31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 17: a bit about astrology and more about decoration

Now it's just two weeks to Samhain eve. At least, for me. My Samhain date is always 1/11, so the last day of October is Samhain eve. If you have a different date, plan accordingly ;-)

Astrologically the date of Samhain is when the Sun is 15 degrees Scorpio, and that's on 7th of November, which also happens to be the midpoint of Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. (Or 6th, actually. Not that big a difference.)

Autumn Equinox from Goddess Wheel by Wendy Andrew

I have been focused on cleaning and organizing and lists for so long, that now, when all that is done, and everything more I do on that is just petty details... I don't know what to do :-D
I was lying in my bed and thinking about what to do, when I realized that I haven't decorated yet :-D
And then I realized that the groundwork is done. I don't NEED to think about sorting and cleaning and all that. I don't need to think about decluttering. I don't need to... oh, how wonderful!

So - I have already a holiday decoration plan, which I just adjust to the specific holidays. I have a plan for each room, and then some details, like the door and windows. I don't have a fireplace and mantelpiece, but I have a low bookshelf, which works like a mantelpiece. I do love decorated mantelpieces :-)

This mantelpiece is from Emerald Interior Design.
It's not fully my style or to my liking, but the composition is nice.

I like those painted boughs, and the Boo! pillow :-)

But there's some nice ideas there in that blog. :-)

31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 16: holiday binder

So, it's mid-month. Two more weeks to the Big Day. :-)

Now, this is a bit "late", as I might have needed to talk about it already in the beginning of the month, but better later than never, isn't it? :-)

Halloween Plannet Kit by Bizuza

Living Intentionally Free Printable

She does have a point. Not only as a SAHM, but my time tends to slip away on social media, just like hers. It's so easy, so lovely, to spend time on Pinterest, and I get a feeling of doing something... perhaps not the most important something I could be doing, but neither the most unimportant. I do get ideas, tips, inspiration, advice and so on. It was on Pinterest I found the idea of a household binder, too.

Oh, and my Sabbath binders are going to cost only some 40 cronas a piece, 320 cronas, and that's less than I expected. (Yes, I know, it's about twice as expensive as similar would be in USA. I don't live in USA.) But the extra wide register pages are going to ruin me :-D So I need to make them myself.

I am going to talk a bit more about that. That is, my Sabbath binders. I started collecting all my notes on the different Sabbaths in the 20th century. (Yes, I know, that wasn't even 15 years ago... Fifteen years ago... feels like just yesterday we celebrated 2K... And now it's 2013. Soon to be 2014...). In 1990's I had so much information about each Sabbath, that I could move it all to their own folders. Right now I'm getting so much paper and information that I will need binders for each Sabbath. And after I started keeping the household binder, I added a Sabbath part to that, and it didn't take long (like 2-3 days) before my household binder was too small for Sabbath information...

So I decided to have 8 binders, one for each Sabbath, and have all the general information copied for each of them, so that I only need to take down one binder when I need it. Right now I have one general Sabbath binder, the 8 folders and one Holiday Planner, to which I move the current Sabbath information from its folder... but that's really bothersome, so I want to get eight binders, and... yeah. I already said that, didn't I :-D

This is the main "villain" of the story:
Make Christmas planner notebook

Create your own Holiday Organizer
create a removable binder cover
How to create a holiday planner
make a holiday planner
Christmas planner printables
create your own holiday organizational manual
ChristmasPlanner.com

Some suggestions on the dividers and here's some, too

31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 15: Meaning of Samhain

So - what is it with Yule that makes it so special to us Europeans? (I'm talking about Europeans only, because I know nothing about the others on this planet and how they relate to Yule; and with Europeans I mean us white people, also those in Americas and Australia and South Africa. We are all Europeans, what ever those not born in Europe think. (And with "white" people I don't only mean the shade of your skin. All humans are more or less brown, from beige, nude and blush to darkest chocolate. Skin-colored. So being "white" according to me, is having the European mindset due to having been born and raised in an European culture.)

