Like it's partner of light, Bealltainn, I have always found the energy during Samhuinn to be intense, passionate and breathtaking. Perhaps it is my need for balance because I adore both points in the year. Long ago I was told that I am a child of the inbetween times, sitting on the periphery, never fully in one world or another. I took that to mean the time of year I was born, early in the morning about one week after the Autumn Equinox. Or maybe it means my connection to the other side-whichever side that may be. Hearing and seeing more than the Average Josephine notices throughout her day. Whatever the intended reasoning behind it it all comes down to how much I adore this time of year and how reflective it seems to be that I adore both Samhuinn and Bealltainn. For me Samhuinn is not a fixed point, it's mutable in our calendar year. My circle and I spoke of the thinning veil over the Summer, as that was when we noticed the changes. By this time of year we are all overstimulated with the raucous noises and activities of the other realms (I think it's not only the deceased right now, or the fae realm is a-buzz with activity.)
What draws me to Samhuinn is how dark the nights are, the hold an inky blackness unlike any other time of year. This darkness has a warmth to it, an energy, it is like wearing the thickest, most luxurious cloak. During Samhuinn it is the memory and honor of my ancestors that I really focus on. My ancestral altar gets the main focus for this month (or so) with all the photos and belongings of my deceased family.
At some point before Hallows Eve we take an afternoon and head to the local cemetery to say hi to my paternal grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, great-great grandparents and a great-great-great granny as well. We sometimes make a picnic and hang out, leaving apples for all the stones (we have four family plots as this is the Irish side of my family and large family at that) and cleaning up the flowers planted near Bealltainn.
Pixie, of course, has her trick or treating fun and my Samhuinn focus is pretty flexible. I observe Samhuinn for an entire month, roughly until the second week of November. There are variables each year, Mercury Rx tends to influence if it falls somewhere during the month. I have always enjoyed using my time for celebration on either actual Samhuinn, which falls about November 7th, or when the Sun is about halfway through Scorpio (Sun 15* Scorpio) or Lunar Samhuinn, which is a newer focus for me thanks to a friend a few years back (gotta love continual learning!). Lunar Samhuinn is the New Moon closest to the 31st and this year its falls on my 27 anniversary on a pagan path, October 26th.
Since Pixie was born I have really gotten into regular observation of each celebration. Even if it were simply a feast to celebrate, I did something. As she grew we did activities and she learned about my path and really worked to decipher and establish her own path. As she reaches her 12th birthday it is wonderful to see how much she has grown as a pagan child, all on her own volition. Tis beautiful..
Living with family that is Christian and rather unaccepting of my ways makes celebrating rather tough so in the last several years my practices have suffered greatly. However, this year the need is so great that I will find some way to really incorporate something more than a meal into our Samhuinn. Regardless of how it all unfolds we will have our Samhuinn feasting, leave a bit of something that night for wandering souls and commune with the energies of our deceased loved ones who are most definitely visiting.
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