Saturday, November 10, 2012

2012 Samhain Ritual Attendance

I attended the our local Grove's Samhain ritual on Saturday, October 27th.  This was the first ritual since the grove had graduated from proto-grove status, so spirits were festive.  As had been the situation for the past several rituals, the ritual was actually held on property owned by my family.  The ritual was written by the Grove Organizer and was in ADF Core Order.

The ritual focused on the Hellenic pantheon, and my participation included addressing Gaia at both appropriate points in the ritual.  For an offering to Gaia I sprinkled corn kernels from my husband's small plot of non-hybrid/non-GMO corn grown on-site.

I have to admit that I felt a bit out-of-sync with this ritual, as my personal leanings (that align with Proto-Indo-European Slavic traditions) associate a time of darkness/connection with ancestors more with the winter solstice.  However, during the personal offerings I spoke aloud three names of dearly departed, and presented an offering of tobacco.

While I did not so much personally feel the veil lifted during the ritual, it did get me thinking more about how I'd like to prepare and observe the similar customs in December.

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