May 1st

Happy Southern Hemisphere Wiccan New Year.

Samhain.  

End of harvest.  A time for introspection.  A time to remember and honour our loved ones passed.

The time of year when the veil between this world and the underworld is at its thinnest.

A time for transformation.

The time of year that marks the ending of long, warm days and the commencement of our descent into long, cold nights.  When winter takes hold and the ground freezes over (depending on where you live).  The legend goes, Persephone (daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the Goddess of agriculture), was captured by Hades, God of the Underworld.  In Demeter's search for her daughter, her duties of grain giver and earth mother were neglected and the farmers' fields began to die.  As time when on and still her daughter was not to be found, Demeter's anguish deepened and she forbade the earth to produce, leaving it barren and cold.

The cries of hunger from the people reached Zeus.  The Sun God Helios told Zeus where Persephone could be found and Zeus demanded Hades return her.  In true Stockholm syndrome style, Persephone had grown to like Hades and had accepted six seeds from the pomegranate he had offered her.  According to the fates of the Underworld, if food or drink is consumed there, one must stay forever.

Thinking of Demeter's grief and the barren fields, Zeus struck a compromise with Hades.  Persephone was to spend six months a year with Hades and the other six months with her mother.  On joyful reuniting with her daughter, Demeter resumed her work with the fields and life again appeared on earth.  However, when Persephone returned to Hades six months later, her grief returned and the world was left barren.

I have spoken with many women (particularly), who have found the move from their 20s into their 30s, quite a significant transition in their lives.  I was very blessed today, to join a dear woman in celebration of just that transition.  It was also a wonderful opportunity to frock up, don the pearls, drink tea from porcelain cups and indulge in magnificent cake.

Thanks for sharing your day with me, Ro.

I had a blessed time.

xxx