Dear Rosies,
Tonight is All Hallows' Eve. Yes, there will be sexy vampires, miniature Almond Joys, elaborate costumes and perhaps a questionable amount of candy corn. But beneath the commercial Halloween festivities lies something much older and far more profound.
The name itself holds a clue. A hallow is an old English word for a holy person, a saint, from the same root as "hallowed be thy name." All Hallows' Eve, shortened in Scotland to Hallowe'en, means the holy evening before the feast of the saints.
Our evolutionary bodies carry an ancient knowing that this time of year matters. We are seasonal creatures. The harvest is in, and the darkness is lengthening. The season invites us to turn our attention toward what lies beneath the surface, and inevitably toward the dead.
For the next three nights, I've written a ritual for you:
October 31, All Hallows' Eve: Meet the shadow, meet the fear
November 1, All Saints' Day: Meet the exalted, meet the holy
November 2, All Souls' Day: Meet the ordinary, meet mortality
To your most beautiful, valued, sacred embodiment,
Christine
