‘Tis Samhain, and the veil is thin. Remember your beloved’s who have passed on. The oaks have turned earth/air/fire/water and more into lovely acorns, and I went to pay homage to Grandmother Oak for her gifts this morning…she is an elder among oaks in the Topanga Community. Laying in her hollowed belly I looked up to see that intricate dance between the dark and the light. I saw the heart, as nature always provides us with beauty, and was reminded of how this time of year represents the threshold. Beauty can exist at the edges of dark and light, and if we look within ourselves at the thresholds we oftentimes find the vitality of opposites. Wild places remind us to explore the unexamined territories of our own hearts and minds, continuing to live within places we hadn’t yet known were there. In Pablo Naruda’s words, ‘…We need to sit on the rim of the well of darkness and fish for fallen light…’

Samhain Round
© October,1997 Mark Hirschhorn

And as the light around us fades
In golden shadows through the glade,
Like distant echoes down the hall,
we answer Samhain’s ancient call.

From everlasting times ‘til now,
To storied lands, we all must bow;
Where magic rings within our souls
And as we shatter, we are whole.

This is the night to join the Dance,
Partake in all-renewing trance;
Where worlds within and out are One,
Our sacred journey now begun.

To greet the ones we loved before,
Our kith and kin from days of yore,
Forgiven foe and long-lost friend –
We dwell among you yet again.

For now the worldly veils are thin,
Where hope and healing can begin.
Our deeds are done; the hour is late
To rest within the arms of Fate.

By fin and feather, leaf and bark,
As sun now banks to sheltered spark;
This year of trial and joy is past
Within the Circle we have cast.

And as the light around us fades
In golden shadows through the glade,
Like distant echoes down the hall,
We answer Samhain’s ancient call …

The photo is of roasted dandelion root ‘coffee’ and some wild fennel seed/acorn flour/wild black walnut biscotti. I hope you are able to sit with some warm drinks and treats with friends and family. That you give your children gifts of the sweetness of life. May you enjoy the dance between the dark and the light!