holiday
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.
Let Us Celebrate The Season With Charity And Kindness
The holidays are a bittersweet time of year for me. While I am blessed to be surrounded by my loved ones during these days, I am also reminded of all the loneliness and suffering that many people around the world experience.
The holidays should be more than just a time of joy and celebration. It should also be a time to examine our privilege and count our blessings.
I came to this realization many years ago as a young woman living in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. Coming from a loving, sheltered family, I made the shocking discovery that the holidays were not joyous for everyone.
It happened while I was walking through the Boston Common one evening with a friend. The Common in downtown Boston is the oldest urban park in the United States. It is traditionally always beautifully decorated for the holidays and there is a long-standing tradition of an annual Christmas lighting ceremony that dates back to 1917.
It all began on December 6, 1917, when the Halifax Explosion, the largest non-nuclear explosion in history, destroyed much of the city. Boston officials learned of the disaster by telegraph and quickly organized and dispatched a relief train to help the survivors.
Astrology Forecast December 25 – 31, 2023
Happy holidays! As the year comes to a close and a new one unfolds, I wish you a season of joy, peace, and personal growth. May the eternal wisdom of the stars and planets guide you, and may the spirit of the season fill your heart with hope and wonder.
We close out the year with some significant astrological shifts this week. Today is blessed with a Gemini Moon, which promotes social interaction, lots of communication, and a sense of fun and good times. An ideal lunar energy for holiday gatherings and celebrations!
A Venus in Scorpio trine to Neptune in Pisces with its loving energy could not be more perfectly timed. The kindness you show others during this transit will be returned to you as a karmic reward. It’s a wonderful time to spend with friends and family.
Tomorrow the moon will be full in Cancer, focusing our attention on home, family and security. This may be a good day to pause and consider a new budget for 2024, or at least take a look at spending over the past few months to get an idea of where you stand. The Moon continues to move through Cancer on Wednesday and Thursday, so you may feel like taking advantage of a lull in activity to regroup and reset.
The True Meaning Of Holiday Gifts
While wrapping Christmas gifts for family and friends today, I thought about whether it is better to be on the giving or receiving end of presents during the holiday season?
In my childhood, receiving presents was undoubtedly the best! But my parents also taught me the importance of giving. They gave my sister and me a small allowance during the holidays to buy gifts for others. It was fun to shop for small items to give to our loved ones. With much anticipation, wetried to pick things that people would actually like and appreciate.
I therefore learned early on that while receiving gifts can be exciting and fun, giving them can be even more rewarding.
My parents were certainly on to something, because the value of giving has been scientifically proven to be more than just a sweet sentiment. For example, according to a study by the American Psychological Association, giving to others increases life expectancy by at least five years! Another study found that people who give to others experience lower blood pressure, less depression, and lower stress levels. In addition, giving to others can increase happiness and well-being. A Harvard Business School study found that giving money to someone else increased participants’ happiness more than spending it on themselves.
Calling In Your Beloved This Holiday Season
The holidays are a time of love, belonging and togetherness. It’s traditionally a special time of year when families gather, friends reconnect, and hearts open to the magic of the season.
For singles on a spiritual journey who are seeking a meaningful romantic connection, the holidays can also be a powerful time to call in that special someone. The vibrational frequencies of the holiday season are a perfect time to ignite such a unique romantic connection. Energetically, it is similar to meeting your future partner at a friend’s or relative’s wedding!
How does this work? Metaphysically or energetically speaking, it is necessary to become a vibrational match to your future partner in order to attract them into your life. You must adjust or calibrate your overall energy vibration to match the type of person you desire to be with in a long-term relationship. This involves cultivating positive thoughts, emotions, and actions that resonate with the qualities and characteristics you seek in a partner.
This concept of vibrational energy alignment is related to the Law of Attraction (like attracts like), the Law of Vibration (everything is energy and vibrates at a certain frequency), and the Law of Cause and Effect (we reap what we sow). According to these universal metaphysical principles that govern our lives, the energy vibration we emit attracts people and circumstances with similar energies into our lives.
How To Beat The Holiday Blues This Year!
The holidays can be a very difficult and depressing time for some people. It can trigger unresolved emotions from childhood, unhealed trauma from past relationships, or unfinished grief from lost loved ones.
It can also make you feel more lonely, disconnected, and isolated than usual.
Especially for people struggling with existing mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression, their symptoms may worsen during the holidays due to increased stress, social demands, and cultural triggers.
But there are ways to beat the holiday blues and overcome sadness, depression, or low spirits during “the season to be jolly.” There are ways you can take back your power and improve your mood and overall well-being.
First, it is necessary to determine what is causing you to not feel the holiday cheer that everyone else seems to be experiencing.
Several factors can contribute to negative, gloomy thoughts and feelings during this time of year. A common trigger for many of us is that mainstream holiday traditions tend to emphasize spending time with loved ones and family, which can exacerbate feelings of loneliness for those who are socially isolated or have lost loved ones. This isolation can be particularly acute for those of us who live far from family or have strained relationships with them.
Navigating Loneliness During the Holidays
The holiday season is traditionally portrayed as a time of togetherness, love, joy, and belonging. We are inundated with media images of families gathered around a festive table, friends celebrating, and communities coming together.
Paradoxically, for many people, this time of year is instead filled with feelings of loneliness, isolation and disconnection.
The root cause is the societal stereotype and cultural assumption that everyone should be joyful, happy, and surrounded by loved ones during the holidays. If you’re not, for whatever reason, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, isolation, and social failure.
Holiday loneliness is exacerbated by the stark contrast between our actual circumstances and the commercially driven, idealized versions of holiday gatherings and celebrations we see in advertisements, television shows, movies, and social media. This increases feelings of disconnection, low self-esteem, and even depression.
Loneliness during the holidays can have a significant impact on mental health. Feelings of isolation and disconnection during this time of year can exacerbate existing mental health issues and lead to the development of new ones. The constant reminders of togetherness and joy, combined with a lack of social connections and meaningful interactions, can increase feelings of loneliness, leading to emotional distress, feelings of emptiness and hopelessness, and a decline in overall well-being.