Much maligned for Samhain.
As the festival of Samhain approaches, I am being challenged to recognise that I need to change my thinking towards certain aspects of my conditioning or my assumptions of the way the world has been portrayed. I have been made very aware that there is much that I have been taught or conditioned to think of as sinister, bad or to be feared, that is quite the opposite.
This conditioning has nothing to do with my own decisions but my choice not to see beyond what I have been told, to see what I have experienced or to recognise where I have not taken the time to think for myself. In accepting this I can then begin to notice what I am being shown and then to work to understand my own true feelings.
Why now?
The festival marks the start of winter and the entering of the period of peace and inner work. This inner work asks us to focus on strengthening ourselves, a preparation of the “soil” ready for the turning of the wheel of the year and the “planting” of new thinking and feeling, that will open our intentions for the next year. I will weave this challenge into the festival celebrations (Samhain celebrations) I create, to embed this challenge into my work for this time of year.
This season therefore I am focusing on those areas that have been maligned, mistrusted or considered to be negative and therefore to be feared and avoided. To understand the true meaning and why these stories might have been told and what can I learn from my own truth and my own understanding of the creation of a fear.
All aspects of my work I am being shown are a place or an item or a philosophy, that has been maligned and around which has been created fear. I am being asked to reflect on all the places I put my energy to see and feel aspects where we may have been conditioned to doubt, conditioned to fear and that when we stand in truth and ask for clarity we can see the value and the benefit of these areas.
One particular area for me is my work with trees and trees as symbols. I have been presented with the Blackthorn, the latest tree post on my tree oracle page and been challenged not to think of it as sinister but to ask and feel behind this mask, as to the benefits that this brings when I am called to work with it. This is the symbolic aspect that I will bring to all areas of my life and work in my reconsidering.
With this tree, the symbolism that it is offering, is an understanding that often there are aspects of ourselves that are challenging and places we are fearful of exploring and exposing to ourselves and others. The Blackthorn, far from its reputation as part of the dark side and therefore sinister, will deliver the clarity around the truth of these challenging aspects of ourselves. This is not comfortable seeing but when we are asked to reflect inwardly on an aspect of ourselves and we commit to this work, then having a guide to show us the true nature of our being, non sugar coated, is an ally indeed.
However, I do understand why this characteristic of working with such a tree would be considered to be sinister and fearful, when most do not want to witness the reality of themselves but to remain in ignorance and continue to work as before. Its forbidding nature secures its reputation as the tree of the dark side, as it is often there that we find the most precious parts of our being whilst passing though the most challenging sides. We move from the dark, we are challenged to see what is hidden and so move towards the light and implementation.
Acceptance, understanding and then growth though bring the rewards that working with this tree will help us all to achieve. Therefore I embrace the Blackthorn, as it is not sinister but holds the secret of personal transformation.
This though is only one example of where there is value in the maligned. I believe that in many cases these stories were created to deal with things that were already apparent but that the growth and development of the people in that time was at a certain stage where its true properties and powers were not ready to be harnessed.
Now with the changes and the developments we are going through their true purpose can be seen as we are in a place where we are capable of it being seen.
These stories had a true and proper purpose but we should not hang onto them just because they were given but to reflect on it to see if it still have value and relevance. Some might and therefore we continue to work with it in the same way, others have had their time and need to be reevaluated and moved on.
This idea of reflection is very timely for this period of the year and that feels important to me in understanding why this has come up now. I am particularly taken by the idea that, as many cultures and traditions, remember ancestors and honour and thank them that it is said that it is driven by the fact that the veil between the world is thin. This “physical change” between what is perceived as our world and theirs, facilitates greater clarity of messages and an abundance of communication because the veil or maybe the filter changes as we move from autumn to winter.
I question that this physical change is in fact true and feels like a story created to rationalise an experience that felt unexplainable. In my experience clarity of messages and abundance are present at every festival. So is it the festival that causes this thinning?
Or maybe its got nothing to do with a physical phenomenon? The other thing that is consistent in each case is that we bring our focus as individuals, as groups and as a collective of human consciousness to a particular subject in this case our ancestors. This is particularly true as we approach October 31st. Across the world there are many cultures and traditions that celebrate this time of year and as part of that celebration or even the focus of it, is the honouring and thanking of the ancestors.
It is this collective thought and energy that in fact manifests a strengthening of the connection with our ancestors, guides and supporters. Not an etheric change in condition but a collective focus of energetic intent.
What is so important to understand from this, is the power of this manifesting tool when we, as one body of humanity, focus in a positive way for the good of each other, in a positive display of energetic feeling. In this case towards our ancestors and we therefore have the power to co-create a clarity and abundance of communication between us and others.
Taking this as our lead, imagine what we could then also achieve for the good of all if we were to galvanise our intent together on another area that co create growth and a positive response for the whole world.
We have this power as is proved by this time of year. How we now choose to harness this information and develop it further is our choice, our good intent for this period of the wheel of the year and setting our intent for the next.
Whatever your celebrations or marking of this season, honouring all our supporters is an important part of our own growth and appreciation is required.
Jeremy Rye 