Samhain and the Agnostic Neo-Pagan

I always feel kind of retrospective at Samhain. To be honest, I did give up on the religious aspect, for the most part, quite a few years ago but its hard to give up a philosophy that has been a life guide for almost 40 years.

Samhain, to my family, to my former cohorts – is this:

1. It is not the New Year.
   
2. This is the demise of the old year.
   
3. New Year does not start until Winter Solstice, when the days start to grow.
   
4. This is the time between times. A time when old hurts, emotional baggage, bad habits…negativity, is examined and tossed into a balefire – real or metaphorical.
   

This has been a good year, for us. My husband and I have undergone a renewal. Our friendship has grown, we’ve become closer. We’ve both changed. Is it the physical act of moving? I think it was probably the catalyst we needed. I have never been happier. This isn’t to say that there are not “things” that require disposal, from this year and years previous. Pfff, of course there are and they will be, duly, changed to ash.

My sons are all starting new journeys: love, career, life. It is an exciting time, for my husband and I, to be their parents. This is what fueled us for all these years, being able to stand and have the privilege of watching them, as men, make their own way. In honour, with bravery.

Our own time is waning; that is the cycle of life but we are proud of what we’ve accomplished. No, we haven’t found a cure for cancer or solved world hunger. We have offered the world, 3 amazing men. 3 honourable men, in a time when honour is so rare.

Saturday is Samhain. What will be offered to the flames? I’m ditching negativity, in my life. I’m not dealing with it anymore. No being dragged into drama, by others. No allowing negativity to darken my thoughts.

Oh for crying out loud…NO, I am not turning into some kind of “Bright Blessings to all. Here…have a flower! Unicorns and fairies.” Not in the least. I am just not going to allow emotional or psychological poison into my life. You have emotional shit? Deal with it. You don’t have the right to infect me or my family with it.

I am going to make an even more concentrated effort to live by the following Tenets, in the year to come:

7 Fundamental Tenets

I

One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

II

The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

III

One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

IV

The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.

V

Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.

VI

People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

VII

Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

I bid you all, a profound Samhain.