Hallow's Eve

Fall has always been my favorite season of the year. The crisp cool mornings, the changing of the leaves, and the need to get rid of the old and get ready for the new. During this season of 'letting go', we have the best holidays to enjoy. Halloween is one of my favorite past times. Dressing up, transforming into someone else and then getting candy for it? Yes please! I watch spooky movies the whole month of October, just to get pumped up! And yes, I watched all of Stranger Things 2 in less than 24 hours. I love visiting haunted buildings and places with history that extends lifetimes before. 
The origin and history of how Halloween came to be what it is today is very interesting. It has roots in age-old European traditions. Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the winter. It's a time to honor our ancestors that came before us. Why orange and black? Black represents death and the darkness, while orange is associated with fire, dusk, and the leaves that had changed colors. Check out this video below for some more fun facts! 
www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Even though I've out grown the trick or treating fun, I still have my few rituals that I do every year. It's 3 days of creating, honoring my ancestors, and embracing the traditions, new and old. I start by writing out my intentions clearly. What do you want to release this season? What is blocking you from letting go in order to embrace your new beginnings that are coming in the new year. Just some ideas there. While I am journaling, I always have my white candle lit and  have sage and lavender flowers burning. I finish my writing with a card reading. I use the Goddess Tarot, especially this time of year. I do a larger spread than the normal 3 card pull. The other things I do are cleaning out cabinets and closets, deep clean the house, bake breads or treats (give them away or eat them yourself), create with crafts or make sugar scrubs, create an alter for my ancestors, celebrate with food and beverages by having a party or attend one, and dress up! During the Samhain festival, the villagers cleaned there homes during the day of Halloween. They extinguished all the fires in their homes upon leaving for the celebration.  At the celebration, they all collected fire from the ceremonial fire and brought it back to their hearth to 'light the darkness' as a community. Fall cleaning is very similar for me, except I don't go get fire from my neighbors....but that sounds very cool.  There's more but this gives you an idea of how awesome Halloween is as an adult! How do you spend your Halloween? Do you celebrate Fall's arrival and the changing of the season? 
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