Ex Penna

In our extremely proud and self-governed community, Pagans take a range of viewpoints on a holiday dear to us, the one with which we share the most in common with the Christian calender--Yule.  Some choose to quietly reflect on its meaning or hold a ritual in its honor, as they do the other Sabbats.  Others simply remember it as a special time with a lit candle or bit of incense.  With these folks, Yule will always be the preamble to the larger holiday, the one of their youth, the one remembered in song and TV specials--Christmas.  Rarely have I encountered a Pagan who forgoes the date of Christmas and focuses entirely upon our Pagan Sabbat.

It's hard to blame a person for this; Christmas is declared everywhere--in shop windows, lamppost decorations, every form of media, and classrooms across the country.  There's Christmas trees, Christmas carols, Christmas shopping, and Christmas cookies.  We cannot escape the 25th of December as being the date upon which to pin all hopes and dreams, even if our own were fulfilled on the 21st.  But Yule is not just "Christmas Jr."  Whether or not you celebrate the Winter Solstice as the grandest day of the year or just a part of the Christmas season, making it an independent entity is possible, desirable, and easier than you may think.

Bringing Yule into Its Own 

You can create Yule celebrations that are unique, meaningful, and fun for all ages.  "Christmas is for children," as they say, but Yule is for everyone.  The simple methods described here will do just that and in such a way that you can bring them home this year, for this Yule.

Make your Yule it's own distinctive celebration by considering the following:

• Understand the relationship and separation of Yule and Christmas
• Highlight your favorite traditions from the usual stuff
• Play them up in a big way
• Create new traditions
• Integrate ritual into the entertainment

Dissecting the Holidays

Decide first which you will celebrate and how much importance you will give to each. Because most of the secular parts of Christmas are shared by Pagan celebrations, you might want to choose one or the other to host the majority of those images.  My goal has always been to show Yule as the premier winter holiday event and to make it the most special and meaningful, far ahead of Christmas.  There are many ways to create separation between them--if only to give each their own space--so feel free to adjust these suggestions to fit with your idea of the perfect holiday.

In my home, we keep Yule as the special day within our home and Christmas is for traveling to visit friends and family who live elsewhere.  This means that the events of Yule are at home, and while visitors are always welcome, we don't leave home for work or school.  Nor do we ever celebrate elsewhere or leave to do things individually.  This keeps the two celebrations separate and allows our day to remain our own special event.  Consider what you can do that will have the same effect in your situation.  What individual options will you take to make it work for your own family?

This can be handled in many ways.  Will you follow the exact Solstice day from year to year (December 20, 21, or 22) or pick a standard date to make planning easier?  Will you arrange to have the day off of school and work for all family members?  Will you accept visitors or keep it private? These choices may change for you after years of celebrating, so allow yourself to stay flexible.  


The Wheat from the Chaff

Separate from the usual stuff your very favorite traditions.  It's simple to remove the religious overtones of Christian theology that goes along with some parts of the holidays--no religious carols, no time spent in church, no passages from the Bible in your cards--but it also goes far beyond that to the aspects that you continue to promote but don't actually enjoy or with which you feel little connection.  You may know right away what this means to you or you may have to take time to contemplate it or journal on the concept.

For me, it was Santa.  I love the idea of his generosity and kindhearted nature, but I wasn't interested in making an entire day in honor of getting presents from a stranger and not our children's hardworking and loving parents.  So our family has only sparse connection with Santa and lets other aspects take the spotlight.


Play Up What You Love

Through this introspection, you will also discover those aspects that you love most of all, those things that speak loudest to you of happiness, togetherness, and festivity.  This is what you should play up in your holiday.  There are a wide array of sights, sounds, scents, and events that coincide with the month of December.  Some are strictly religious, most are secular, and some are only of a seasonal nature.  Don't overthink this part; answer the simple question--what comes to mind when you think of the holidays?  This is your treasure; work with that and do it big.

For example, if you are really moved by holiday music, make Yule a day for music and fill the entire season with it as well.  Gather musicians to entertain during parties.  Play a selection of your favorite carols all day on Yule.  Make a yearly trip to see The Nutcracker or other live theater.  Look in the newspaper for productions of holiday themed musicals in local playhouses or go big and travel to New York City for the Radio City Music Hall show.

