As I was moving through this week with thoughts of Samhain in the back of my head, I found something I hadn't seen in years: the card from my best friend Jenna's funeral. She died almost six years ago now, and I don't think I've used this purse that the card was in since then. I think of her often still; we were inseparable as kids and her family was my family, especially after my father died. I carry her in my memories only; I don't think I have any trinkets of hers, or rather I didn't. Finding this card just days before Samhain was not coincidence, and I'm glad she'll have a place on my very first Samhain altar. We often made cookies in her kitchen as teenagers, so chocolate chip cookies will be put on the offering plate for her.
My grandparents' generation was significantly old as I was growing up; they didn't have children until they were in their 40s and my parents didn't have children until their 30s. As such, my paternal grandparents were gone before I was born, but I did spend a lot of time with my mother's family as a kid. They have all long since passed (my grandfather, the last of the generation, died in 2009), but as a child and teenager, I was very close to my two ciocias (aunt in Polish, although these were great-aunts). As a reckless young adult, I sadly lost all the treasures I'd been given by Ciocia Stephy, both in life and death, so I have nothing from her for my altar. But two of my necklaces were given to me by Ciocia Tillie, and the amber necklace that I wear a lot in the fall will be placed upon the altar. I'd hoped to find the jade necklace she'd given me, I know it's somewhere in my apartment still, but no such luck yet. For the offering plate, I shall set out some pierogi and, if I'm lucky and can find it, some Turkish Delight, which was always a treat when visiting them.
(The funny story is that I knew of Turkish Delight from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I grew up eating Turkish Delight, but I didn't know that one of my favorite treats was such. My whole life, I longed to eat some Turkish Delight! I didn't find out until after college that my ciocias' staple treat was the thing I'd wondered about my whole life.)
Since it's also a full moon (and a blue one), I'm hoping to take advantage of that too, although seeing the moon or anything in Chicago is hard. If the weather is nice and the neighborhood is quiet and safe (mostly regarding covid), I may go for a walk. I'll set my crystals out, and some water to be blessed by the moon, and I'll do a few spells for prosperity, happiness, and health. The full moon is a time to focus on major issues and things that are most important in your life, and the Ivy Moon of October is especially a great time to accept support and ask for help from others. I've been struggling a lot mentally lately, so I hope that focusing on these few things in the coming week leading up to the full moon will help provide me with clarity and intention.
I have November 3rd and 4th off, and plan on going to the forest preserve on one of these days if the weather isn't bad. I'm in desperate need of the outdoors in general, and a nature walk is one of the rituals associated with Samhain and the shifting of seasons. I've previously gone to the forest preserve to go hiking with my roommate, which I enjoyed, but this time I'm craving solitude in the great outdoors. I might hike, or I may just sit and enjoy the peacefulness of late autumn. I'll play it by ear that day and see how it goes. This is, of course, assuming the weather is still decent, which is a gamble in early November in Chicago. Right now the forecast looks warm and clear, so I might get some stargazing in if I drive far enough out, but we'll see if that holds.
All told, these are my preparations and thoughts leading up to my first celebration of Samhain.
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