Afterlife
Honor Your Pagan Heritage This Halloween
Samhain holds special significance for those who practiced paganism in a past life, especially those who were involved in magical practices as seers, soothsayers, druids, and witches.
For us, this time of year evokes a deep sense of nostalgia, spiritual reorientation, and a return to ancient wisdom as the veil between worlds thins and we reconnect with our ancestors and the spirit realms.
Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, traditionally celebrated from October 31 to November 1. It is one of the four great Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Imbolc (February 1), Beltane (May 1), and Lughnasadh (August 1).
In Celtic tradition, Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”) is a liminal time when the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds is thinner, allowing the spirits of our deceased loved ones, ancestors, and other spirits to cross over more easily.
In ancient times people would light fires and wear costumes to ward off harmful spirits, while also honoring their ancestors with offerings of food and drink.
Samhain is considered the origin of modern Halloween traditions, although Halloween has evolved and incorporated elements from other cultures to become a mostly secular and commercial holiday. For Neopagans and Wiccans, Samhain remains an important festival for honoring the dead, celebrating the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and connecting more deeply with the spirit realm.
A Samhain Invitation From The Faeries
Fairies love fun and joyful games in the great outdoors, even during the darker seasons of the year. I am reminded of this every year at this time when the veil between the worlds thins during the mystical season of Samhain and Halloween.
If you’re currently experiencing a highly creative period or feeling called to get out into nature, even if it’s just to your garden before the weather gets too cold, there’s a good chance you’re also being invited to have some fun and free-spirited playtime with the fairies.
It is easiest for us to connect with the Faeries or Fae during the times of the year when the seasonal energy portals are open at the cross-quarter holidays of the Summer and Winter Solstices and the Spring and Fall Equinoxes.
These seasonal transitions are also traditionally celebrated in the ancient pagan festivals and religious holy days of Imbolc (St. Brigid’s Day) on February 1st, Ostara (Easter) on around March 21st, Beltane (St. Walburga’s Day) on May 1st, Litha (St. John’s Day) around June 20th or 21st, Lammas (Day of Bread) on August 1st, and Samhain (All Saints’ Day) on October 31st.
Traditionally celebrated as a time to honor our ancestors and reflect on the cycle of life and death, Samhain on October 31st marks the halfway point between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. It is a special time that invites us to step beyond the ordinary into the realm of magic and mysticism. The lingering echoes of autumn and the approaching winter in the Northern Hemisphere also foster a sense of introspection and connection to nature, making it an optimal time to commune with the ethereal elementals of nature.
Why You Should Be Dream Journaling
When my grandfather was alive, we had many deep conversations about spirituality and the afterlife. During a few of those conversations, he also promised me that if there was a way for him to contact me from the other side after he passed away, he would do so.
True to his word, he kept his promise. Our connection has remained strong ever since, and he continues to guide me from the other side.
It’s been well over two decades since his death, but I still have visitation dreams and mediumistic experiences in which he communicates with me. I feel incredibly blessed for these encounters, and they have confirmed much of what I’ve always believed about the afterlife and the spirit realm.
Grandpa was one of the few people with whom I could openly discuss my psychic abilities, mediumship, and paranormal experiences growing up. He was incredibly open-minded and spiritually aware for a man of his generation and background.
Not only was he a firm believer in the existence of the soul beyond this life, but he was curious about all things mystical and supernatural. I vividly remember him telling me about an out-of-body experience he had, describing how he had seen his own body from above as he “floated”.
One of the most valuable lessons my grandfather taught me was the spiritual significance of our dreams. He grew up at a time when dreams were losing their mystical significance in society as scientists began to increasingly view the dream state purely through a psychological, biological, and neurological lens.
Always Keep An Open Mind In Psychic Readings
In high school, I predicted that a friend of mine would lose something valuable and then have a car accident shortly thereafter.
I also warned him that the loss of something valuable would be an omen: a sign from the universe for him to be more careful and responsible.
He looked at me like I was crazy.
A few months later he lost his wallet because he had been careless. He later told me it reminded him of what I had said and it shook him up enough to start being more careful in his daily life. He even stopped his bad habit of never using his seat belt when driving.
Good thing he did. A few months later, he drove his car off a cliff! The police officer told him that he would have been killed if he had not been wearing his seat belt.
He brought up the story at our ten-year high school reunion and praised me as the person who saved his life. Of course, I did not mention the eye-rolling and “you’re crazy” look he gave me at the time. Besides, saying “I told you so” is not very dignified.
Not much has changed since high school. As a professional psychic, I still have to tell my clients things that makes them doubt our connection or my ability, and sometimes even my sanity! You learn to suck it up and deal with the raised eyebrows and side-eyes.
I understand how it feels for them, because I have had to keep an open mind as a psychic client, too. Many years ago, a medium told me that I would also work as a psychic one day. I thought this was really strange because I had been in the performing arts most of my life, and in my mind there was no way she could be right. But here I am today. Even psychics don’t always know where life is taking them.
The Mysterious Mischief Of Poltergeist Phenomena
I have always been a sucker for scary ghost stories. In fact, the scarier, the better! Since my teenage years, I have sought out sensational tales of the supernatural for the sheer thrill of it.
One particular story, that of “Pete the Poltergeist,” still stands out in my mind.
Britain was going through a recession in the 1980s, but despite the economic downturn, two self-employed men in Cardiff managed to run a successful lawnmower repair business called Mower Services out of one of their homes.
One day, one of the men thought he heard someone throwing stones at the door of the workshop, but when he went outside, he was surprised to find that no one was there. The rocks seemed to come from nowhere!
Later, the men noticed that their keys were hidden, and there was a very strange smell in a certain part of the workshop that suddenly became extremely cold. Later, they began to even find money and witnessed objects being thrown across the workshop floor – but they did not know what or by whom!
As a result of this unexplained activity, they decided to close the shop one night and conduct their own séance-style experiment. They placed their hands on a table, fingers touching, and asked the presence to throw a stone at them – which it did! Then one of the men asked for a pen and the entity threw one at them as well!
Who or what did this? The two men simply concluded that they had a ghost in their workshop that had become “like a member of the family” and decided to nickname it “Pete the Poltergeist.”