  Spiritual
This week: Samhain Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Spiritual Newsletter. My name is Shannon and I'm your editor this week. |
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Hallows Blessing for the Ancestors
To those whose feet are stilled
and those who laugh with us no more.
To you we say, our love was with you here
and goes with you now, to that place
where you rest and take delight.
May your feet walk along the coffin paths
to that place where all is fresh and green,
where lovers, friends, and ancestors wait
with open arms to greet you.
Go in peace, and with our blessings
or remain a while this eve, with us
the living, and life and hearth, and love.
Be rested amongst your own, this eve
this one night, this Samhain.
With countless turns of the wheel
we miss you.
Be near us this eve,
we pray ever for you
and we will meet again once more
when the wheel turns for us.
Pray be there to greet us, in that place.
We will walk the coffin paths together
and bide a while with kin and hearth
until that time be near us.
Our kinsmen.
Our guardians.
Our ancestors.
Our beloved dead.
While most of us buy truckloads of candy to distribute amongst the neighborhood children, others are drying herbs for winter storage. While we carve pumpkins and hang purple and orange twinkle lights on our fences, they finalize preparations for a harvest festival. While we buy costumes and decorate our children's faces, they gear up to celebrate the Wiccan New Year. While we decorate our lawns with styrofoam headstones, they decorate their altars with the personal effects of long-dead ancestors. While we prepare for Halloween, they prepare for Samhain.
Samhain is pronounced sowen, soween, saw-win, saw-vane or sahven, not sam-hayne. 1 One of four Great Sabbats, Samhain is the highest holy day of witches. It's a time to remember and honor their ancestors, dry herbs for winter storage, and prepare for the New Year, which begins at sunset on Samhain.
Pagans have many ways to celebrate Samhain, but one of the most interesting is to host a Dumb Supper.
The hostess sets the table with extra place settings for deceased loved ones who might show up to celebrate the holiday, and the meal is best enjoyed by candle or lamplight. We've all heard the old-fashioned, politically incorrect term deaf and dumb, meaning unable to hear or speak. This is the gist of a "Dumb" (or Silent) Supper. No one is allowed to speak, thus enabling guests to hear the voices of the dead. There is no "Please pass the potatoes" at this get-together. The hostess must anticipate her guests' needs ahead of time so everyone has everything they need within reach. So place extra salt and pepper shakers on the table, extra plates of butter, have several platters full of each course so each item is within an arm's reach of every guest. A bell may be used to indicate the beginning and end of the silent part of the meal, and the hostess might distribute small slips of paper and pencils for guests to jot down prayers and/or wishes for their deceased loved ones and place a cauldron or other fireproof container on the table to burn them.
Nowadays with everyone's face focused on their cell phones, no one paying any attention to those around them, I thought this might be a fun and interesting way to host a supper with family and friends. But what to cook?
Quickie Shortbread Soul Cakes
1 stick of butter, softened
4 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 C flour
Cream together the butter and sugar. Use a flour sifter to add the flour to the bowl and mix until it's smooth. Divide the dough into two parts, and shape each half into a flat circle about half an inch thick. Put them on an ungreased baking sheet (baking stones are really nice for this) and poke lines with the tines of a fork, making eight separate wedges in each cake. Bake for 25 minutes or until light brown at 350 degrees.
Autumn Butter
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup butter, softened
Mix all ingredients until well blended. Spread onto your favorite muffins, quick bread, sweet crackers, or drop a dollop onto morning pancakes.
Kate’s Slow Cooker Bacon-Potato Soup
1 (5-pound bag) potatoes cut into small cubes
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled. ½ goes in the slow cooker, ½ save as a topper
3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
Put all ingredients in crockpot. Cook for 8-10 hours on low.
*Great topped with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles and crackers!
Beer-Basted Rib Eye Roast
1 (3-pound) boneless rib eye roast
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced into thin slivers
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer
1/2 cup beef broth
Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut slits 1-inch deep into top of roast at regular intervals and insert garlic into slits. Rub soy sauce over all sides of roast then sprinkle with pepper. Place roast into pan and scatter onions around it. Cook roast for 30 minutes then reduce heat to 350°F. Pour 1/4 cup
beer over roast then continue cooking for 75 minutes for medium-rare or until desired doneness, basting with beer every 30 minutes. Remove roast to cutting board and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add any remaining beer and the beef broth to pan. Cook over medium-high heat and deglaze by stirring to dislodge brown bits on bottom of pan. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes then season to taste with salt and pepper. Slice roast and serve with pan juices. Serves 6-8.