If you are a singer or musician yourself, this can be the perfect holiday to show off your talents.  Take part in a show, arrange a small ensemble to play for charity at schools or nursing homes, or gather all your friends for caroling.  I have toyed with the idea for the past few years of getting some fellow Pagans together to offer our services wassailing at the many apple orchards in my area.  Wassailing is a traditional blessing at midwinter for the health of fruit trees and would look beautiful with a group in Victorian dress.  It includes singing and sprinkling the trees with a special infusion of hard apple cider, brandy, and heady spices.  If you know of orchards that host winter events to drum up out-of-season business, this could be a perfect addition.

If you love all things Santa Claus, make a special day of visiting him at the nicest local place available.  Ask around to find a Santa with a real beard, the most plush costume, or who is at place that has other special features like craft sales, wreath making, or free hot chocolate.  There is so much more out there beyond the mall!

Also note that there are many classic movies, songs, and stories about Santa that can play their part in your festivities.  Create a special moment before bed to recite "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in a lavish style.  Many versions of a Pagan rendition of this classic poem can be found online, as well.  Ask a friend to dress up and visit your children or to be available for photos at your party.

You could even organize the main thrust of your day around what you don't want, like cooking.  Host a potluck dinner or take everyone to a favorite restaurant.  If you have a friend who does enjoy cooking, offer to bring the holiday to their house while they are busy cooking.  You will surely be a hero providing tablecloths, candles, centerpiece, music, flowers, and special decorations.


Make Your Own Traditions



Integrate Ritual into the Holiday

Don't think that rituals must be separate from the fun.  The best rituals have an element of fun that is all their own.  Ideally, everyone will be looking forward to the ritual the same way they look forward to other elements of the day, so let your events flow into the rite and then back out of it with interesting things to do before, during, and after.

So what can you add to your rite that will make it something its participants eagerly await?  How can you integrate into it your talents and style?  If there was ever a rite that can sustain a little loosening, it's this one.  The weeks leading up to Yule carry with them a feeling of peacefulness and awareness of the human exchanges and natural world changes going on in the season.  The spirit of the holiday is acknowledged in a variety of small ways over a long period of time.  Let your ritual be a celebration of that, not just a summary of it.

To keep your ritual entertaining and enjoyable, make it something that has recognizable features.  Stimulate all the senses at once with lights and candles, music, incense, colors and textures, and food or drink.  Let these things come together in an active and upbeat way.  Give your participants something to do--especially as a group effort--and keep the different elements moving along, flowing from one part to the next.

The final word on rituals is that they should be somewhat brief.  It is up to you to decide what this will look like for your coven or family, but the event should be long enough to be enjoyable (and worth getting dressed up for!) but short enough that young ones don't become restless.  Give your rite a big finish and then send them on their way.  They will remember a rollicing parade of color and laughter, spice and poetry that can sustain any heart through the long winter.


Starting and Continuing

It was 15 years ago that my husband and I decided that it made more sense to honor the Winter Solstice than Christmas.  We were newlyweds and eager to give our new life its own unique stamp.  I had been Pagan for two years and he was just coming to the path, but we knew that switching could make a much more meaningful celebration for us.  We started that year, wondering if we would notice that we were waking early to exchange presents on a "not Christmas" day.  But on Yule morning, with the milky sun rising through our apartment window, a Bing Crosby record playing loudly, and the two of us sitting under the tree like children, we realized that the dates don't matter.  We were spending the day focusing on love, generosity, and the adoration of our spirituality.  For us, Yule has remained a perfect expression of that ever since.

If you decide to switch, do it completely.  Give yourself over to a new practice and put your all into making it something special for you and those you love.  It can quickly become your favorite holiday for many more reasons than the presents, for Yule is a whole day of good things: time for frivolity and pleasure, the remembrance of friends and family, and the celebration of all the good in your life.  To wake on a day that holds all this in store is surely the greatest present of all.

Happy Yule to you and yours!



Images from:
wallpapersidol.com
southernwithasmalls.com
thevalkyriesvigil.com

At this time of year, my thoughts quickly turn to the beauty of snow.  Some folks seem utterly baffled by this, but I suppose I just can't seem to join them in lamenting the bother of driving, shoveling, and shivering in it.  Instead, I focus on watching it drift by my window, swirl around me as I walk, and fly by in a torrent as I sled down the hill with my children.  So, to me, snow is absolutely wonderful!

