this time, and celebrated for their sacrifice.
Other names for Samhain and similar celebrations include:
• Halloween
• All Hallow's Eve
• The Witch's New Year
• The Third/Final Harvest
• Calan Gaeaf, "The First Day Of Winter"
• Oiche Shamnhna
• All Soul's Day
• All Saint's Day
• Devil's Night
• The Dumb Supper is when a meal is hosted and consumed by the living, but the dead and spirits are invited to participate and given seats and places at the table as a sign of respect. Often the windows are all open during a Dumb Supper to invite the spirits into a home. Sometimes specific spirits or ancestors are invited or the invitation is simply left open to any spirits that wish to attend. The living attendants traditionally eat in silence to honor the spirits and hear their messages.
• Carving Jack-O-Lanterns originally came from the myth of "Stringy Jack", which is an Irish folktale about a man who tricked the Devil and now has to wander the world with a lit piece of coal protected inside a carved turnip. This evolved into people carving their own turnips and potatoes and placing them in windows or doorways to scare away Stringy Jack and other tricky or potentially harmful spirits. Once Irish immigrants came to America, the tradition was continued with pumpkins.
• Trick-Or-Treating is also derived from old Samhain traditions. The Celts believed that by dressing up they were disguising themselves from negative spirits who wandered the Earth on Samhain. In the Middle-Ages, "guising" was when children or impoverished people would dress in costumes and go door-to-door begging for food in exchange for songs or prayers. This practice was known as "souling" and the participants called "soulers". In Ireland, the practice of "mumming" involved dressing up in costumes and going door-to-door to sing in exchange for tasty cakes and baked goods.
Colors:
• Black
• Green
• Orange
• Purple
• Red
• Silver
Crystals:
• Black Obsidian
• Bloodstone
• Amethyst
• Black Tourmaline
• Carnelian
• Jasper
• Jet
• Malachite
• Iolite
• Onyx
• Vivianite
• Ruby
• Smokey Quartz
• Garnet
Herbs/Plants:
• Cedar
• Allspice
• Cinnamon
• Hemlock
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Patchouli
• Hazel
• Dittany of Crete
• Bay
• Clove
• Belladonna
• Dragon's Blood
• Wormwood
• Mandrake
• Mugwort
• Snapdragon
• Gourds
• Nutmeg
• Frankincense
• Ginger
• Pine
• Hyssop
• Marigold
Animals:
• Bats
• Snakes
• Cats
• Spiders
• Scorpions
• Coyotes
• Jackals
• Dogs
• Wolves
• Foxes
• Crows
• Ravens
• Owls
• Rats
• Stags
Food/Drink:
• Pumpkins
• Cider
• Beef
• Chicken
• Pork
• Cranberries
• Turnips
• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Soups/stews
• Pears
• Corn
• Ale
• Apples
• Grain
• Pies
Deities:
• Hekate
• Lucifer
• Anubis
• Loki
• Lilith
• Morrigan
• Nyx
• Hades
• Persephone
• Osiris
• Apollo
• Cerridwen
• Hel
• Freya
• Demeter
• Bast
• Mercury
• Yama
• Dis
• Herne
Magickal Workings:
• Spirit Work
• Ancestral Work
• Banishing
• Cleansing
• Divination
• Baneful Magick
• Shadow Work
• Rebirth/Resurrection
• Transformation
• Creativity
• Defensive Magick
• Preparation
• Ambition
• Purification
• Protection
• 2 parts Rosemary
• 1 part Frankincense
• 1 part Cinnamon
• 1 part Cloves
• 1 part Patchouli
• 1/2 part Sage
• 1/4 part Hyssop
• Pinch of Sea Salt
“It’s never too late while you’re breathing.”
— Lois McMaster Bujold, The Warrior’s Apprentice
So when we love fictional characters, we literally fall in love with a fragment of someone’s imagination and mind?
That’s so beautiful 🥺
Made to love, but not to be loved; made to understand, but not to be understood; always the poet, never the poetry.
Why You Should Learn Multiple Divination Methods
Divination is a powerful tool for gaining insight, guidance, and clarity in life. While many practitioners have a preferred method, learning multiple forms of divination offers unique advantages and deepens your spiritual practice. Here’s why expanding your divinatory skill set is beneficial.
Each divination method excels in certain areas. By knowing more than one, you can choose the most effective tool for each situation, for example:
• Tarot provides in-depth storytelling and psychological insight.
• Runes offer direct, ancient wisdom with a no-nonsense approach.
• Pendulum dowsing gives quick yes/no answers for direct guidance.
• Scrying (mirrors, water, flames) connects you with visions and subconscious messages.
Having multiple techniques allows you to select the best one for your needs.
Using multiple forms of divination to confirm a message strengthens its reliability. If tarot, runes, and pendulum dowsing all point to the same answer, you can be more confident in your reading.
Some divination methods require more space or time than others. Having multiple techniques lets you practice divination anywhere, for example:
• Tarot and runes are great for detailed readings but require physical tools.
• Numerology or astrology can be done mentally when you’re without tools.
• Pendulums and scrying can be subtle enough for on-the-go divination.
Each system has its own symbolic language. Learning multiple forms of divination enhances your ability to recognize patterns and messages from the universe. For example:
• Studying astrology deepens your understanding of tarot’s planetary influences.
• Learning numerology helps with interpreting numbers in divination spreads.
• Scrying sharpens your intuitive abilities for other methods.
The more symbols and correspondences you understand, the stronger your divinatory skills become.
Every divination system has its own philosophy and historical roots. By exploring multiple methods, you:
• Gain a broader perspective on the unseen forces in your life.
• Connect with different spiritual traditions and expand your knowledge.
• Strengthen your intuitive and psychic abilities through diverse practices.
Some deities or spirits prefer specific divination methods. Expanding your knowledge allows you to communicate more effectively with different energies.
• Hekate is often associated with scrying and key-based divination.
• Odin, a god of wisdom, is connected to the runes.
• Mercury/Hermes aligns with dice and lot casting.
• Many demons are associated with divination practices, such as Gremory, Dantalion, Flereous, Delepitore, and more.
Having multiple methods lets you tailor your practice to your spiritual allies.
Using only one form of divination can sometimes lead to mental fatigue or a fixed perspective. Switching between different methods keeps your practice fresh and prevents over-reliance on a single tool.
Knowing multiple forms of divination makes you a more well-rounded and adaptable practitioner. It strengthens your intuition, deepens your spiritual connections, and gives you access to the best method for any question or situation.
So… I love tough boss Aaron Hotchner because he’s hot (just because of that) ; the way he’s so tired of Jordan and he just grabs her like that!
I don’t think you can fully appreciate the roughness through this video.
But again it just so funny to me how I would hate him IRL if my boss talked and grabbed me like that. Like I’m talking zero sexual tension and attraction. I’d be triggered by him. lol
Do not let them erase this. Do not let them tell you he meant "my heart goes out for you."
This man is the grandson of a Canadian Nazi sympathizer who moved to South Africa BECAUSE he thought the apartheid was just the coolest.
He has a gaggle of kids specifically because he believes his genes are superior and need to be spread to improve humanity.
He has thrown his support behind the neonazi party in Germany and the far right party in the UK, not to mention how far he's wormed up the ass of the Republican party.
He threw two sieg heil salutes back to back at the inauguration of the president of the United States and is trying to scrub the evidence off the internet.
Elon Reeve Musk is a fucking Nazi.
Francesca 🇮🇹 30 somethingObsessed with books, tarots and other funny things
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