Apple Bread
1/2 c. margarine
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. sour milk or orange juice
1 c. chopped cooking apples (no need to peel)
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
In mixer, cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, soda and salt. Add to mixture and alternate with liquid. Add apples and walnuts. Turn into greased 9×5 loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350.
Whether you're Christian or Pagan, whether you celebrate Halloween or Samhain, the origins of the holiday date back thousands of years. While actually summoning the dead isn't something I recommend or believe should be dabbled with, especially by those who don't know what they're doing, hosting a Dumb Supper for the simple experience of silently enjoying a delicious meal with family and friends sounds like a hoot. Why not mix it up this year and give it a try? You never know who might sidle up to your table.
Thank you for reading. Happy Halloween and Blessed Be.
May the ancestors deliver blessings on you and yours.
May the new year bear great fruits for you.
May your granted wishes be as many as the seeds in a pomegranate.
May the slide into darkness bring you light.
May the memories of what has been keep you strong for what is to be.
May this Samhain cleanse your heart, your soul, and your mind.
Notes:
1. http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_wheel_of_the_year/samhain.asp
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The following is in response to "You Can Lead a Horse to Water" :
Sssssh! I'm not really here.  writes, "I totally agree with what you've said in your Newsletter. People already know what is right, and what is wrong. I, like you, am a direct response person. You ask me what I think, I'll tell you, like it or not -- end of story. Fine Newsletter, Shannon!" Thank you, WW! I'm glad you liked it. 
♥ Jbradford is writing ♥  writes, "Shannon, thank you for opening this discussion. I do have a loved one who used to create issues in our family by gossiping (filled with betrayal and half-truths) about other family members. She would even broadcast private information to relatives in other parts of the country creating turmoil and hurt feelings. Then as chaos ensued, she would say, 'It was right for me to say something, I mean, people should know what they're dealing with. Don't you think?' Through it all I learned that copious amounts of prayer, and saying things like, 'I know you think you are protecting the rest of the family by sharing these things, but look at all the hurt. I just want to see us get along. There are issues in all families, but unless information about others is truly for everyone's benefit it's best to just go to the person you feel has wronged you and work it out.' There were times when she wouldn’t speak to me, but she would ultimately circle back and avail herself to understanding. I know of no easy solutions. But the best way to deal with these delicate situations is to share the truth in love. To say nothing, is to agree by default." I couldn't agree more. We've all been faced with such things, and I believe how we respond is vital to being true to who we are. Thank you for sharing. 
Apondia  writes, "I am a straight tell it like it is person. So, early in life I was put on the spot for my opinion. Like the article points out I was often in the middle, do or don't? So, because I was young and an idealist from all the books I was reading that formed my thinking. I tried always to tell the truth or be honest in what I was saying. As you can expect I did not form very many friends but as I grew older I began to realize something. Being upfront, straight forward, and as truthful as you know how takes the stress off your mind. It straightens out problems that are forming in the background of all lying. And, over the years if someone wants to really know something it is me they ask for a straight reliable answer. Truth is the more difficult way to live but the rewards are startling and forever. In the USA today we need people in our lives we can rely on everyday." Excellent point, AND we must ask ourselves, do we really want to surround ourselves with people who prefer dishonesty? To befriend people who want us to lie to them or tell them only what they want to hear? What does that say about them? What does that say about us? Thank you for reading and commenting. I agree with you 100%. 
Joy  writes, "I keep falling into such traps set by people who ask advice. It must be a quirk of human nature.  I struggle with it, too, but still try to be truthful. Great NL, Shannon.  " Aw, thank you, Joy! I appreciate your continued support, encouragement, and friendship. 
Quick-Quill  writes, "You are so right! people know what is right and wrong. They do want you to be 'OK' with what they are doing. To validate their 'sin' so to speak. I feel the same way about the LGBT movement. I may like them as a person and love to talk to them, but they seem to think their friendship depends on my approval of their lifestyle. It seems a sad when you feel manipulated." I have no experience with that particular situation, but no one should feel their friendships are conditioned upon acquiescence. We have a right to our opinions, and as long as we are decent to others and respectful of their beliefs, there is no reason why two people with differing viewpoints can't be friends.  |
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Spiritual: October 28, 2015 Issue [#7284]
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