Samhain: Why We Feel “Edgy”
We have reached the boundary between this Celtic year and the next, with the festival of Samhain, which is October 31. You may have heard this boundary expressed as the “veil” between worlds, which is said to be at its thinnest on this day, allowing many folks to feel a closer connection with the spirits of our ancestors.
We can also feel this boundary as an edge between different spaces: between ourselves and the world around us; between differing opinions or ideas; between the possible and impossible; between tradition and change. In the Celtic viewpoint, it is on these edges of boundaries that the very movement of life can take place.
Right now, we are feeling the pressure and movement of the tension between the two spaces on either side of the edge. What do we feel on the brink of now, or even “over the edge” about? Many cultures embrace this natural cycle of life as “blessed unrest,” as time for reconciliation. It is the point where conflict can enter the circle in order to get energy moving...it is simply the culmination of our autumn cycle of assessing what we have harvested in our lives, and noticing where we want growth or change. And change does not usually come until a certain unease has been felt, when edges and boundaries become visible, and we feel a choice must be made.
It is interesting that this time of transformation corresponds with the time of the ancestors return, because so much of our current conflict can be traced back to what our ancestors hold and have passed down to us. So tonight, as we select costumes, disguises and masks, or explore our dark places, fears and what truly scares us, may we find the courage to unmask and explore the places of tension and unease, and start a new year knowing we can always make new choices.
