Death Sits Next to Us at Supper

Many Hands House celebrates Samhain much like many other Pagan families. We festoon the house with fall leaves, paper skulls, witches and ghosts. The children spend weeks planning this year’s costume for trick-or-treating. We carve jack-o’-lanterns while listening to our favorite Samhain story. We make altars for the ancestors; ancient photographs look down from our mantle as we play divination games by candle light. On Samhain night, we also leave a place and a plate at our table for the Beloved Dead. As we feast, we reminisce about those who have passed, and fondly retell their stories. Our conversation about the dead frequently wanders to discussion about our own end: what kinds of ancestor offerings we would like, and how we want to be remembered.

Every child, at some point in their lives, comes to the realization that one day, they, too, will die. This is the first and most powerful initiation that any (and every!) human being undergoes. What the Samhain observances and customs create is not only sacred space for the dead; they also create a sacred space for the living to peer across the veil to see their inevitable destination, and to come to terms with it in the context of celebration, instead of fear or denial. By honoring the ancestors, we also nurture ourselves and our children. May our children one day build altars to us, and may there be a place for us at their table.

So mote it be.

This post is from my husband. Hope you enjoy it!