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Lesson #39

Samhain: The Great Sabbat

Samhain's Deeper Powers

There are some very powerful underlying Energies in Samhain...

Final Harvest

The Journey Within

Cleansing and releasing

Surrender

The Ending is the Beginning

The Sacrament of Death

1. The Third and Final Harvest

Samhain is the celebration of the third harvest of the year. This is called the Final Harvest because anything left on the trees or in the fields after October 31 is said to belong to Hecate, and left there for the animals to consume through the winter.

Unlike the other two harvest festivals, at Samhain this aspect is largely eclipsed by the more potent Energies going on in this season.

For example, celebrating the Final Harvest is usually done by bringing apples, squashes, gourds, and other of the seasonal produce to the altar, and giving thanks for our abundance, but rarely would you find an entire celebration or ritual for this purpose.

2. Introspection — The Journey Within

Samhain is a time to begin the reflection and self-examination that the winter season inspires.

As the Earth journeys into the dark season, we enter a journey within as well... exploring the misty, hidden realm of our own subconscious and Shadow Self.

You may ask why we'd wish to do such a thing.

That's a good question!

The short answer: To liberate our Powers and heal old wounds... to become the person we were born to be.

¹ Back in the Beltaine lesson.

Remember¹ we talked before about the two options we have for learning in life: Learning Through Joy, and Learning Through Pain?

It's this willingness to do our soul-work — proactively, intentionally, not waiting for pain to goad us on — that allows us to Learn Through Joy.

This Sabbat gives us an excellent opportunity to do so! We can...

	Journal
	Daydream
	Write out our goals and dreams
	Explore our values and ideals
	Contemplate our hopes and fears
	Heal old traumas and release old resentments
	Lay the past to rest
	And imagine our future

² And another really lovely gift of spending time on introspection is that when we do, we get to know ourselves better, and cultivate more self-love. It's an act of self-caring, self-nurturing, to spend quality time with yourself.

By the way, these make wonderful Intentions, as you head into the Dark Season.

³ Empowered Witches — more reason for others to fear this time of year?

The Energy between Samhain and Yule is innately introspective. We can flow with this Energy, reaching within ourselves for the Divine that lives deep inside.

And in this way, we discover more about Who we truly are. We clarify what's truly important to us. ²

Another aspect of this Inner Journey is developing spiritual skills like meditation. All those hours you don't want to spend outside? Spend them inside... way inside!

Honouring the season in this way, journeying voluntarily with Mother Earth into the Inner Realms, developing our inner Powers — more reasons why this season is so empowering to Witches! ³

3. Cleansing and Releasing

Samhain is a powerful time of releasing, cleansing, and purifying — yourself, your house, your Energy Field, your DNA...

Yes, your DNA!

Study after study is now showing that hanges in your thoughts, emotions, brain wave rhythms, subconscious, etc. actually physically rewrite your DNA — the code of instructions that tells your body what to be and how to respond to things!

⁴ Not to mention, if you're planning to have kids, how wonderful to be able to gift them with improved genes!

Can you imagine how incredible that is, and what an effect it will have on your life? ⁴

So you are rewriting your own DNA for a better life, whenever you...

	Do rituals
	Meditate
	Pray
	Sing and dance
	Imagine every cell in your body smiling
	Call positive qualities (like Joy, Health, Love, etc.) to you

When you release old thoughts/beliefs/emotions, and purify yourself, you're getting a head start on a healthy, productive future!

And this is a great time to start.

All rituals of purification and release are eminently suitable to Samhain.

See Samhain Rites and Celebrations, in part 2 of this lesson (next week), for some ideas.

Continue with Samhain: The Great Sabbat , part 5:

Deeper Powers of Samhain, cont.

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