Last weekend the clocks went back in the UK and we are now entering the darkest part of the year. This week is Samhain, which is generally celebrated on the 31st October and lunar Samhain on the dark moon. The days will be the shortest and the nights the longest, until we celebrate the return of the light at the winter solstice.
The darkness of this time of year can be depressing and intimidating for many people, but as I mentioned in my previous post about embracing the dark, the darkness is actually a place of great potential: it is safety, the void, the womb, the resting place, the starting point. It’s the formless depths from which transformation and new form emerges. Darkness is avoided in our modern world but is a natural and necessary part of the Earth’s cycles and seasons.
If we embrace and prepare for this seasonal darkness, preparing our inner and outer environment for this time of rest, reflection, inner work and transformation, we can sometimes avoid the more depressive aspect and tension that can occur when we fight a natural pull to align with the Earth’s cycles.
Samhain is the start of winter. It is a traditional time to honour our ancestors and count our blessings after a busy year. It is said at this time the veil is thin between the worlds, so from a Shamanic practitioners point of view it’s the perfect time to participate in meditation and journeying for inner wisdom.
In the West this time of year can start to become stressful and busy as we approach Christmas so it’s a good opportunity to put time aside for reflection and practice setting boundaries that support your own well-being and reduce stress – a common factor of ill-health.
‘Shadow work’ has become a popular phrase these days, but these longer nights and darker days are the ideal time to look inwards, to tend to our roots and spend time on our ‘inner work’. The Jungian concept of ‘the shadow’ is about the unseen parts of ourselves that formed out of some kind of self-protection and negative experience when we were young. It also refers to parts of ourselves we want to reject and hide from others and ourselves. The forming of some of the problematic aspects to our shadow generally relate to basic needs such as safety and connection, or lack of. If we don’t experience these qualities as being present, we often then develop a safety mechanism and/or we reject a part of ourselves as a response to that. These can sometimes be long forgotten experiences and parts of ourselves that we we can’t really see but we often experience their messages as strong emotions such fear, anxiety, tension and reactiveness. It is a part of us that has become separated and alienated.
Shadow work begins with being open to all of our parts and being willing to look at our habitual patterns and responses, to raise our awareness that our shadow exists, what its attributes are and pondering its message and wisdom. This first step can take the form of meditating to observe our mind, or taking part in an activity and maintaining awareness of our thoughts and how they make us feel. For instance, it could be taking part in a drum circle but noticing you are fearful to make a mistake, to drum too loudly and be seen and heard, or voice an opinion in case it upsets someone. These are all valuable pointers to uncovering our shadow.
Ultimately our shadow selves are going to need love and acceptance and we have to be careful not to pile on more blame and shame once we’ve identified our shadow parts. We might need to clear some old views and storylines about ourselves before we can finally begin to integrate our shadow and welcome these parts back in, it’s never about getting rid of them. This can be a long process and practice of untangling, de-conditioning and self-compassion, something we will need to keep repeating and practising with.
With Reiki Drum and shamanic practices we talk about ‘soul loss’ or ‘energy loss’. This is akin to shadow work or can be a tool for shadow work because it’s all about finding parts of our vitality/soul that have been lost or rejected. We can work on this energetically through drum journeys and other Reiki practices, identify our lost parts/energy or where this affects us in our body and lives, and invite the parts/energy back to us. So, it’s a process that can work well alongside talking therapies that might also be needed with for this. In Shamanic Reiki Drum are working with the subconscious mind, using tools such as our imagination and visualisation to help us gain insight, and then relax into a sense of connection and greater well-being through reiki and drumming as we connect to those lost parts/energy and invite them back.
Rituals and Ceremony for Samhain
For Samhain you may like to create an ancestor altar with photographs of your relatives/ancestors or items from nature to represent the season. You might like to go for a walk in your local park or sacred place and honour all those who have gone before in that place, and make an offering of bird seed or dried herbs. You could pick up a stone or leaves to dry to add to your altar and connect to your local land.
On the dark moon of Samhain which falls on Friday 1st November (known as lunar Samhain) you might like to sit in the dark and practice feeling safe and connected by visualising energetic roots descending deep into the Earth, like tree roots, and perhaps even calling on your ancestors to assist you in any challenges. You might like to reflect on your habits and possible shadow aspects and journal what comes up for you, beginning that process of awareness and even friendship with your shadow.
Another short practice: Designate a sacred space in your usual way, then visualise a light above you (it can be the sun or a big star or ‘source’ beaming light to you and connecting to a light within you, in your heart space. Allow that light to keep growing in you both absorbing the light coming to you and then radiating that light from you into the world around you. See it enveloping your home, street, county, the whole earth.
See this light stretching back in time and flooding your ancestors with light and healing. See this light stretching forwards in time, beaming light and healing to those descendants ahead of you. Feel yourself as an infinite being of light as much as you can, both absorbing and being a source of light for yourself and those around you. When you are ready wiggle your fingers and toes and gently open your eyes and carefully turn on a light. Light a candles and make offering at your altar for your ancestors, for the elements, for your own healing journey and that of the planets. Close your ceremony and reopen your circle giving thanks when you are ready.
Nature-focused, Shamanic Reiki Drum, Reiki & Reiki Massage, Forest Therapy 