Living all my life in Pennsylvania, I've grown up nearly obsessed with snow.  It's a topic in every conversation from September to nearly March: when it might come, the first snow, the biggest snow, remembering past storms, Snow Days and more to come (oh dear!), hating it, loving it, teasing one another about it.  It being such a major topic makes it  a perfect candidate for magic spells.  Not a lot seem to be in existence so years ago I chose to write my own.

Oddly enough, I only now discovered, in the course of wishing to write this to you, that I have actually made three such spells, each completely distinct from the others.  Somehow this slipped from my memory completely.  Just this past week I used the one that often comes to mind.  I was driving home from work and saw a cold, gray road stretched out before me just asking to be re-imagined into a white and sparkling landscape.  So I chanted and focused (yes, I cast while driving and I don't mind if others do or no not) until I'd had my fill.  By the time it was getting dark, the snow had begun.  When I woke up early the next
Whether you're now cheering withe me or gritting your teeth as I'm sure was the case with the many other people around here who slid down the highway beside me that morning, I've decided to share some of my snow magic with you.  Perhaps you will bring a storm home or just leave this information to sit in a book or file awaiting some odd moment in future years when you'll actually want the stuff.  Either way, you are welcome to share in these spells and cast them as you see fit.

The first spell is from 2003.  It was written to replicate a spell I'd done several years prior (circa 1998) but lost in a move.  The original work was, as best as I can remember, very similar to this.  It caused such a massive blizzard that it quite took me by surprise.  The only problem was that it was not an instant thing; I'd cast it the night before Yule, hoping that I would awake to a transformation.  Instead, about a week later (post-Yule and post-Christmas) we got a storm that dumped a tremendous amount of snow on our valley, bringing down trees and knocking out power.

Now, I don't claim that this is a blizzard maker--far from it--only that you should use a regular amount of effort but start early.  My overzealous work did not produce instant snow any more than turning up the heat on an oven will make a cake bake faster.

The page you're seeing alongside this spell is a scan from my BoS of that time.  For some reason, I left the wording the same as in the original (though waiting until the last minute didn't work out so well the first time!) but you can also see that I used it on New Year's as well.  So use this spell when you have lots of time but then, perhaps, give it a shot for those events when you want snow actually falling as well.




Spell to Cause Snow


Go outside with your besom (or a new broom) as in the spell to bring rain.  Stand upon a high point and raise your arms and broom to Divinity.  Say:


This second spell is from about 2005.  The scan is from one of my big four-inch binders in which I keep magical information to be referenced quickly.  A good number of my spells--and classic spells that I've used over and over again--can be found there.  Unfortunately, I didn't add any further instructions for this one.  However, I can remember the specifics of this one and added the further instructions to the spell below.

I've used this spell far more often than the previous one.  It's the very same that came to mind as I drove home last week on a bare road.  The two are clearly different, but I've had about as much success with both of them.  I suggest going with the one that feels most natural to you.

Please note that the third of my snow spells can be found only in "The Book of Brass Mirrors," a manuscript spellbook of unusual magic that I plan to have published.  I hope that, in time, I may share it with you all as I have done these!



To Bring Snow

Upon a foggy window pane or in the open air, draw with one finger the image of a simple snowflake.  Make sure all vertical lines go from bottom to top and horizontal ones left to right.  Make a single snowflake for each stanza of the chant, envisioning a thick fall of snow behind your drawing.  You may say the chant as loud or quiet as you like, but it must be said aloud.


Looking back on the spells I've made in the past is a sort of time capsule; I can discern my influences at that time and the kind of witch I thought most impressive.  With the first spell I notice that it was during the time that my most used spellbook was Dorothy Morrison's "Everyday Magic."  Not only does the set-up retain a nod to her writing style, but the instructions are derived from her spell to make rain.

In the second spell you can see that I've grown a little more frank in my arrangement and plain title, modeling it off of Valerie Worth's Crone books ("Crone's Book of Charms and Spells" and "Crone's Book of Words").  Perhaps that's why I left out instructions, because I couldn't make them rhyme like Ms. Worth's always did?

The third spell was written sometime around 2004 specifically for the book.  I tested it that winter and the story of it is nearly legendary around here.  A friend of ours recently recounted the entire thing as he saw it and I was amazed that he could remember nearly every minute of the day.  That is, for me, one impressive endorsement!

Whether you are just looking for a winter pick-me-up or you're dreaming of a White Solstice, give these spells a try.  And may your days be merry and bright!



