As my friends, my husband, and I always sing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" We also lovingly call it "Septober." October 31st has always, always been a favorite day of mine, even before I turned to Paganism. I guess it was a matter of time.
So the last few years, our family ritual has always taken the path of a time of contacting our ancestors. My husband becomes our medium, if you will, during the ritual; his pathway, or trigger, to get him into the right state, is pomegranate seeds. Why those, you might ask? As Samhain is our New Year, and we turn to the Dark part of the year, we are inspired by the myth of Persephone becoming Queen of Hades after sucking down some despite being warned not to eat, lest she remain in Hades forever.
So between that and some local apple ice wine mixed with apple cider, we have our cakes and ale, if you will, for the ritual. My daughter and I do get some seeds, too, but they do not have the same effect, which is fine with me. I think this sort of ritual is best to do with only a few people you know intimately, so it has stayed a very personal ritual. I won't get into the whys of what we do more than I already have, but suffice it to say, you do NOT need to use these as your pathway into a different realm. They are tasty in their own right, and if you resonate with Persephone, then it is a perfect food to have at your Samhain celebration and still be as Paleo as you need to be.
So the last few years, our family ritual has always taken the path of a time of contacting our ancestors. My husband becomes our medium, if you will, during the ritual; his pathway, or trigger, to get him into the right state, is pomegranate seeds. Why those, you might ask? As Samhain is our New Year, and we turn to the Dark part of the year, we are inspired by the myth of Persephone becoming Queen of Hades after sucking down some despite being warned not to eat, lest she remain in Hades forever.
So between that and some local apple ice wine mixed with apple cider, we have our cakes and ale, if you will, for the ritual. My daughter and I do get some seeds, too, but they do not have the same effect, which is fine with me. I think this sort of ritual is best to do with only a few people you know intimately, so it has stayed a very personal ritual. I won't get into the whys of what we do more than I already have, but suffice it to say, you do NOT need to use these as your pathway into a different realm. They are tasty in their own right, and if you resonate with Persephone, then it is a perfect food to have at your Samhain celebration and still be as Paleo as you need to be.