Samhain Blessings...Wheel of the Year Begins Again....

Yesterday, October 31, was Samhain which marks the
end of the Wheel of the Year and was also the Celtic New Year.
It is the last Sabbat in modern pagan traditions of 8 yearly
Sabbats.

Samhain is a day to honor the dead and one's ancestors.
The veil between the living and dead was believed to be the
thinnest by the Celts who first celebrated Samhain.
This is also a time to reflect on death and endings as the
year grows dark and the harvest has ended as we prepare
for a new beginning of the seasonal cycles.

The Wheel of the Year Turns and begins again today
on November 1. Now we enter a time when
the days grow darker and colder until the darkest night of the
year on the Winter Solstice and the pagan sabbat Yule
December 21. This is offically Winter. After this day
the days slowly grow lighter and the light returns symbolizing
rebirth after death.

This year I am celebrating Samhain as the beginning of
my seasonal cycle year. This time of the year always feels
more like a beginning than January 1 on our calendar does to me.
I took the time yesterday to reflect on endings, death, my
ancestors, and all I am releasing and letting go. This includes
habits, thoughts, relationships, things, and projects, that no longer
serve me to make space for this new cycle of the Wheel of the
Year.

I am also using this time for new beginnings including
restarting this blog after a long break. I will be writing about
the 8 Sabbats and New and Full Moon cycles monthly
as well as aspects of the Goddess, seasons, nature, ritual,
magick, and astrology.

I am also taking this time from now until the Winter Solstice
on December 21 for deeper introspection including
meditation, connecting in ritual with the Goddess and the
Goddess within myself, getting back into a yoga practice,
journaling, dream work, working with intuition,
doing creative projects, and making more time in my schedule
for being in quiet self reflection and connection.

On the Winter Solstice I intend to be renewed and rebirthed
in some way from this time.

How about you? What way can you celebrate this
new year cycle on the Wheel? What are you releasing,
ending, and letting go? What way can you add more time
for quiet introspection to your life during this cold dark time
of the year before the rebirth of warm light and sun at Yule?
What new beginningsare happening in your life?
What new ideas, habits, dreams, and projects would you like to start?

Samhain Blessings!