I usually need things dumbed down for me.

I really like the comparison with praying. It makes a whole lot of things much easier to understand. (I suppose you've used that comparison many times. It's very effective - at least for those open enough to try and understand it. )

Just to let you know, I didn't take the comparison to praying as involving anything like "supplication". More like using a mantra to help focus the mind during meditation. So I'm on the same page as you, I think.

Yes, you could definitely view it that way.

Happy October 1

~ Simple Candle Magick for Halloween ~

Burn orange and black candles at midnight on Halloween for luck for the coming year. Allow the candles to extinguish themselves naturally for the
spell to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So the 12" candles from Yankee candle I should keep for something else.

Have you smelled that Yankee "cotton" scented candle. Its good. Kind of similar to laundry detergent.

I have LOTS of Yankee Candles candles. My brother lives about 1/2 mile from the main store and of course the family has to stop in EVERY time to check out any new scents.

Yeah they are nice. I like them and they are prevalent all over NE. Everyone sells them. They take their candles very seriously here. I like the scents on Yankees because they seem very strong and you can really smell them when they are burning. Some of the cheaper ones have no distinctive scent at all. Right now I have to be careful with candles because I have 5 cats so its a bad idea to have lit candles everywhere.

My cat caught her tail on fire once on one of my candles.

Dipstick likes candles too.

My cat never went to close to the candles again after that.

Yeah cats seem to have a strange fascination with flame and they are always jumping up on things. In my last apartment I used to like burning candles but once you get a cat, its do so at your own risk. You have to make sure you are around keeping an eye on what they are doing.

~*` Hallowe'en Chant `*~

Fire red, summer's dead,
Yet shall it return.
Clear and bright in the night,
Burn, fire, burn!

Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Fire glow, vision show
Of the heart's desire,
When the spell's chanted well
Of the witching fire.

Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Fire spark, when nights are dark,
Makes our winter's mirth.
Red leaves fall, earth takes all,
Brings them to rebirth.

Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

Fire fair, earth and air,
And the heaven's rain,
And blessed be, and so may we,
At Hallowstide again.

Dance the ring, luck to bring,
When the year's aturning.
Chant the rhyme at Hallowstime,
When the fire's burning.

(~Author Unknown)

I LOVE that one. Of course now it is going to be stuck in my head for days. I guess that is kind of the rationale behind most chants and incantations. They are easily memorized. That one is very clever.

chanting or drumming is what builds that energy for me. It's very intoxicating.....not exactly, but that's the word that comes to mind. It also helps create the psycho-drama needed to cast good spells.

Well, I ventured out into the other religion forums and I am staying in here. My comfy, cozy forum where I can worship Satan in peace.

It's scaaaaaaaaary out there.

Samhain Lore (October 31st)


Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.

It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.

This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on November 7th), and Martinmas (that is celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.

It's also the Gaelic name for November
<- *speaks Gaelic*