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#1
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Halloween in San Francisco
I just got home from a Samhain (pronounced "sow-wen") ritual tonight.
Samhain is the European (Celtic, I believe) version of the Day of the Dead - the time when "the veil between the worlds", between living and dead, is at its thinnest and contact is most likely. I don't actually believe that literally, although if I had lost anyone recently I might be more inclined to believe it, or at least, *feel* it. Still, I like to take the time to reflect on myself, my life, my relationships, the world, and so on, that ritual gives me. We did a "journey", which is an internal visioning process where a leader guides you to a place, or to meet certain persons, etc. Our journey was to The Place Between The Worlds, where we were to meet loved ones who have passed on, or ancestors. I reflected on the fact that at 50 years old, I still have never lost anyone truly dear to me. My grandparents died in the 1980s and 90s, but I wasn't very close to them by that time, and hadn't been for many years. Ours wasn't a very close-knit family, and there were a lot of rifts. I have been extremely lucky in not having lost any friends at this point, either. So I started to think about the only "people" I have lost, which are several cats throughout my life. And I cried, not for the first time, about a cat who died when I was about 9 or 10. Sometime, I'll write that story, but it requires a TW and I don't feel like getting everyone all weepy right now. I still grieve about that cat, some 40 years later! We were then to meet and ask our ancestors (those related either by blood or by beliefs, values, etc, ie, a spiritual ancestor) how we could bring good energy into the world. Then we all did some magic work around trying to get Bush defeated on Tuesday. (Usually, the spiritual stuff I do isn't so blatantly political, but this one seemed too important to ignore.) When it was over, I walked to the public transit station to go home, still dressed in my ritual garb. However, I didn't feel the least bit self-concious about it - hundreds of people passed by in their various and wonderful Halloween costumes. There was a woman in a peacock costume - all blue except for the huge fan of real peacock feathers fastened to her butt. I joked with her that she was a transgendered peacock since she was clearly a male peacock! Halloween night in San Francisco is a big, BIG deal! Thousands crowd into the Castro district (which is the city's gay area, although people of all persuasions go to participate), dressed in costume to party the night away on the street. I didn't attend the street party, because I don't like big crowds, I'm an old fart, and also, because some people get extremely rowdy and even violent. Even in the most gay-friendly city in the world, there are violent gay-bashings in the Castro on Halloween. I guess some people's baser instincts come out when they're in disguise. Mostly, though, people seemed to be in a good mood, and I enjoyed walking around in the festive atmosphere. When I got home, I fed my beasties and then, out of habit, let Smudge out on her leash. About 5 minutes later, I slapped my forehead, asked myself WHAT WAS I THINKING, and brought her right back in. Sorry, Smudge, it's not a good night for kitties to go outside. I live in a very sedate neighborhood, so actually, something nasty happening to my cat is unlikely, but it is midnight and the more rowdy kids are out now, so who knows. I'm not taking any risks. So now Smudgie is snoozing on the monitor, not looking any worse for being kept in this night. Happy Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead/All Souls Day! Joyce |
#5
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Happy Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead/All Souls Day!
I'm on the edge of Beverly Hills in California. I could hear the West Hollywood celebration from my house. It's supposedly the biggest Halloween party in the world. Oddly enough it's a gay Halloween event. The only people getting bashed are gay-bashers. I stayed home, gave out candies and watched a cool show on the original celtic and pagan Halloween rituals, interesting. When kids saw my skunks I told them I just dressed my cats up ;-) I also carved a skunk pumpkin. http://www.mary.cc/images/skunkiepumpkin.jpg It looked cool lit up but my camera couldn't capture it. The only bad thing is that the kids didn't take all the candy so of course I had to eat some :-( It was yummy :-) |
#6
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Happy Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead/All Souls Day!
I'm on the edge of Beverly Hills in California. I could hear the West Hollywood celebration from my house. It's supposedly the biggest Halloween party in the world. Oddly enough it's a gay Halloween event. The only people getting bashed are gay-bashers. I stayed home, gave out candies and watched a cool show on the original celtic and pagan Halloween rituals, interesting. When kids saw my skunks I told them I just dressed my cats up ;-) I also carved a skunk pumpkin. http://www.mary.cc/images/skunkiepumpkin.jpg It looked cool lit up but my camera couldn't capture it. The only bad thing is that the kids didn't take all the candy so of course I had to eat some :-( It was yummy :-) |
#7
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Happy Halloween/Samhain/Day of the Dead/All Souls Day!
I'm on the edge of Beverly Hills in California. I could hear the West Hollywood celebration from my house. It's supposedly the biggest Halloween party in the world. Oddly enough it's a gay Halloween event. The only people getting bashed are gay-bashers. I stayed home, gave out candies and watched a cool show on the original celtic and pagan Halloween rituals, interesting. When kids saw my skunks I told them I just dressed my cats up ;-) I also carved a skunk pumpkin. http://www.mary.cc/images/skunkiepumpkin.jpg It looked cool lit up but my camera couldn't capture it. The only bad thing is that the kids didn't take all the candy so of course I had to eat some :-( It was yummy :-) |
#8
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Mary wrote:
I'm on the edge of Beverly Hills in California. I could hear the West Hollywood celebration from my house. It's supposedly the biggest Halloween party in the world. Oddly enough it's a gay Halloween event. Nobody said that gay folks don't know how to throw a party! When kids saw my skunks I told them I just dressed my cats up ;-) LOL!! That's a good one! Joyce |
#9
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Mary wrote:
I'm on the edge of Beverly Hills in California. I could hear the West Hollywood celebration from my house. It's supposedly the biggest Halloween party in the world. Oddly enough it's a gay Halloween event. Nobody said that gay folks don't know how to throw a party! When kids saw my skunks I told them I just dressed my cats up ;-) LOL!! That's a good one! Joyce |
#10
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Mary wrote:
I'm on the edge of Beverly Hills in California. I could hear the West Hollywood celebration from my house. It's supposedly the biggest Halloween party in the world. Oddly enough it's a gay Halloween event. Nobody said that gay folks don't know how to throw a party! When kids saw my skunks I told them I just dressed my cats up ;-) LOL!! That's a good one! Joyce |
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