October is one of my favorite months

of the whole year!!!

...Maybe it's the crispness in the air, still having nice warm days that transition easily from Summer time.                                       

...Maybe it's the beautiful fall colors of reds, oranges and yellows in the trees that we get up here in the San Bernardino Mountains.  I live up at 7,000 ft. and I love having four seasons in Southern California! And yes, we've already have had snow, just last week!          

...Maybe it's the mysterious spooky October nights that bring magic and wonder... Last year, I taught my nephew Tiernan about the traditions of Halloween - now he is so excited that it's here again, with pumpkin decorations everywhere and falling leaves to play in, scary stories of ghosties and costumed fun. Tiernan has designated that he is dressing up as "Popeye the Sailor Man" and we will be his Gang.

...Maybe it's because I love to play dress-up (everyday!) and appease my many different personalities...

Whatever it is about this season, Autumn is here!

When Witches go riding

And Black Cats are seen

The Moon Laughs and Whispers, tis Halloween!

A little history about Halloween

Halloween was originally called the festival of Samhain (pronounced SAH-win), which means "Summer's End".  Samhain was the New Year in the ancient traditional ways. It holds the energies of the "Veils between the Worlds", meaning that the doorway between this world we live in, and the invisible world of our ancestors, is thin.  There is a mystery in the air at this time of the year. We tell scary ghost stories and strange encounters of Fairy Queens who would steal away human beings for their lovers, Wicked Witches who made strange concoctions and magical potions. Wearing costumes or masks were once thought to ward off the evil spirits or fairies by tricking them with disguises. That tradition is lost and we now don wild costumes and revel in joyous festivities, "trick or treating" from door to door for sweets.

At the beginning of time, people honored the cycles of the Earth and Nature and the changing times of the year. Festivals commemorated the dying time and celebrated our ancestors. This time of the year is about letting go of the old, like the vibrant colored leaves that are falling to the ground. The "harvest of the fields" is ripe for the picking.  As we move into the cold times and the dark of winter, we are preparing to retreat into a time of hibernation.

The symbol of the Witch was originally the faces of the Goddess... Maid, Mother and Crone. At this time of the year, Autumn, she was the Crone, the Wise One, and the Elder who knew about the mysteries and the cycles of life, death and rebirth.  Having experienced the journey of the Maid and the Mother through the year, she now carries her lessons within and transforms them into deeper wisdom. As time passed, people began to follow doctors and hospitals; they didn't understand the "Old Ways" of "The Healer" or "Old Herb Lady", who lived in the woods alone.  The Crone became feared and renamed "The Witch" and "The Hag" of Halloween today.