One explanation is that Winter Solstice is the time when "Sun is reborn". The days start getting longer and the weather warmer... but it takes a couple of weeks, even months, before anything of that is noticeable.

It is also in the middle of the winter... perhaps people get tired of snow, cold and darkness after having stood out the whole November and most of December. November in Finnish is "marraskuu", the month of death and dying. Marras comes from the same root as Latin Mors.

There wasn't much one could do during winter, sit inside and try to entertain oneself the best one could. Not much light to read or craft - so most women learned quickly to knit, spin and weave without seeing what they did. Most textiles prepared during the wintertime are quite simple and pale; ordinary, everyday household things, like sheets and stockings. The fine embroidery, stranded knitting and special weaving techniques were done during the summer when there was plenty of light. (If you don't believe me, ask any crafting woman. People don't do petit points without seeing what they are doing.)

So storytellers were very popular back in the "dark" ages. One didn't need to see to listen or tell stories. Storytellers were the books of that time, and most people knew how to tell a story.

Another explanation is that midwinter was the time of "meat harvest" - slaughtering the animals - because it was so cold. Perhaps Yule is the fourth harvest feast, to celebrate the bounty of meat and God's goodness and generosity, when She brings us animals to kill...  Yule, especially in Scandinavia, is a meat-eater's dream. There's all parts of the pig prepared in different manners, ham, sausages, head cheese and trotters, pies and dishes of every kind, served with different side dishes designed to accompany the meat in the best possible way; like cranberries/lingonberries, apple, cabbage and root vegetables.

So - why wouldn't we love the time when there was plenty of food to eat, and nothing to do except listen to stories. My idea of a heaven is a huge library with plenty of big, comfy chairs, tea that is always warm and fragrant, candy, cats and a soft blankie.

To me Yule is being together with your loved ones and doing lovely things. Like eating delicious food, getting presents, playing games, reading books, watching nice movies... together.

From the earlier Samhain celebrations in my life I remember best the masquerade parties with good friends, and how lovely our home looks decorated with black and orange, with candles everywhere, and my familiar, Midde (Medea), a black cat who was very, very good at her job. :-) I remember sitting on the couch enjoying my home and she was lying in my lap and purring...

And every time I think of Samhain, I remember the feeling of having my ancestors near. I feel belonging. I am the next link on the chain from the very first beings that could be called human to this day, the eternal silver chain of life... I carry in me their blessings and their wisdom... and I feel safe. I feel loved. I feel right.

31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 14: Activities involving the community

What about organizing a Samhain Market? Have people sell food, drink and seasonal items from open-air stalls accompanied by singing and dancing and other entertainment, a bit like a Renaissance Fair.
Have a "May Queen" or "Christkind" or "Lucia" chosen among the members of the community and create an event around her crowning. It's always a pretty girl chosen, and this was the origin of beauty pageants... but what about giving it a little twist? Choose a crone instead of a maiden... I think I'd like it. An elderly woman who isn't afraid of being elderly and having wrinkles and grey hair. Perhaps some sort of Baba Zimoy.

And what about a Samhain Parade? It would be lovely with people in costume... a bit like Carneval. (I just read that Carneval is probably a tradition based on Roman Isis festivities. Nice.) I really don't like the Key West version "Fantasy Fest", even though they collect a lot of money for AIDS. Apparently the world is full of people who haven't seen naked women, but to me it's more like "have seen one, have seen them all". Some have nicer boobs than others, but boobs are boobs. And some have really bad boob job. But there's boobs everywhere (except for some reason it's not ok to breastfeed... :-D), and I'm fed up. There are other things in life than sex.

