‘O exquisite time of darkness and friends, let us listen!’
In the northern hemisphere, Samhain is the gateway into the dark half of the year and in some traditions it is celebrated as 3 day portal. Recognized as the time when the veils are thin, it is a powerful time to gather and commune with the unseen and beyond-human realms. There are 3 primary intentions of this gathering:
To remember and honor our ancestors.
To feel ourselves as an integral part of the Web of Life.
To fill our cups with the cheer of community in preparation for the dark of winter.

To remember our ancestors is to feel our roots. It is to honor the strengths and wounds that made us. It is to be resourced by what inspires us and recognize the patterns in our lineage that we want to heal, love, repair. It is to recognize this precious time that we are alive here and now and feel our power of choice- that how we live matters. We will be with our ancestors in the ceremony of the Dumb Supper on Friday, October 31. The Dumb Supper Ceremony was given to us by our beloved elder (and now ancestor), Una Gallagher, who taught us the form and ways of what has now become a favorite wheel of the year ceremony. The dinner is held outside by firelight upon a long mossy table by the Hearth. The gathering begins at 2pm with the preparing of torches, adorning of the table, building of the ancestor altar, journeying to ‘feel’ our lineages, and warming and preparation of food. Each person attending is invited to prepare a dish from their lineage that their ancestors would have enjoyed, dress in attire that invokes the customs and ways of these ancestors, bring songs and prayers as well as photos and mementos of loved ones who have crossed over to place on the ancestor altar. At sundown we invoke the ancestors we are inviting to dinner. When the bell rings, we begin the dumb supper which we eat in silence, listening to those we have called from the unseen. After dinner we share words, story and song by the fire that our ancestors want us to remember at this time.

Folk are invited to stay the night in the house or hall.

To feel ourselves as an integral part of the Web of Life is to belong here. It is to not place humanity as more important that earth, animals, forest and sky. It is to attune to our place in right relationship as one species within the delicate web. We will be attuning to the more-than-human ones on November 1st, 12pm – Sunday 2pm, through enacting a Council/Dance of All Beings which comes to us via Joanna Macy and informed by Laney Goodman, both now ancestors. Everyone will be invited to attune to an animal, plant, fungi or elemental they are called to embody and prepare a costume ahead of time. During the day, we will journey, craft and prepare for the evening ceremony. The setting will be the candle lit hall and a 4 hour trance dance with the mother drum. When the Beings we are dancing for wish to speak, we will pause and listen.

 On Sunday after brunch, we will hold an integrative council and step through the Samhain Gate into winter’s dreaming with prayer and intention.

To fill our cups with the cheer of community we will be in community together for these three days, sharing in the preparation of food and ceremony. This is not catered, it is co-created. This is a community gathering and attendees are invited to offer a land donation as abundance allows to support Ravenwind, as well as bring physical offerings that we will be using throughout the weekend such as firewood, candles, fuel, fire offerings, craft supplies as well as food. If you are called to deepen relationships in ancestral ways, then come. Lodging is floor space in the House or Hall or you can find a local airbnb.

If you would like to come, please email me at jo@unitymountainherbs.com and I will put you on the communications list about the gathering. We will send out a preparation email in mid October. Please RSVP by October 24th.