A Very Blessed Samhain to ALL!!!

It's so hard to believe that this wonderful sabbat is upon us all already. Like many of my other dear blogger friends I, too, feel that this year came very quickly to say the least!!! I would like to celebrate with you all by sharing some of my favorite Samhain poems with you. The first one is written by Wren Walker. I just LOVE this and I hope that you enjoy it also!

SAMHAIN NIGHT ~ by Wren Walker

Beneath the square of Arthur's Wain,
The Faery Mounds so long have lain -
Like sleeping giants on the land
Like dreams we seek to understand

The darkest night has come around,
The bay of hounds the only sound -
As star-white steeds race through the wind
And branches rattle and dry leaves spin

Flashing silver pierces the Moon,
Swords held high against the gloom -
Wheels of fire roll on by
As shields are raised against the sky

Gwynn ap Nudd in white and red,
Heads the hunt of the ancient dead -
Into the realm of darkened light
A mighty band charges in swift flight

This night holds both beginning and end,
The Wheel has come full circle again -
The past and future come into our sight
All becomes one on this magickal night!

Between the heaven and the Earth,
The way now opens to bring forth -
The hosts of those who went before
They come riding now through the open door

Dark wild hunters racing the year,
Time stands still as past and future appear -
Encircled between the dark and the light
Together again on this Samhain night!

Upon a dark and windy hill,

On Samhains’ eldritch night

I saw the Crone with withered hands

By balefires burning light

Her eyes were full of wisdom,

The threads of life She span

And sang, “Blessed Be and Blessed Be

And Blessed Be again!”

-Joe Bethancourt

Halloween Handfasting!

What a fantastic night! Great ambience, Kim and Eric's loving family and friends surrounding them, plenty of delicious food, and a wonderful time was had by all! The bride wore a black and orange outfit and the groom was dressed in all black attire from head to toe donning a gray and orange tie and a pentagram belt bucket to top it all off. The bride's maids and groomsman were also dressed in all back attire.

Their handfasting was of course Samhain/Halloween themed and they are both of the Wiccan faith. As with most Handfasting ceremonies for which I officiate, the guests were almost completely all Christian and so I added a little introduction towards the beginning of the ritual explaining what they were about to witness. Here are a few of the pics hubby was able to take. As you will see, the couple got married in their back yard and it was rather crowded to say the least ...

Waiting for the procession

 Casting the circle

The bride (Kim) is the third gal in black on the right

 The Handfasting

Exchange of rings and vows

... thus your hands fasted, I now pronounce you husband and wife!

Four big orange air balloons were jettisoned in celebration

The bride slow dancing with her father to the beautiful Stevie Nicks song, "Landslide"

Bride and Groom dance!

Awesome decoratins throughout the house and ouside as well

 

 

Oh yes, and there was a special surprise as well. Just before the conculsion of the ceremony, the bride turned to everyone with a tearful special announcement. Her dear friend, Shonda, whom had passed away, was not able to attend she and hubby's most important day with them. BUT, when I arrived home last night I saw a large orb on the right-hand corner of one of the pictures. You can see it in the pic above on one of the brides maidens dresses as she appears to be glancing down at something. It is my opinion (and I am willing to bet) that that orb was indeed her friend Shonda saying, "I wouldn't miss this for the world!" The thought of it both gives me chills and makes me happy!

 

 

All in all, a terrific experience and one which I will never forget for as long as I live. Brightest Blessings All!!

What do you think??

As I mentioned to you all before, I am getting ready for this Saturday nights Handfasting Ceremony. I had every intention of losing a bit of weight to fit more comfortably into my new green Renn dress, but the journey has been somewhat difficult. So although I still intend to wear the green dress, I have decided to pick up a "back-up" dress just in case. Hubby took these pics tonight and he prefers this dress to the green one. It's called, "The Goddess" dress ...

 

Or do you prefer the Renn dress instead?? ... 

 

I'd really love to hear your thoughts or any advice you could offer would be very welcomed, my friends!!! :-)

Never a dull moment ...

A wise woman named Edna Buchanan once said:

 "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves."

I very much agree with her. I wish to thank you all, my friends, for your very caring a supportive comments on my last post about the upcoming handfasting. It means so very much to me to have you as part of my Blogger family! Much love and big hugs!

My apologies for my absence these past couple of days. Friday night, our cat Tabby found her way into our attic and in my attempt to retrieve her, she ran back into the insulated crawl space where the fiber glass is and I could not get to her. When she finally came out, I grabbed her and took her back downstairs. She was full of dust and dirt and I inadvertently got something in my left eye. While rubbing it, I developed a corneal abrasion. OUCH! Let me tell you all, it hurts like nothing I've ever experienced before. Hubby and I spent four hours in the Emergency Room on Saturday morning. They put a few drops of bright yellow dye in my eye in order to examine it. Gave me a tetanus shot and sent me home with an RX for Tylenol with Codeine and a small bottle of Tobrex eye drops. I had to wear hubby's dark work glasses all weekend as any sort of light just made the jabbing pain in my eye worsen ...

