Witches Of New York – Page 69 – Everything about witches and witchcraft in New York City from modern pagan perspective

While the whole city is buzzing with dressed up folks on Halloween night, witches are gathering for the 7^th Sabbath of the year – Samhain. The celebration honoring the dark lord and lady, rulers of the underworld, whatever your pantheon is, and all the ancestors that came before us. Witches believe that the veil between two worlds – dead and living, is the thinnest on that day. So while all the kids are getting high on Halloween candy and adults can’t decide which party to get wasted at, for most wiccans and pagans it’s time to remember, honor and talk to your ancestors. It gets dark, very dark. Also it’s very sad because you remember all your loved ones that have journeyed. And that brings out the turmoil of feelings that you think you’ve forgotten. The air fills up with soft sad whispers and you can almost feel them there…listening.

On October 31st I went to Tompinks Square Park in the city, ritual held by Wiccan Family Temple. Most of the folks had costumes on and everyone had to bring a small carved pumpkin. Black tealight candles were given to everyone in the circle specially prepared by Arlene Fried, the high priestess at WFT. The mood got heavy when participants started calling out the names of their loved ones that have passed. But then again the playful invocation of Persephone and Hades turned it all around. The apples and pomegranates were offered to the Gods.

Couple days before that I participate in Alfablót – another Samhain celebration in Ridgeood, Queens with Kenaz Wicca. Alfa means ancestors in Norse and, well, anybody at least little pagan knows what blót is:)
Again, music was fantastic! We all sang a lot. And then the pomegranate was sacrificed under the tunes of orchestra, almost made me wish I was working with motion pictures instead of stills. A potluck dinner and the rune reading followed. I tried (quite a lot) of dandelion wine and probably that’s why only snagged this one shot of the altar throughout the evening.

Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo aris! ( May we live to see this time again! in Gaelic)

I love fall. Something calming about it. In spring I constantly have this feeling of missing out: this tree outside my window just got all green overnight and I missed it, Sakuras at Brooklyn botanical gardens just bloomed in a flash and I forgot to go there. As if we need the constant reminders of how temporary our stay is on this realm… But autumn is completely the opposite – the time when the world finally starts to slow down. At least according to my internal pagan clock, of course, because NYC just gets busier with their fashion shows and pumpkin spice lattes:)

So Autumn equinox or Wiccan Mabon is always a reminder for me to take a breather and reflect. It’s a second harvest festival, thanksgiving of sorts, as well super topsy-turvy in energies because it falls right in between of the three fall super-moons. And this year we even had an eclipse! Personally, I felt like Alice in wonderland:)

First Mabon celebration was with Wiccan Family Temple in lower east side, NYC. The altar came out huge, because of the long tables that were prepared for the potluck later. Horn of plenty as centerpiece and all the beautiful mess around it:)

The best part of the ritual was reenactment of Persephone and Hades meeting and falling in love. Although, I am not a big fan of Hellenic pantheon, this theatrical moment kind of lightened things up, made it more playful and celebratory then usual wiccan rites.
Potluck dinner followed shortly after the ritual.

Another Mabon/Oktoberfest Sabbat/Blót celebration in Forest Park, Queens, was hosted by Kenaz Wicca. This was slightly different from WFT, because they are more Nordic Asatru-Seax pantheon worshipers with strong emphasis on ancestry. Plus everything happened outdoors in the midst of Forest park wilderness. The real leaves were used to mark the circle and the weakening fall sun was there to remind us of approaching winter. Cornbread and mead were served. The singing parts were especially beautiful mostly due to Amanda’s angelic voice. My daughter appreciated the space for movement and even did her own loud ancestor prayer mentioning her fraternal grandfather that had just passed this year.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun…
-John Keats

Samhain in East Village and Ridgewood

Mabon: Lower East Side to Forest Park