There are other ways to celebrate and have fun that drink too much and have sex. (Though that's ok, too, every now and then. Would be more ok, if it wasn't the only idea of "having fun" people seem to have. Beltane used to be especially bawdy holiday... Now that's "normal". ):-( ) I suppose I'm just disappointed. I was imagining something more joyous, free and enthusiastic, about people loosening up, opening up, blossoming by pretending to be someone else. Well... I suppose that's exactly what people do at Fantasy Fest. It's like a combination of Spring Break, Gay Parade and Girls Gone Wild, except for straight middle-aged people. *sigh*

Well... in Germany they are arranging a lantern walk at St.Martin's day, which is 11/11. Close enough.

Why would you have family photos only for Yule? You can even start a new tradition... be the witch of the neighborhood and let the parents have a photo of a witch with the kids. This time the babe crying their heads off because they dislike the situation is at least appropriate. :-D (Or not really. Because witches are not evil. Or not all of us. Or not more than other human beings. And we don't melt in water, either. Or have green blood. Vulcans might, but witches are not Vulcans. :-D)

"Nightly carriages and pony rides, fresh hot chocolate and festive holiday music..."

Autumn picnic

I think it might be interesting to create autumn leaf statues, with chicken wire dressed with autumn leaves. I can imagine people could get really creative. This could happen for Mabon and stand to Samhain... and then they can be burned. :-D (says the pyromaniac in me...)
Or Arcimboldo harvest sculptures?

31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 13: Game night

* game night - special games adjusted for Samhain - you can make your own board game just for Samhain.

Gather different games especially suitable for this time of the year in a special Samhain game box.

10 best games for a Halloween family game night

Make your own "I spy" pictures with Samhain related objects.

I like this lady's ideas about a game night (weekend) :-D

I like these ideas for Halloween games. They have all kinds of groups, like games for teens, games for children etc.

"This is a game my theater class played. It can be played any time of the year, but it can also go with Halloween.

You're going to need at least 10 people in a group (assuming you have that many).

Have everyone in a circle and declare one person 'God'. Now, everyone except 'God' "goes to sleep".
God chooses one person to be the doctor, and another to be the judge.
Then God chooses three people to be 'the Mafia' and wakes them up, so that they can see each other. They are to choose one of the others to be "killed" without talking. Then they go back to sleep.
Now God wakes up the Doctor who is to choose one of the others to be "saved", and goes back to sleep.
Then God wakes up the Judge, who is to choose one of the others he/she suspects of being a mafia member, and goes back to sleep.

Then God wakes up everyone, and tells the story about how the Mafia tried to kill a person.
If the Doctor chose this person to save, the Mafia failed to kill this person. If not, the person dies, and leaves the circle.
Then God tells that the Judge condemned of them for the murder / attempted murder, and he/she was executed, and leaves the circle. God tells the people in the circle if he/she was guilty or innocent.

If the judge gets killed, the townspeople get to discuss and choose the one they accuse.

If the doctor gets killed, there is no-one to "save" the murder victims.

The game goes on until there are only Mafia members left in the circle, or no Mafia members."

Apple games

Samhain Soothsaying

Halloween games from the past

How to host a murder mystery party?

Night of Mystery - a very nice site about Murder Mystery Parties

"Doughnut on a String
Hang doughnuts on a string, blindfold the players, and see who can eat an entire doughnut first, without the use of their hands.

Guess that Ghoul
Write bunches of move character names or halloween games/ghouls on small cards.
Fold them up and put them in a box or tin.
Have a person reach in and take a card.
They must act out what is on the card (i.e, cat, Jason X, ghost, vampire, Elvis, Edward Cullen, Apple bobbing) and have the others guess what or who it is.
Everyone loved this XD
You don't have to have much room to do it, just enough to have seats for everyone else and light on the actor.

Scary Stories
Tell scary stories in complete darkness and try to scare other players. (have someone who has not been part of the group from the beginning to play tricks on them. i.e, drip 'blood' on them, make scary noises, touch them)

Hide-and-Seek
Play hide and seek in your yard, hiding behind trees.
The first one to be caught by the ghost (someone in a white sheet/white clothing) has to do something scary.