Images from:
wallpaperswide.com
thefabweb.com
wallpapers.com

German imports!  :)

Ending the year well is never an easy task.  Maybe that's why I always stuff so much work into the month of December.  The effort I generally put into my home-life was rewarded with more hard work, preparing for our always massive celebration of Yule.  Though work it was--and with the same stress-inducing capability as any other--it was happy work filled with the pleasure of abundance.  Our table was as full as our house and everywhere were lights, music, and food.  Because this was a very special year (my brother and sister-in-law were visiting from Germany for the holidays), I was inspired to do even more!  I'm not terribly good at buying presents but I love to put on a party!

Me and enough dinner for 20 people. Instead, I served 7.  lol

Our ritual celebration is, by sharp contrast, almost quiet.  We rung in the longest night with a blazing fire in the cauldron, which in turn began the lighting of our annual handmade Yule log.  The blessings of each of the coming year's 12 months were invoked, one by one, and the whole of it was admired when it was all aglow with as much fondness as I believe we'll look on 2013 when it's all over in December.  An always raucous retelling of the story of Mother Berchta (delightlfully overacted, in our home, as a play with costumes) lightened the mood and we all enjoyed a little chaos within the well-worn boundaries of our ritual, our family, our home, our season. 

There is a business to big holidays, one that must be overseen with care and lots of effort.  But there really is nothing better than toiling for later joy--yours and others.  In baking, there is a sense of the pleasure of eating; in hanging decorations, the elation of a dark house glowing with lights and cheer; in making or buying presents, the excitement of opening them.  Those who put on such affairs do so because they can enjoy the preparation as though the day of its unwrapping had come.  And the more paper you put onto the big present of a holiday, the more there is to take off when it comes.  Putting on all those details can be quite a big job (or, rather, what seems like hundreds of little jobs!) but there is pleasure to be had in the work of it, if you're looking right.

Lit on Yule, the Log will be burned with the tree at the end of the season and the candles burned in turn on their month.

That's how I feel about my shop.  I have many projects already in place in my life (and, honestly, I always have.  It is my habit to celebrate the completion of one thing by taking on two more) and I don't always manage a perfect balance or keep a perfect schedule, but I love the process of trying.  The spark of an idea, piecing it all together, exploring options and interesting twists, seeing it complete and ready to meet the world ... each time I take on work--be it restocking, making custom items, or completely new listings--there is the pleasure of knowing that someone somewhere will see it as just the thing that they've been looking for.  

And now that we've entered the New Year and the busy season is waning, I see all the work yet to be done.  New items for you to view at your leisure from the virtual shelves of my shop, but also a great deal of magic that has been waiting.  As a professional witch, I do a lot of magic for others--sometimes purely because it needs done and not because I'm being paid.  I know it is against the morality of some folks but I cast spells for others unawares just as part of my practice.  If I'm planning two spells for this moon sign, what's one more?  It's good practice for me and a benefit to those I care about. 

This month I'm working on three (and it may be you!)-- a better business spell, a healing, and some money luck.  Each of the recipients knows well what I do, all could very much use a hand, but none asked for it outright.  To me the issue is a simple one.  It's raining and I've got two umbrellas; must I wait until you notice me standing there and call my name through the downpour?  Or may I just pop it open, hold it out for you, and go on my way?  It's still up to you to take it to shelter yourself.  It's still your job to walk to you destination.  My one act of generosity didn't turn you into an infant who can no longer help himself, nor did it ruin any lessons to be learned from your plight.  Maybe it taught you something that can be hard to learn--that sometimes people do nice things just because they wanted to do them.

Remember, Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17

Maybe this, too, is a sort of toiling for joy.  There's little practical aid I can offer in the circumstances of these three people.  I'm no doctor and while feeling moderately secure financially, I haven't got what it takes to invest in a business nor to keep another's household afloat.  But I can offer magic and even when I'm busy and have work of my own to be done I can work for their causes as well.  And it makes me happy as any holiday--hectic but accomplished in the business of sharing joy.

Okay, so I wasn't able to write from Salem.  But that's not for lack of thinking about it.  It was such a whirlwind of activity, that if not for the thousands of photos and bags of swag, I'd think I never went at all!  So let me break it down a little, for you and for me.

