Samhain 2017

Calling all Pagan Jedi! We should plan a ritual for Samhain this year, something we can all do in addition to what we would normally do that ties our Force practice into our Pagan one. I thought I'd create a thread here for anyone interested in making suggestions

jzen wrote: Calling all Pagan Jedi! We should plan a ritual for Samhain this year, something we can all do in addition to what we would normally do that ties our Force practice into our Pagan one. I thought I'd create a thread here for anyone interested in making suggestions

This could be a lot of fun I think!

It could also be a good way to get me back into performing ritual more regularly (even though I don't actually celebrate Samhain, per sé).

As far as ideas? Well, usually Samhain is linked to things like the world of the dead (whatever your beliefs are on that fine kettle of fish, lol) and the passing of souls from this world into the next. It's also a seasonal celebration, if I'm not mistaken. We could do something like, make a temporary shrine/altar to the dead (whether people you have known who passed away or just the dead in general) or possibly celebrate the changing seasons and the deities/spirits we all associate with that change.

Personally, I'll likely be thinking a lot about Persephone and her return to the Underworld/House of Hades.

Disclosure:
Not a pagan.

This is a cool idea

Rosalyn J wrote: Disclosure:
Not a pagan.

This is a cool idea

Hahahaha, no worries at all...from what I've gathered, we just like to have a good time and celebrate with whoever wants to celebrate with us

Lykeios, memorial for the dead and recognition of the end of the year are important parts for me during this time of the year. Recognizing the harvest, preparing for winter, etc, all kinda play into how I celebrate the holiday. In ritual, I've always been pretty straight forward, lol. I like the ancestors shrine Perhaps we can tie fire into it. Create a ritual where we burn something that is symbolic to sending it back to the Force, maybe something seasonal?

Hmmm, well, it could be seasonal and a regional thing! Something produced in your area, like some wheat, dried out corn, barley, whatever is grown/produced in your area. Another idea I just had after you suggested the burning of something and the end of the year: we could burn something personal, such as a list of all our fears that we wish to get over, or a list of mistakes we made in the year soon to be ending, something symbolic of what we want to work on changing about ourselves in the coming year. Or, alternatively, we could burn something symbolic of our ancestors or a specific relative/friend who we have lost.

Just some ideas building off the one you had.

Those are all awesome ideas. I especially like the one about the list of our fears or mistakes of the past year. That, to me, seems pretty powerful. I'm liking how this is shaping up

Perhaps we could even write a little sub-ritual for use with our own overall ritual. It doesn't have to be too extravagant, just something that goes along with what we already are doing? In my practice, we honor the Deities, the Ancestors, and the spirits of Nature, so adding an element to the Force would be pretty easy, imo. Maybe we could bounce ideas off of one another for it and share one on here for others that might want to use it.

jzen wrote: Those are all awesome ideas. I especially like the one about the list of our fears or mistakes of the past year. That, to me, seems pretty powerful. I'm liking how this is shaping up

Haha, glad you liked it. I actually borrowed the idea from my days as a kid going to Christian camps. Sometimes they would do this sort of thing around the campfire, but they had us make a list of the "sins" we struggled with. For some reason that idea has stuck with me through my journey into paganism. The idea of burning your problems away and starting fresh is definitely powerful.

Perhaps we could even write a little sub-ritual for use with our own overall ritual. It doesn't have to be too extravagant, just something that goes along with what we already are doing? In my practice, we honor the Deities, the Ancestors, and the spirits of Nature, so adding an element to the Force would be pretty easy, imo.

Sounds fairly similar to my practice...though I haven't really done much for my ancestors and I like that idea.

Maybe we could bounce ideas off of one another for it and share one on here for others that might want to use it.

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Edit: NOTE: I plan to ask my wife for some ideas too (she is a Hellenic/Greek Polytheist like me) so she'll probably have some thoughts that would be worth considering.

Samhain as a celebration of the end of the harvest season is always a good reason for ritual, and it has always fascinated me as someone of Irish and Celtic heritage. It also marks the winter season, so many use it as an opportunity to ask deities, spirits, fairies, nature, or the Force for comfort and protection for themselves and their livestock during the cold months when food and fuel are more scarce and weather can be harsh.

The celestial nature of our seasons and humanity's recognition of patterns has caused many holidays and celebrations to be centered around the solstices and equinoxes along with certain transitions from season to season including Samhain and Beltaine. Halloween and the Day of the Dead are examples of celebrations that have piggybacked onto Samhain because it is also believed that this day is one when the boundary between life and the afterlife can be crossed. Spirits and fairies would enter our world, and the Celts believed they needed to be appeased with feasts and celebrations in order for the people and livestock to survive the harsh winter months. Souls of the dead and these spirits were thought to visit their old houses, so people would leave offerings of food and drink outside their doors or go door to door dressed in costume to recite verses honoring the dead. These traditions have morphed into the modern practice of trick-or-treating and honoring our ancestors with the Day of the Dead.

As Christians later looked to convert pagan Celts to Catholicism, they named November 1st All Saints Day as a celebration of the Catholic Saints. We currently still see the Dia De Los Muertos and All Saints Day celebrated hand in hand on October 31st and November 1st by many Catholics.

Now, as Jedi, we have plenty of rich traditions to choose from as we create our own rituals to celebrate this midpoint between the Summer Solstice and Winter Equinox. I'm excited to see what we can come up with! I like the idea of thanking the Force for the harvest and also recognizing winter as a time to accept death or hibernation of life as a natural transition until the rebirth and awakening that comes with Spring. It is a time to die to the past and contemplate as we wait to be reborn anew. Burning our past transgressions or fears is a good way to symbolize the death of our past and our recognition of a clean slate that comes with the rebirth of Spring. It can be a reminder to live in the NOW and recognize that "this too, shall pass".

Meanwhile in the Southern Hemisphere, Beltane is a probably a good time to burn the undergrowth out from Spring to avoid large Summer bushfires? But I don't have any bush to run fauna out of ahead of any precautionary burns, and I'm building a deck over my back yard, so I might have to be creative as I find myself dislocated from nature a bit. Where I live the whales migrate past us to and from calving waters starting at Samhain and ending at Beltane, so if I had a boat that would be kewl to have a see them off ritual out in the ocean!!! Might have to make a waterproof ritual drum for that... so long as it doesn't attract the sharks - no blood sacrifice please!!