It's hard not to do crazy things to cooperative dogs when this time of year rolls around. Back in 2009, when I purchased a cheesy blonde hippie chick wig for my Mother Nature costume, I could not resist snapping some photos of Merlyn in this wig. Bless his heart, he was so cooperative and didn't even seem to mind it when I took a few more photos in order to find the best one to post on his Facebook page. I think that a sure sign of manhood-or doghood, in this case-is not caring how ridiculous you look and feeling handsome in spite of it all.
Last year, I was at a loss for costume items to get because I didn't exactly have a solid plan of what to do for Halloween. I'd already lined up some special activities to honor Samhain with my then-covenmates, but there was nothing in the way of costume parties to attend. And after my late-night club outing for the Halloween of 2010 that resulted in my missing the last Metro home and ending up spraining my ankle, I wasn't feeling as inclined to stay out late in DC this time.
This was the mountain range and river that was inspired by my environmental studies class at Evergreen entitled Earth Stewards: Sustainable Living in a Threatened World. I'm not sure if this was the result of wanting to represent a modernized version of Mother Nature, complete with a few different nature scenes, or if this was because I love facial art. It was certainly a fabulous excuse to go crazy creative on myself, whether or not I actually had a prayer of entering a contest for Best Costume.
This was Mother Nature at the Day of the Dead party in Olympia, Washington. Since I knew that wig would end up green, I had to get some photos ahead of time to see what I'd look like as a blonde. Turned out I was about as ridiculous as my dog in that wig. But oh what fun it is to be ridiculous sometimes!
I do need to make a bit of a distinction between Halloween and Samhain. They're technically the same holiday. One, Halloween, just happens to be a far more secular and capitalized version of the older sabbat, Samhain. When you're a late-bloomer witch like me and you've spent the first three decades of your life celebrating the party side of the holiday, it's hard to completely discard it once the need for reverance for the ancestors takes priority. I still mention Halloween whenever there's talk of parties or costume contests, or if there's any candy around that I have a hankering for. But when I consider the deeper meaning of the day and this time of year, it's Samhain. Samhain is the time for ritual. The altar is decorated to make room for offering plates for the spirits of those who have gone before. This is the time of year to take stock of what we've accomplished, what we've "harvested," and to go inward to begin work on ourselves again. Part of the wisdom of my grizzly bear power animal, part of the medicine she offers, involves turning inward to begin the long process of making plans for the next year. This is the time of year to initiate new creative projects and set into motion what will need to be put into practice come spring.
This year, I'll be in a bit of a major life transition. I'm flying out to Washington next Thursday and will be fortunate enough to attend the Samhain ritual next Saturday hosted by a couple of my fellow witches. I don't know yet if there are any parties that I could attend. I don't even know just where I'll be on the actual date of the sabbat, since it falls on a Wednesday. Perhaps this year will find me focusing on directing magickal energy towards securing a job and a place to live in Seattle for me and Merlyn. Figuring out what costume I want to wear has taken a backseat to submitting job applications and contacting prospective roommates. At least next year at this time, I'll have already gotten a little more settled in and may have found a group in the city to gather with to honor the sabbat.
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