My husband and I set out 2 hours later than we'd planned.  Damn.  And I had to turn around after a mile because I forgot to bring shoes.  So not a very fortuitous beginning.  But after several double-checks of the house, many blessings, candle-burnings, and chanting (as well as a rockin' orange paisley dress that just refused to be found!  Grr!), we were off.  A cheerful and surprisingly speedy drive slowed to a halt at every exit in Boston, but with a constant flow of chants, we made it through without problems.  I have used the same chants since I first started practicing witchcraft at age 16.  By now they're thoroughly ingrained in me--just the first few words and they set to work.  That was good news for me because it was about this time that I remembered that I wasn't carrying my usual traveling companion--a handwritten book full of practical charms.  Rats!

We checked into our posh hotel with just enough time to change for the Witches Ball and be at the front door for the shuttle.  What perfect timing!  In previous years we drove into the city, which is not so bad...until you need to park.  Sadly, at this time of year Salem has one parking space for every 200 people seeking it.  But the shuttle is totally the way to go (Hudson, by the way.  Just remember Hudson).  We even got there in time to get the goodie bags that they give to the first 100 in the door.  Every year we fear we won't make it and every year we have with plenty time to spare.  That's a kind of magic, right there!

The High Priestess outside of her temple, the Boston Marriott.

The Ball was a flurry of excitement--people crowding every square inch of the ballroom, music loud enough to wake the dead, dancing, drinking, laughter, smoke, and lights...it was, as always, a sight to see.  We crowded to the front to watch the amazing Dragon Ritual Drummers as they called love and honor for the dead and worked a rhythm to make it impossible to stand still.  Now I'm no dancer, but they manage to get me moving every time.  There's a wide range of dance styles at the Ball (and pretty much anywhere Pagans congregate)--the I-go-to-nightclubs-every-weekend swagger, the sexy come-hither, lots of pseudo-bellydancing, wild arm thrashing, the I'm-also-talking and/or kissing sway, the drinking/head bobbing combo, and then moderate dancers like me.  Because of the available variety, it's quite easy to blend in no matter what your style.

And here's Mickey before we left home.  That head wasn't easy to hoist, so he requested no photos before the Ball unless absolutely necessary.  lol

Christian Day (our host) announced that the tables had been removed this year (as I noticed because it meant less to trip over.  After all, I was wearing a moon at my feet and a large headdress on top!) to eliminate wallflowers.  It worked quite well.  I had no intention of sitting still the whole time but the lack of rest space meant that nearly everyone was mingling the whole night.  For a couple who rarely get out like this, it was perfect!  Hubby and I made the rounds like bold souls, meeting new folks, seeing new costumes, getting pictures taken, and finding new enthusiasm for the dance.  A couple of drinks and a few fancy nibbles were surprisingly all I was interested in, despite the wide array available.  It was warm, wild, and much too much of everything to spend my time eating! 

To clear things up, this year's theme was "Witch and Famous," well-known historical and fictional witches and wizards.  My husband was the Sorcerer's Apprentice and I was the High Priestess of the tarot.  These were the most wildly original costumes we could manage after months of contemplation.  Naturally, mine was not original.  lol

That's me on the right, all aglow, and a sympathetic sister on the left.  Great minds think alike, I guess!

Though I was a shining beacon in the darkened ballroom, my husband was the one who got the attention!   As we had discovered earlier this year while visiting Disney World, the mere sight of a walking, talking Mickey Mouse does something strange to people.  Children flock to give hugs and high-fives.  Grown men and women throw themselves in his arms with love, laughter, and lavish kisses.  And tonight was no different.

Handfuls of pretty young women (and an enthusiastic young man!) took turns dancing with him like rock groupies.  It was quite a sight!  I took it as well as any wife can who watches her surprised and embarrassed hubby as he is worshiped with erotic dance like a golden idol.  Maybe it was Mickey's magnetic power of celebrity, maybe the familiarity of a good-natured character, or maybe it was his permanent smile of excitement...whatever it was, it was magic!

Of course I was thrilled when, in the midst of all the dancing and mingling, he was asked to come to the front of the room.  The winners were finally announced and he'd won 2nd prize--$200 to Pentacle Press!  What a thrill!  What bliss!  Mickey danced and smiled from the stage as I clapped like mad for his big win.  First prize went to a woman dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West who rode a broomstick atop an 8 foot pole.  For sheer dedication, misery, and boredom (there's no drinking, talking, or dancing when you spend the evening at the top of a pole), she is welcome to it.   