How do you all like my Ray Charles look? ;)  Anyway, I am starting to feel a bit better as the meds seem to be taking effect rather quickly. I will most likely take tomorrow off of work for good measure. My only concern now is that I am well enough by next weekend to perform the Handfasting. Keeping my fingers crossed!

On the brighter side, the other two plaques to my "Seasons of Greeman" set came in and the merchant was kind enough to drop them off at my home for me ...

Fall and Winter plaques

 

 

I just love them!! Hope everyone's having a great weekend and Brightest Blessings!

Preparing for Samhain

Like most Wiccans and Pagans around this time of the year, I have already begun setting up my Samhain altar. And every year, I create an ancestral altar, which is always included in my circle, to honor the passing of my beloved family and friends who have entered the Summerland. Even though I already have many of these photos dislpayed all over my home all year round, it is so very important to me to make sure that at this time of the year in particular my loved ones are recognized and know that they are missed and are with me always. A special white spirit candle is placed in the middle of this altar and a rose encased in gold lies gracefully in front ...

 

And like many other Wiccans I always ask those who wish to, to join me during my ritual ceremony. I acknowledge the passing of our Lord, Father and God. I grieve with our Goddess, our Earth Mother, at the loss of Her consort while anticipating His rebirth once again as the Sun at Yule.

 

This year; however, will be especially interesting as I will be officating a legal Wiccan Handfasting the week of Samhain. I am very excited although dare I say a bit nervous since it has been quite a little while since I last peformed this rite. None-the-less, I feel very honored to have been asked to do this and I am currently making the necessary preparations on my end. As per usual, there will be a rehearsal the evening before which I feel is extremely important in order to help ensure that things go off "without a hitch" (no pun intended) LOL!

 

The Passion of the Earth

Infinite Spirit, when I pray each day

for shelter for the homeless,

let me not ingore the pet without a home;

 

As I ask protection for those in areas

of turmoil and unrest,

let me not forget endangered species of life;

 

When I pray that the hungry be fed,

let me be mindful

that all God's creatures have need of sustenance;

 

As I ask Devine assistance for those afflicted

by fire, flood, earthquake, storm or drought,

let me remember that this includes every living thing;

 

In seeking miracle cures for human disease,

may I also speak for the well-being of the planet itself

 

Let the words of my mouth,

the meditation of my heart

and the actions of my life be as one,

that I may live each day in harmony

with Mother Earth

 

~ Jennie Frost Butler

 

 

(pic taken on Yule 2002)

The Family "Witch"

Ever since my brother and I were small children, my mother  would always decorate our home elaborately on every holiday. Most especially on Halloween and Christmas. And every year, she would bring out "Witchy-Poo." My mom actually nicknamed her that because at the time the children's television show, "H.R. Puff 'n' Stuff'" was popular and so was the character of "Witchy-Poo."

I have always adored our Witchy-Poo and this year, my mom passed her down to me. I consider her, in a way, our "family witch" so to speak as she as been such a big part of our family tradition for over thirty years! She has brought us all a lot of good memories and I am honored to continue displaying her proudly in my home this year and for many years to come ...

The Hay Creek Festival

One of the many reasons I love the season of Fall so very much, Mabon and Samhain not withstanding of course, is the fact that there is always so much to do! Around here, there are plenty of  fun and exciting activities to attend. We have a couple of great local Apple Festivals, Shocktoberfest, the Celtic Classic, the Ren-Faire's Celtic Fling, and this weekend is the Hay Creek Valley Festival at Joanna Furnace ~ a wonderful historical site which offers lots of fun and interesting activies throughout the year and most especically over the holidays.

Apples, homemade apple dumplings, apple cider, apple butter, candied apples ... apples, apples, apples! There were so many activities to enjoy for both kids and adults, great food and beverages, awesome flea market, historical demonstrations, and much, much more ...

Hay Rides

Tracker Pull Rides for the kiddies!

 

Creating and stuffing scarecrows

 

The escavating area

 

The Joanna Furnace ...

 

 

 

 

And of course I couldn't resist the GREAT buys at the Flea Market. Everything I bought ranged from $1.00 up to $8.00 each ...

 

All sorts of handmade crafts ...

 

Joanna Furnace Iron Handcrafted Black Cat Anvil and Fall Leaves Picture Frame

 

Amber necklace and Sterling Silver Cat earings

 

"Our Own Candle Company" brand candles and a "Witches IN/OUT Sign"

 

 

We had such a gorgeous day and this annual event is always sooo much fun. I look forward to it each and every single year!