All Souls Night


I can see the lights in the distance
trembling in the dark cloak of night.
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
a waltz on all souls night.

And for those that celebrate today has several names. Halloween, Hallows, All Souls Night, All Hallows Eve, Samhain, The Celtic New Year. With in the Astrological Calendar, it marks another click of the “Wheel of the Year”. Now while we celebrate this Holiday on a fixed point for ease It is really 15 Degree Scorpio which falls sometime in early November. Looking at a friend’s Facebook page who happens to track and post. This will occur on November 6.

What does this Holiday have to do with Masonry? Well, it is not directly celebrated as a Masonic Holiday. If fact Masonry only has two holidays that hold special meaning. The Fests of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. Both celebrated at or around the Solstices. Holding place for the light and dark.

I find this very interesting, as All Souls Night or as I refer to it Hallows does the same thing to a point. As this is the final harvest of the year and we are celebrating our labors we should also remember that the “veil” between this world and the next is spirituality thin. Which means if we listen close, we can hear the voice of our Ancestors give guidance. Sometimes you don’t have to listen that close. Oh, and here is a thought many do not bring up. If the veil is thin now and a Universal principle is “balance” call it or the “Principle of Polarity” the veil would be thin around the early part of May too.

One of the Traditions my wife and I like to do is hold a “Dumb Feast” where we cook things that remind us of friends and family passed. We will sit and eat in total silence and when we finish, we share stories of their memories. Memento mori, “remember that you will die”. But what is remembered lives.

This holiday is a time of rest. Well, to a point. We lay down our tools briefly and enter our personal “Chamber of Reflection” and evaluate ourselves. We withdraw into our being as the Earth does the same. Depending on the side of the world you are on, anyway. Our Brothers in the Southern hemisphere are enjoying Spring and an awaking.

So, as we enter this new year and time of introspection. Let me ask a couple of questions.

First, who are you taking time to remember? Who are you honoring tonight that made a profound impact on you. Feel free to add comments and share their memory. What is remembered lives, right?

Secondly, when finish our labor. Be it harvesting fruit, grain, meat, or working on our physical or spiritual stone. There are always pieces left over we do not use. What physical, emotional, or spiritual baggage do you need to discard? No, it is not easy, never said it would be. I know I have some I am struggling with myself. We all do.

So Happy New Year to my Celtic Brothers, Happy Hallows to those that celebrate, and Happy Halloween to all

Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
held up tall as the flames leap high.
The Green Knight holds the holly bush
to mark where the old year passes by.

I love you and may we govern ourselves accordingly 


 

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