Happy New Year's Eve!

So, I'm sure you are thinking "Wow, totally in the wrong month!"

 Nope, today is Halloween, by the the Julian calendar date, which coincides with our holiday, Samhain.

 Samhain is the Celtic Pagan holiday of the end of the year, the time when the veils between the world of the living and the dead are the thinnest. It is also the last celebration of the harvest before Winter closes in. As the Wheel of the Year turns, we are reminded of death, not in its finality, but the sleeping death, to return in the Spring. The day after Samhain was for the slaughter of the livestock that would be preserved to see the people through the winter.

 On Samhain Eve, we hold ritual, along with a prepared feast. A plate is filled and set at the table for our departed ancestors to come and share in the season's bounty, and we invite them to join us in celebration of a good harvest. And we dance, to show our defiance in the coming of the cold, and to honor our departed loved ones.

 This year, we have a special reason to celebrate. As of tomorrow, my underpreist and dear Brother will be finally changing his name from the name that his adopted family gave him, to his true Name. We are very excited, he is casting off the remains of his shackles of the people who tortured and abused him when he was young. Tonight we dance to celebrate the rise of the House of Rama!

 My dear Brother in the Goddess, I have seen you come a very long way from the scared boy you were, to grow into a man of Power. Words can not express how proud I am of you, that you have been able to follow this Path one slow tortured step at a time, but always forward, no matter the odds against you. You have been my true friend and Brother, and have been there with me through many adventures and heartbreaks, and have never wavered on your support. I hope this coming year brings you all the things you deserve. I love you Brother, never forget that.