Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Beloved (if still less than grateful) Dead

So I was supposed to run a Samhain ritual for our sabbat group (it's not really a circle, much less a coven, but since we're not really associated with a specific UU church anymore it feels weird to call us a CUUPs circle, even if we are still loosely affiliated with the national group) on Monday.  Since that was the full moon, I cancelled my moon circle for this month.  I didn't spend as much time and energy writing the ritual as I'd originally intended, but it was a substantial amount - and then no one showed up but me and the hosts.  Three's not really enough for bells, whistles, and candles (or is that book, bell, and whistle?), so we decided to just do a basic dumb supper instead.  It was nice, but not very ritual-y.

I then debated trying to run the ritual tonight instead, but it seemed unlikely that I could get enough people together on such short notice.  So instead, I have candles and incense burning at my tiny ancestor stele.  Tomorrow, I'll put out fresh candles and incense, and the bourbon they asked for.  (I still don't have any tobacco - I think I'll have to find a pipe store, or maybe a botanica.)

One of the people who missed the Monday ritual is attending on a very elderly relative in the hospital.  One of the people who did make it recently lost a sister to the Great Below.  A friend of a friend has had a stroke and can't communicate to her caretakers to get her priestess for what might be her last rites.  My own grandmother died a few days after a Samhain.  And, of course, the latest incarnation of Huracan is making a deadly pass across the eastern seaboard.  It is definitely the dark half of the year.

Blessed Samhain, Winterfinding, and/or Dia de los Muertos to all of you.