Two more things made this event huge.  The biggest was that I met Dorothy Morrison, who, oddly enough penned quite a few of the charms I used on the trip up to Mass. for safety and traffic woes.  On Sunday, I even did her charm for a parking place and we easily slid into a spot on a crowded street.  I was really looking forward to getting a signed copy of her newest book, "Utterly Wicked," but, alas, she was in the midst of a longer trip (including a Pagan festival in Florida) and didn't carry books with her.  Instead she offered to send me an autographed bookplate to put in my new copy.  Eeep!  So dang cool...   Now I don't think I'll be able to read her without hearing her characteristic voice.

And the second thing to make this such a special night was the way Christian Day--normally a sassy and somewhat aloof type--seemed to fawn over Mickey Mouse!  It was very sweet.  That's when I knew that the magic of the mouse was upon us all.  Just look at this smile---



The way back to the hotel seemed long and chilly compared to the loud and crowded Ball.  However, knowing the next day was all ours, with no schedule or plans, was very exciting!  So much of my thoughts had been wrapped up in that night that I nearly forgot the rest of the weekend! That and getting out of slippery satin and into an overstuffed bed to unpack our goodie bags was all new fun.  Hooray! 

Hotel breakfasts are always wonderful.  I think that if there were only one way to wake up every morning, I'd choose a hotel breakfast.  Ours was well stocked and we ate heartily so that we wouldn't have to stop for lunch.  We hit all the hot spots that day: all the shops along Essex (with special attention to my favorite shops, The Magic Parlor, Hex, Omen, The Barking Cat, Harrison's comics, and Witch City Consignment and a trip through the Psychic Fair) and some new goodies on Pickering Wharf, including a peek in the new Magica , The adorable Wynotts wand shop, and a great little place Arcana, whose very cool owners I met the night before.  The evening was chilly and my feet were sore.  We decided to have dinner at Life Alive for heaping bowls of udon miso and salads.  Warm and fed, we headed back to the hotel again for an unconventional night of cable TV, napping, waking, and delivery pizza. 

Sunday morning was a bummer.  Great breakfast, great weather, but always the shadow of leaving.  *sigh* But we managed to squeeze in one last jaunt into the city for shirts and other goodies to take home for other folks.  One last treat, a dandelion-chicory latte with rice milk and vanilla from Life Alive, and we were off.  I was happy for this last visit even though it set our schedule back.  Though maybe that was a mistake because right about then a lady named Sandy was terrorizing the East Coast, unbeknownst to us, and we were barely ahead of her. We left New York just as they were evacuating cities and the highway was stuffed with the cars of fleeing residents.  

We made it back in time to gather our kids from family and return home.  School had been cancelled for the next day, due to the impending storm, so time was no longer an issue.  But, quite happily, not a single drop of rain entered our house unbidden and not a single bit of damage was done to anything belonging to our loved ones, either.  Blessed be!

Salem this year was as it always is--beautiful, joyful, and surprising.  I would say that I could happily live there, but then, that might take away the pleasure of escaping to that lovely place every time autumn comes and life permits.  It could never be four walls and a roof, it is only ever a door.

So here is where it all begins--October 1st.  I, like so many other witches before (and beside) me, am getting my home, self, family, and magic prepared for the joyous season of Halloween.

Considering how incredibly busy the next 31 days will be, one would assume that I would dread its coming.  And yet, I can't wait.  I am smitten without shame for the entire Halloween season!

Because it all starts on October 1st here (and not a moment before!), I will give you the run-down of things I have planned for this month.

The Halloween Season at Quill's House:

