- Samhain
Samhain 2005
The wheel has turned again this year
And now we face the winter fear
Of darkened days and lengthened nights
And sudden shadows that give us frights
From highest hill to lowest vale
We look to winter and can not fail
To turn and face what we most dread-
Those darkened monsters of the head
And when we face our inner dead
We cleanse those monsters from our head
The wheel has turned, we face the dark
Behold the center, the winters spark.
Martin Dier
2008 special announcement
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible. - T. E. Lawrence
Blessed Samhain to you all.
Dolores Wheelan started these celebrations on one level to honour the spirit of place of Tara, and that we have all done. With each ceremony held, with each candle lit, with each positive image about Tara raising the awareness level of people, each poem, thought, prayer and protest offered in sincerity has been heart felt by the spirit of Tara.
Without that first step we would be a much more impoverished people, so this Samhain I will be holding in my heart “dangerous” people who wake up to their dreams and make a difference.
Death of the Old
Autumn Equinox signals the end of the year and Samhain is the start of the new, and by necessity the death of the old.
Autumn Equinox just gone by was a glorious day on the hill. People of all ages out and about with smiles on their faces which we had not seen in a long, long time and expecting a large group of people on that day to our surprise only two were present. With this perfect equinox balance of polarities, it was then we realised the ceremonies were complete. Following our Q from the hill herself there will be no more ceremonies as we have known them. As much as this is an end it is also a chance for brand new beginnings.
We would like to thank everyone of you who came to the ceremonies, for your feedback and for everything anyone has done to support Tara over the past few years.
To make this end absolute and complete we will be deleting all E-Mail addresses after this E-mail goes out. This is a way of spring cleaning the E-mail system and clearing out the dead energy.
But we are not throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Birth of the New
The web site www.TaraCelebrations.org is a year old and we will continue to keep it up and running as a resource of inspiration and information for those who feel their soul nourished by its existence.
So If you would like to contribute to the web site then by all means go there and send us pictures, poems, thoughts etc and we will post them up under the relevant section, and if none exists we will create one. There is an exciting new section on the etheric energy we would encourage everyone to take part in and an amazing peek at the Equinox line, running from coast to coast across the country with Tara and many other places included. There is also a great section on our Monday evening meditations in an Tobar.
By way of tuning into Samhain and "holding the space" some of us are going to meet on the Hill, on Saturday 1st November at 2.25pm precisely (Chiron rising) gathering at the Lia Fáil at 2.16pm. What ever happens will happen spontaneously, as nothing is planned in the way of ritual. I stress that there is nothing organised, we do not know what is going to unfold.
If anything! If any one cares to join us for lunch before hand then we will be in Maguires coffee shop at 1pm
If you want to meet and form a new group going forward to carry a new energy then come along. If anybody wishes to start a new round of ceremonies/ritual/prayer then this is your responsibility (we will of course provide support if required). This gathering will not be advertised on the posters or in the paper.
Some of the ideas so far include bringing ceremony and ritual into the urban environment, celebrating the eight fold year at sites all around the country, not just Tara. One idea following on from the ceremonies was to clean up the well when we meet. In this instance we would need people to bucket, barrow and bail water, people with hedge trimmers, people with buckets gloves etc, people to make tea in a flask, people to explain the astrological significance of the day, stone masons, skilled people, people who just want to help in any way they can,people to hold space and meditate during this activity etc...........
If you wish to be kept informed of any Tara based activities then it is absolutely essential that you reply to this e-mail as all contacts will be cleared out to make space for the new.
This email will also be posted on the website. If you are a distance 'celebrator' we would love to hear from you as well. Email your insights, thoughts and feelings and we will share them on Saturday. Please let us know how you spend that time on the 1st.
May God grant you always...
A sunbeam to warm you,
a moonbeam to charm you,
a sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you.
Laughter to cheer you.
Faithful friends near you.
And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you
Le grá
Martin Nora Yamann Mary Des
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The black crows circled as we circled... and summer turned to winter in the season of samhain...
We ate from the harvest of nuts...
and shared our apples with the land... cherishing the lone apple of red and green from a displaced tree...
The sheep grazed as we announced ourselves to each other... as we danced around the handbags to the beating of the drums...
We danced inwardly to a close circle then outwardly to face the far horizons...
We smoothed our auras with Grail essence... and we received our messages from the angels...
and while the black crows circled as we circled...
the white death skull sat silently upon the ground.
Time dissolves, souls gather, in unity mysterious ancestors draw near.
Blessed or beloved, reviled or forgotten, generations amass, no harm, no fear.
Ancient memories stir in our hearts, distant dreams we've sought, held dear,
Slither silently within darkening shadows, whispering quietly to those who hear.
Plucked by wise invisible hands, echoing, vibrating chords appear.
Weaving through the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead
Seeking creation's love, eternal, we reach out to the strangeness of a deathly bier.
Time dissolves, souls gather, celebrating sacred samhain of the wheel of the year.
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Samhain is the death of the old.
Nature begins her hibernation and withdraws life force from the trees so that they can survive through the tough conditions of winter.
We brace for winter with the security of Lughnasadh harvests and release our baggage to the Cailleach and the bone fires.
We remember at this time our ancestral dead and honour their presence in our lives.
See the Sacred Art of Tara revealed at Samhain 2007 here
A lovely seasonal verse from Liz Kirkham in Derbsyhire England
Orchards at this time of year
are to birds a great attraction
Picking at fruit in the trees
brings them real satisfaction
And try her rose hip syrup recipe for winter comfort -
'A recipe i used, was 3lb's of hips, put into a saucepan, cover with water and let them boil until they are almost soft.Then to each pint of juice, allow a pound of sugar, and boil together for about 15mins, the liquid turns to syrup,it's best left to mature after bottling, for a short while.'
Remove the hairy fruits before boiling and use stainless steel pans.
And Liz also sent this lovely picture of bright autumn flowers:
Notice the 5 (the number of change) formed by the shadows on the right hand tree - taken in the churchyard on Tara just after our Samhain ceremony last year... this is not an enhanced photo!
Samhain is also a time to light the candles and celebrate the year gone by... this one included vegetable soup and garlic bread, followed by garlic potatoes and lasagne with garlic, and local tara ice-cream and christmas pudding... yummmy...
! HAPPY NEW YEAR !
The tree dies to the red berry
The red berry dies to the black seed
The black seed dies to the dark earth
and what at first seems like a schism, a spliting asunder, a wrenching apart
is the start of a new life.
md. samhain 2008
We had a fantastic Samhain trip to Edinburgh and meditated with the Mitchel Hedges crystal Skull. We also took in Rosslyn and lots of other power points in the landscape.
Last Updated: 2nd December 2008 18:58
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