Declaration of the Feast of Samhain 2003

Copyright © Michael Rauner

This is the season of Halloween
The time when the veil is thin
that divides the worlds,
The seen from the unseen,
The day to day from the mysteries.
Tonight we are about to take a journey
into the darkness of Winter
and through to the promise of spring
For Halloween is our New Year
The New Year of the Witches

And when we say “Witches”
we mean those with a certain wit, even wisdom
follow the Old Religion of the Goddess

And when we speak of the Goddess
who is moon , stone, star
And her consort the Horned God
the sun, the life of animals
we are saying that
We recognize our kinship with all of life
and that tapestry of life is sacred
We are committed to its service

When we say the Goddess is Maiden,
Mother and Crone
We are saying that we see her in all women,
all shapes and colors and ages
and honor women
for strength as well as beauty
for knowledge, experience,
the power that comes from within
For she is the mother of inspiration
as well as children.

When we call on the God as her lover and consort
We say that we honor men
for tenderness and kindness as well as courage
And he wears horns because
we honor the animal self in all of us,
forever untamed and free,
our miracle bodies.
When we invoke the elements of
air, fire, water and  earth,
We say that we know what is necessary to sustain life
And pledge ourselves to care for it and preserve it.

When we mourn our dead,
When we set sail to the island
beyond time,
to dance the spiral,
the ancient symbol of rebirth,
we perform an act of magic,
we turn our culture back towards balance.

When we remember what has passed
And renew ourselves
We do it to reclaim the future,
So join with us now,
feel the spirits gathering…