1. Our decorations all come down from the loft first.  We get everything out and make sure it's still in good condition.  My husband and I talk about what we'd like to change this year, cool things we saw at the stores, where we'll trick-or-treat...basically spending this time getting really excited!
2. Clean everything!  All the regular cobwebs come down from the corners of the house and the fake ones go up.  We paper our entire living room with dungeon-wall hangings so a great deal of time here is spent in taking down and packing away everything "normal" on the walls.  Everything gets dusted before storage and where it was is scrubbed.  After all, I like to keep a tidy dungeon!
3. The dining room table is cleared of its usual stacks of books and half-finished projects and made pretty with candelabras, black candles, bottles of colored-water poisons and potions (that the local Johovah's Witnesses thought were real!), and a very dashing black and white curlicue tablecloth.
4. Outside, this is the time for final harvest from the fields and garden.  I preserve the tradition that anything which is left in the ground after All Hallows belongs to the dead (or the Pooka, depending upon your heritage).  So I start by harvesting everything from the garden that I can use, digging out the rest and turning the soil with some fertilizer.  As soon as I can, I also go to my favorite spots in the woods for late-year herbs.  I should be able to get a few more items for you all in the shop after this hunt!
5. Outside decorations are very specific.  One of our garden beds becomes a shallow grave surrounded by a barbed wire fence, the other a poison garden with my favorites marked by their folk names with black plant stakes, including Devil's Apple (Datura) and Deadly Nightshade (Belladonna).  Curtains of cobwebs, huge hairy spiders, vines of colored leaves, and a cauldron on a tripod in the middle of our yard...perfect!
6. Now's about the time to sit down to the big task--costumes.  This is where I take orders for the kiddos final vote (since their "what I wanna be this year" answer changes several times in the weeks leading up to October) and get a good idea of how I'll tackle the challenge of two fun, meaningful, well-constructed adult costumes you can dance in for my husband and I.  I take everyone's measurements and write them down on their own sheet.  Then I make a sketch of what they'll look like in the finished product, and one of it deconstructed into its formative pieces.  After that, I get out the newspaper and Sharpie and start measuring out the pieces and labeling them.  I cut everything and stack each costume's bits separately, awaiting the fabric that makes it real!
7. Shopping time!  I get to spend an hour or two cruising the fabric shop with my sketches, lists, and color combinations until I come up with just the right thing.  Or I just dig out the extra fabrics I have left from years past and see what I can salvage.  (Don't tell anybody, but the shirt to my lady Gnome costume from 2010 was a dyed bedsheet.  I think it might actually have once been my husband's Bacchus toga.  Shhh!)
8. Now comes the time to sew, sew, sew.  I have worked it out--I can do each costume, no matter how simple or complex, no matter the size or style, in 3 days.  That's my limit.  I can't seem to finish early, but I won't finish late.  How 'bout that?
9. Once the sewing is done, I fit everyone with their costume, adjust, and take lots of pictures to be sure I will still like it in a few days. (I'm neurotic like that)
10. Now it's time to plan the rest of our Big Trip.  Every two years, we go to Salem for the Witches Ball.  The drive alone is over 6 hours, so it takes a lot of work to be sure the timing, packing, and organization back home are all on cue.  Plus there's trick-or-treating to orchestrate (each town has it's night, so we could possibly go out 2 or 3 times) and school functions, too.  *Whew!*
11. Now for the organization of something a little more relaxing--food!  We like to have a feast on Halloween night with lots of theme foods that is still a functional dinner. With the kids eating candy until their teeth fall out, it's nice to get something good in them too.  What can I say--we're vegetarian.  So I like our veggie "walking tacos (a crushed snack-size bag of Doritos filled with Boca crumbles cooked with taco seasoning, plus lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese), a big bowl of guacamole piped with sour cream for a spider web and black olive spiders on top, and homemade "snake" stromboli stuffed with cheese and tons of vegetables, rolled, zig-zagged, and painted with food color stripes to look like a huge snake.  I like to try something new whenever I can and fill out the feast table enough to almost rival that of Yule!
12. After the feast comes the ritual.  Much to arrange and memorize.  Since our family began the tradition with our coven many, many years ago, we have not let the flame die on repeating this same rite.  We celebrate happily, recite poetry, sing, tell stories.  But then we reinforce the circle, fume with special incenses, and call up the dead.  I take the honor of being the go-between for any assembled spirits and use divination tools to speak for them.  We all give offerings to our beloved dead and retell stories of those we have lost.  It's always slightly painful, but it's the kind of bittersweet experience that I believe is helping our kids to grow up with sensitivity and respect for loss.  Like many others who follow Earth religions, I don't believe that this virtue is stressed enough today.

Needless to say, our kids don't go to school on the first of November.  That is part of our festivities and I couldn't imagine trying to rush all of the holiday into a neat time-frame that ends by 7:30 pm.  Our decorations come back down, with the solemnity of a funeral, about a week or so into November.  Then they are stored back in their solitary coffins in the loft until next year.

But, as always, it will be a season not to be forgotten and it's details will be retold for years to come.