Samhain Musings - A Time to Act
The dark months are here. Samhain, for those of us who follow the wheel, is upon us and the spirits await. Even for those like myself, who practice ancestor worship and spirit work all year round there is indeed a stronger sense of their presence at this time. They are ever watching and waiting, silent sentinels, witnesses of our action or inaction. But of course it is not just the spirits of the deceased, beloved dead or otherwise that bear witness to what we do in the here and now. The mundane and the spiritual are entwined, twisted together like the ivy that twists around the fence posts in my garden, not a burden, but each supporting the other, for the fence is rotted and it is only the ivy keeping it standing, but alas I digress. As I stand beneath the pale glow of the waning moon so early that most consider it still night, with my breath fogging the air and cold fingers wrapped around the mug of coffee even though it burns, the genius loci are with me. It is in these moments, alone and in the comforting darkness in this, my night garden, a place so very different from the garden in the day, that I feel their presence the most.
It is in these moments that everything seems much clearer, away from the noise of the TV and opinions and debates and arguments. It is here where I can see more clearly the hamster wheel of it all, and all the while the spirits demand action. What will we do?
The news here in the UK, besides Brexit, is dominated by the Extinction Rebellion protests and either, depending on source and publication, how they are a hindrance to the everyday order or are saviours of the world. But this is part of the problem, isn’t it? For many working class people, these protesters represent a privilege that they will never have and are often seen as middle class hippies, whilst they, the poorest in our societies are decried for polluting and killing the planet. They cannot afford to take time off work to protest, even though they might care deeply about the state of our planet. Their survival in this world of Capital depends on them selling themselves in soul destroying jobs they hate. And what of the protesters? Are they wrong to try and grab the attention of those in power? Are thy wrong to want to try and affect change? This to me is an example of divide and conquer - people who share the same concerns but different circumstances are pitted against one another instead of against the real perpetrators of destruction and the Capitalist system that demands we use ever more resources, faster than they can be produced and all in the name of profit.
It’s like peering through the looking glass.
I’ve heard working class people praise police heavy handedness (and for the record, this isn’t a dig at the police, though some will inevitably say it is. Regular readers will know my opinion of the police force and some are unable to critically observe the actions of them, not as individuals, but as a force). I’ve heard people who are more likely to face such treatment praise the use of painful restraint on people protesting peacefully (and again, regular readers will know my opinion of peaceful protests. They are mostly useless. You want change, you gotta force it with direct action, no matter how small the individual effort). Divide and conquer yet again. It’s the same logic as those who share Facebook posts and heart wrenching images about vivisection but still choose to purchase products tested in such a way. It’s the criticism levelled against poor people for reliance on polluting transport or methods of heating their homes, or their reliance on cheap food and factory farmed meat. It’s the joy taken in victories against fracking companies and the fate of fracking here at home, all the while not realising that instead the UK government is planning to use money set aside for green energy to finance fracking in Argentina.
People are awaking to the destructiveness of Capitalism, but they lose themselves in meaningless arguments with folks who probably share many of the same ideals. We don’t have time to waste, for the spirit world is watching and waiting, urging us into action. The spirits of nature, of land, of place and people are watching, waiting for our action. As the wheel turns into darkness, let us descend like Inanna and rid ourselves of the things that keep us bound in this seemingly endless cycle. Let us loosen the shrouds of apathy and inaction and emerge with purpose, united against those things that would destroy us and nature.
The spirits are waiting. What will we do?
EMMA KATHRYN
My name is Emma Kathryn, my path is a mixture of traditional European witchcraft, vodou and obeah, a mixture representing my heritage. I live in the sticks with my family where I read tarot, practice witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
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