Photobucket Dancing ’round the flame of summer’s end
sparks of golden yellow celebrate Samhain.

Twirling around tossing leaves in the air
laughing and giggling while catching them in our hair.

The last harvest is in as turns the new year
while the chill of Yule draws ever so near.

The dead will join our festive feasts,
giving glimpses of our past, present and future feats.

Come young maidens, mothers and crones
Let the whispers of spirits rattle your bones.

Embrace the silence of the coming dark
and join the Sabbat’s circle with open mind and open heart.

“Samhain” by Robin Webster

‘Tis the Season of the Witch, and the members of SJUP are getting ready for our New Year. This is a time for letting go of the old and looking ahead to the new. Samhain marks the end of the harvest season. Since ancient times, Pagans have paid their respects to departed loved ones, ancestors, and guides in the Spirit World for this is a time when the veil between the living—the here and now—world and that of the dead—the Summerlands—are at their thinnest. The Goddess manifests as the Crone and the God as the Horned Hunter and Lord of Death. It’s the festival of endings and transformation.

The Earth nods a sad farewell to the God. We know that He will once again be reborn of the Goddess and the cycle will continue. This is the time of reflection, the time to honor the Ancients who have gone on before us and the time of Seeing (divination). As we contemplate the Wheel of the Year, we come to recognize our own part in the eternal cycle of Life.

Blessed Be.