Tag
Have somone dress in a scary costume with a mask.
The goal is to find five pieces of candy (or other things) hidden in the house without being touched. "

Samhain themed Mad Libs

Ouija-board

Haunted House

20 fun family game night ideas

Invent your own Pagan themed games. Once upon the time none of these games existed... someone invented them. You can, too :-)

31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 12: Cleaning the kitchen

Today is the time to deep-clean the kitchen, all ready and tidy for the New Year.

Here's how it's done at Organized Home: Kitchen

Here's Living Well, Spending Less Spring Cleaning kitchen with printable checklist

Complete kitchen cleaning check-list

Spring cleaning kitchen checklist printable

Spring cleaning your kitchen with printable checklist

And when you are done, you can look at these "clever ideas for kitchen"

And here's something totally different :-D

Button weave:

If you sew buttons together like this, you get button weave, that you can use to make different things, like baskets or mats.

31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 11: Ancestors

This is my 300th blog post in this blog! Wow! :-)

What is Samhain all about?

Death. Old age. Heritage. Ancestors. Tribe. Belonging. Silver lines. My place in life and universe – in the circle of life. Destiny. Fate. Divination. Otherkin. Other dimensions and lifeforms. We Are One. Gaia. Winter. Night. Eternal night. Funerals. Burial grounds. Cemeteries. Day of Dead. Rest. Eternal sleep. Sleep.

To me Death has always been Sleep's brother. 

“And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, Sleep and Death”

Because of H. C. Andersen's Sandman

I also associate to the Tarot card, Death 

Samhain is the last day of Autumn and the first day of Winter. 

Sun God is dead and Goddess is old and mourning her son. 

 Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica

Isn't it interesting how the Pagan imagery can be found everywhere...

And to those Christians who are snickering because this is a Catholic statue...

try to remember WHAT is being depicted here...

Some imagery is clothed in words...

Antoine Caron; the triumph of winter - the Winter is represented by an old woman, sitting in a carriage drawn by white herons.

Winter, the nighttime of the year, is also symbol of death and old age. Samhain, being the gate of Winter, is a good time to think about people who are old and the blessings of old age. Our modern, Western culture is so horribly focused on youth, that we are ignoring the elderly and believe they have nothing of value to offer. Everywhere I look I see people trying to stay and look younger than they are, especially women. I would love for people to go to the Elders to learn, to sit down and admire what is worth admiring... Well... beauty is worth admiring as well, but... some people celebrated (as in celebrity, you know) are not quite worth it.

I saw Carrie Fisher's "Wishful Drinking" and she is just marvelous :-) Now, she is not old, she's one year younger than my oldest sister, but she is not young either. Another not-young woman who is amazing is Betty White. These ladies have the same kind of humor as my mother and her sister... and I assume my sisters and I have it too.

How about you and the female Elders of your family? Samhain is perfect time to connect backwards, to your roots, your heritage, your tribe, clan and family, and ancestors.

I always feel my family especially close at Samhain. I can see the silver lines connecting me to my parents to their parents and on and on to the first human... This is a very good time to do different family and ancestry related things. Find out more about your genealogy and express some heritage pride. It's not just minorities that should be proud of their ancestry.
To find inspiration, go to Pinterest and search "genealogy" at boards.

* Write a letter to distant relatives, especially the old ones.
* Visit a family grave.

* Think about your ancestors, tell their stories to the next generations

* If you don't have any, adopt an ancestor.

Genealogy, ancestry is about belonging. It's about my place in the circle of life. As we all know, death is part of the circle of life, but it's not all there is... and all that is what Samhain is about. Time. Hours. Fate. Destiny... Circle of Life. Divination is easy at this time of the year, because the veil between worlds, dimensions and existences is very thin at this moment. For a moment we all belong to every world and every lifeform, every form of existence is part of our ecosystem. The time, future, past, is the same... Samhain is about the fact that We Are One.