Samhain:  Raking Through What Remains
by Karri Ann Allrich

This year’s autumnal equinox will not soon be forgotten. September’s terror still haunts our hearts as we drink in October’s bittersweet sun. The Wheel of the Year continues. Samhain (the Celtic New Year and Halloween) is almost upon us. For those of us who honor the earth, navigate by moonlight and embrace Spirit as Mystery, this has been an unkind harvest. 

As I wrestle with the wound in our collective soul, I find myself returning  again and again to the same questions. What creates this unquenchable need for destruction? And why? What purpose can there be for such violence?

I resist many of the usual answers offered from diverse faiths: God’s will, free will, punishment, karma, destiny. I prefer to struggle, sifting and sorting through theoretical explanations. The last moon in the year’s Wheel teaches us about raking through what remains. Picking out the last remnants of the harvest. Searching for that last nugget of insight before the coming frost. 

By the Libra New Moon I’ve uncovered a handful of options. And true to Libra’s form, I weigh one answer against another. Many people equate the sign of Libra with balance. For me, its lesson is closer to Jungian Marion Woodman’s concept of “holding the tension of opposites.” Our American culture doesn’t support this impulse. Duality reigns supreme. You are either good or evil, light or dark. One of us, or one of them. Opposites then define our world, and provide the grand illusion of safety. 

Yet, in identifying completely with one aspect while rejecting its opposite, we create a cavity within. An empty space where compassion should dwell. Instead of grappling with the tension of our opposites and letting our energy flow freely, we use our vital energy to sustain our total identification. We get tight and rigid. And the void swells with our unknown, rejected and unacknowledged appetites. Carl Jung called this the Shadow. Poet Robert Bly named it “the long bag we drag behind us.” For too long have we separated earth from Spirit, body from soul, night from day.

Within this rumination, I recognize Shadow projection in the news coverage of rage. The photographs of hate. The Afghani women swathed and veiled by law. The crowds of refugees. But I still struggle with comprehending the religious duality that cloaks cruelty and wrath in turns and twists of holy purpose. Such an impulse is not new to humankind. History’s lessons provide too many tales of mercilessness and brutality disguised as piety. No tribe is innocent. This truth is both disturbing and liberating, in typical Libra fashion. As my family and I stood in a Massachusetts hockey arena, silent in collective witness to the heroism of the New York City firefighters, I joined with strangers, crying tears of grief and gratitude. This new moon’s lesson is plasticity.And cultivating compassion.  I still don’t have all the answers.

A Celtic New Year’s recipe for comfort food:

October’s New Moon will be a moon for healing.  For blessing those ripped from us, and remembering those we cherished and those we never had the privilege to know.  As we heal together, home and hearth feel sacred. Family and friends become sanctuary. A bowl of soup is a luxury. A partner’s warm hand, heaven on earth. Samhain, now more than ever, is the time to gather in your loved ones. Share meals together. Laugh, cry and tell stories. Honor your ancestors and our collective heroes and heroines. Celebrate the moment now, before it passes. And bless all you see and all you touch with compassion.

A smooth and inviting soup crafted from the sweetest of root vegetables. Fiery ginger helps to stimulate chi and tone the body. Ground yourself and your loved ones with this heartwarming potage and embrace the Celtic New Year.

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon sweet butter
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 Tbs. chopped fresh gingerroot
2 cups organic carrots, peeled, processed or chopped very fine
1 cup parsnips, peeled, processed or chopped very fine
2 tsp. brown sugar
5 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth
1/8 cup dry sherry (optional)
1 can coconut milk
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, if desired

In a heavy soup pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat and sauté the onions for 3-4 min. Add the carrots, parsnips and sugar, and stir together. Cook for another two minutes. Add in the broth and sherry and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the vegetables are tender. (Note: If you did not process the vegetables, ladle the soup into a blender, in small batches if necessary, cover and puree for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Return the puree to the soup pot.)  Stir in the coconut milk. Add the sea salt and white pepper, if desired. Heat through gently, taking care not to boil the soup. Serve immediately with some freshly grated nutmeg.  Serves 4 as a meal, 6 as an appetizer.