November 1 2024

November waltzes in on the heels of All Hallows‘ Eve or Halloween.  In Celtic and Nordic tradition, this was a time to celebrate the end of the harvest and to put some seeds and grain out at the shrine for those members of the family that have died. 

Picture of an ancestors’ shrine from www.pathofeire.org  

 

 

This leads to November 1 which is the traditional time of “Feast of the Dead”.  Although we tend to attribute this festival to the Mexican people, many other countries and belief systems honour their dead at this time.  

I love the tradition of the Huron people, in days gone by.  Whenever a large village shifted location, about every 10-15 years, the Huron celebrated a “Feast of the Dead”.  Since the ancestors could not be moved conveniently with the tribe, a special ceremony was held to offer the ancestors a final resting place and to give the ancestors peace. The bodies were removed from their temporary cave graves and buried in a deep pit lined with furs such as beaver and mink. The ceremony showed the reverence and gratitude that all Huron have for their dead. This grand ceremony was the final release of the souls, and the responsibility that the ancestors had to the tribe.  Those souls now released could walk the path up to the sky, to hunt with the Gods, and live a life of abundance.  

I also love the description that Marcelina at www.mysticalmind.comwrites of the preparing of the cemetery for “The Feast Of The Dead”. She writes:

The day before the feast, the younger people would have to tidy up the cemetery. The wooden crosses had to be straightened upright, faded, painted headstones had to be touched up, and the weeds needed to be pulled out. Dried leaves and twigs were placed in a pile to make into a bonfire. The whole surroundings must be swept with a broom to clear the spirits’ path who would be attending the feast. Some of the younger women had to plant flowers and herbs, and others needed to set up the altar on the round, flat rock in the cemetery which had been dedicated for this event. Pictures of the departed, fruits, flowers and candles were carefully placed around the altar while a big cross of Jesus Christ stood at the center.

Westerners, in the past, have a tendency to ignore their ancestors. That behaviour seems to be changing, and more people, even if they do not set up a shrine, are saying prayers for their ancestors.  And that, I think, is a good thing!

Blessings,

Judy

A Spell From Shakespeare!

When we think of Halloween, we think of spooks, ghosts, monsters, and witches.  We think of skeletons, and candy, and being scared, and that bad things might happen.  Witch costumes are abundant on Halloween.  Here is how Shakespeare showed witches in his play, Macbeth.

The Witches’ Spell

Act IV, Scene 1 from Macbeth (1606) by William Shakespeare

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three Witches.

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

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Blessings,

Judy

Rabbit Runs Around

 

Over the last while, when I am out with my dog in the park or the neighbourhood, we see a jack rabbit, running through the grass.  Rabbit bounds around us, and my dog wants to run with Rabbit.

Rabbit shares these thoughts with us:

• Run, leap and jump!  Keeping active will help keep anxiety at bay, and you will feel good.
• Scout out your area and know where there are trouble spots.  Spread light there.   Watch out for predators however, because they will try to stop you.
• Abundance happens with movement.  If you do not move, you stagnate and so does the flow of money, chi, and all things that keep you going in the physical.
• Movement helps keep the change in perspective.  Life is constant change.  Day becomes night, and then the reverse.  It is change, but very familiar.  Keep looking to see what change is constant in your life and then expand the feeling of acceptance.
• Dance for the Goddess!  Rabbits are the chosen animal of the Goddess, Eostare.  Celebrate the feminine.
• Dance for the Ancestors.  Rabbits dance for those that have moved on.  We celebrate them.
• When the Moon is bright, dance under the Moon.  Moon energy is different from Sun energy, and gives you vision.

I thanked Rabbit for sharing her thoughts.

Many blessings,

Judy

Good Advice In These Quotes

 

                         Picture is of the fall colours from the Banff Summit 

  

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."  -Leo F. Buscagilia

  

"Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing."   -G. M. Trevelyan

I found these two quotes and felt that I needed to share them today, to remind everyone that what we feel guided to do is often what Creator needs us to do.  And, when we interfere with someone’s path because of our own limitations – saying that it can’t be done  -  we have no idea of the repercussions of our actions.

Be at peace and celebrate everything!

Many blessings,

Judy

A Prayer For Being Grateful

 I was walking through the park, and my thoughts turned to the idea of being grateful.  I am grateful for everything, even the tough things that challenge my faith in a compassionate world, filled with love and laughter.  I heard someone say, very far away, “Take it back to the basics!” 

Immediately, I knew that meant that one needs to be grateful for all the basic things in life – food, shelter, clothing – all the things in Maslow’s needs hierarchy.   And then the Angels, in their mysterious way, directed me to this wonderful prayer.   

I share it now with you.

 

May We Be Grateful

We are blessed today, with enough to eat,
May we be grateful.
We are blessed with clothes to wear,
May we be grateful.
We are blessed with shelter from the elements,
May we be grateful.
We are very well blessed today.
May we remember that there are many people
who do not have these blessings.
May we be grateful enough to help others when we can.

Copyright Abby Willowroot 2008

Many blessings,

Judy

Angels Talk of Celebration of Light

The Angels speak and say that it is time to move forward to the time of light.  Many of the different belief systems are writing and speaking about the changing ways that we can look at time and distance and mass.  They are constructs that we have made, and so they  are subject to change.

There is an abundance of everything in the world because everything is energy.  We do not need to believe in scarcity.  The earth changes are showing us how much power Creator has at its finger tips.  We too, have the same power available to us.  We can use it to help Creator, and ourselves move forward.

Blessings,

Judy

Black Horse in Meditation

Black Horse was trotting in to my meditation.  She has decided that now is the time to share some information.  She tossed her head and looked at me and said, “You are now ready.”

• The new matrix of organization is being floated through the Universe.  This matrix changes the the way that energy moves and works together. 
• Some call this matrix the crystal or crystalline matrix because they need to put labels on all things.  Instead of the label, visualize the way that sunlight twinkles on water.  The light gleams and moves and provides shadows and brightness that are connected.  This is how the new structure comes into being.  The light holds connections at every intersection of returning light, or reflected light.

Blessings,

Judy