I'm a winter baby and I love the cold weather. I love the darker days. I love the longer nights snuggling under blankets and nesting in. This time of the year calls me deeper into my physicality. There is a cold that settles deep within my bones and it doesn't matter if I turn on the heat or put on my clothes because this experience is not a physiological occurrence. This is not because of the change in weather and the fact that I have arthritis.  No, it is much deeper than that. I have come to recognize with its persistent regularity at Samhain’s tide, that this is a form of preparation. 

It awakens a knowledge meant for me to find my place of Being that moves into the underworld and calls to the ancestors. The veils thin and a more palpably present space of transition opens between the living and the dead and the realization that all that remains for sometime after the flesh, the muscle and organs all fall away, the remnants that proof of a physical existence are only the bones.

I recall many years ago coming across some sound work from one of my favorite sound healers. That work centered on drumming as the vehicle with focus on placing your awareness in your bones. The intention being that held within the energetic space of our bones we hold the continuum of legacy that connects us all; one to the other. We are all beings of a corporeal existence in this lifetime, having awareness that at some point in our lives the flesh and the organs will fall way and all that will be left of us is bone.  

This is the natural cycle of the living becoming the ancestors and leaving behind the corporeal. The bones hold the legacy of who we are as spiritual beings and each corporeal lifetime leaves these remnants behind. That knowledge held deeply within the bones also flows one to the other collectively and becomes the scaffolding of bone that creates the template of the first stages of being as we form and grow in the womb of our mothers. I believe this is also one of the many ways we are part of the lineage of the ancestors beyond those of our biological tracing and inclusive of the collective whole of humanity.

At this time of the year the ancestors are much nearer and the recognition of death comes more palpably to the forefront. Even for those of us who do not follow a path of spirituality that is inclusive of the mysteries and sanctity of death, the power and the wisdom held in honoring those who have passed beyond the veils of death is present throughout the nuances of cultural beliefs and celebrations. This year, in particular, has seen death in all of its forms and you cannot turn away from it as it floods through a Pandemic, political unrest, systemic racism, inequity and more. 

Everything calls you towards the memories held within the bones and the ancestors who have come before. We are acutely aware of our fragility and the knowing that for those whom we may love and treasure as family and friends the ultimate outcome will be crossing beyond those veils and leaving behind the bones of wisdom. 

And, so at this time of the year the cold settles deeply into my bones and stirs within the reminder and the memory of who and what I am in this existence. I know that it is also a call and a reminder of what I will become when death envelopes me and I hold the mantle of ancestor knowing that all that remains of my corporeal form is the bones. In that awakening I find the true gifts of gratitude and joy for being among the living. I am reminded every time that I feel that cold deep within my bones that I am alive and of this manifest and physical world. And, because of these bones I am able to do amazing and remarkable things. 

What does the aching in your bones call you to?  

Do you allow the cold to settle in deeply?

Do you allow yourself to feel the power of transformation held in death?

Do you allow yourself the memory of those who have come before you?

Do you allow yourself to breathe into the space of surrender that calls you to awaken the memory of your bones?

If this post seems depressive and of a nature that is unpleasant, please know that surely this is not my intention. It is a reminder to be aware that as Samhain draws near and we have left behind the balance and harmony that arose within us at the time of the Autumnal Equinox and the coming darkness, the natural tendency is to reach and strive towards the joy of the celebratory light of the Winter Solstice. Sometimes we turn away from remembering that the mysteries and gifts of our existence are most present when we settle in to the bones of the last harvest; the midpoint betwixt and between where we gather unto ourselves all that we will need in appreciation of our embodiment. In that harvest and honoring of death and holding the wisdom of our bones we awaken to the honoring of our ancestors, knowing that at some point and in sometime we will be amongst them. And, those that remain will be seeking the memory and wisdom held within our bones. 

Looking for other inspirations for Samhain. Please take a look at my 30-Days of Samhain 2020, now in its 4th year of celebration:   30-Days of Samhain 2020