Blessings on Samhain / Alle Helgen
Friday, November 01, 2013
A woman comes before the dark alone, with lit candles at a sacred site. She is in a cave underground. Somewhere dark. She has come to honor those who are no-longer alive, and to ask for healing and peace. I picture the vibrant blue spots might be spirits present in the room.
I light the candles in my studio. I leave the light off. The day is quiet, though many souls are on the streets. It is a public holiday in France - toussaint - all saints day.
I was going to make christmas cards, and I am. But somehow the energy of the toussaint took me, and I realised I can't go on to winter, before having celebrated this important time first.
In celtic tradition it's a celebration of harvest and stepping into winter. It lies between fall equinox and winter solstice. In the Danish churches, we remember those who are no-longer among us at all saints night. The priest might read out loud names of those in the community who have died within the past year.
For me the time of Alle Helgen, is about honoring the dead. Lighting a candle in the dark. Saying prayers. Coming together in peace to honor what has been. Even if it's just me alone, in the woods.
It is a special and magical experience, to come before the darkness, recognize it, see it, and be vulnerable in it. And it is something we can do just now. May this image remind you of that which is sacred to you. Your loved ones, your dead.
It's a festival of light, and of death. Let's light a fire, for those we love. Those who are dead but also those who are still here, even though they might not be present in our lives. Honor that which has been. And step peacefully and gracefully into winter.
'Behind the scenes' making of the Samhain image.
Craziness started already in the beginning when the first lines were drawn. This was going to be a different kind of picture. More free.
A chaos of colors and patches.
I rub on the pastels with my fingers. I wanted the pumpkins to light up in the dark, as if there were candles inside them.
The white 'stripes' on the blue between my fingers and to the left of the woman, are finger/handprints done with white acrylic paint. Somehow leaving a hand print is a very powerful thing.
Wolf-helper wanted to come along in this process.
Thank you.
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