WELCOME!
Samhain: We Are Shadows
Come in, come in! I’m so happy you’re here. The season of Samhain (pronounced SAH-win) is upon us — an ancient Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the beginning of the darker half of the year. Also known as the Celtic New Year, Samhain is a juncture between the two halves of the year, suspended in time. It does not belong to the old year or to the new. On Samhain, time stands still and the threshold to the spirit world is flung wide open. The earthly world of the living becomes entangled with the spirit world. It is the perfect time for transformational magic and inviting your inner wisdom to take center stage.
Samhain begins on the evening of October 31st and ends on the evening of November 1. This year, Samhain also aligns with the Full Hunter Moon, certainly an auspicious sign! This bundle is an exploration of Mystery, Magic, Creative Incubation, and the Shadow Self.
((Just a note that our next bundle is Yule: We Are Light, a lovely compliment to the darker themes of this bundle.))
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Story of the Season: a Homily for Samhain (audio & PDF)
The Great Wide Open (video)
In the Studio (video)
Collaborative Alchemy Podcast: Episode Two with Linda Joy Cordtz
Fuel for the Fire: Writing prompts, links, reading lists, Spotify playlists, etc.
Further Connection: Community Zoom call (recording)
Community Gallery: work you’d like to share with us
Care Package Info: information about the contents
NOTE of ENGAGEMENT:
Please do not share the link to this page with others. This content was created just for you. Thank you for your respect and understanding.
Story of the Season
This is a great place to begin. For each of the eight bundles that make up the Creative Alchemy Cycle, I write a seasonal homily to set the container for the bundle. These stories are my way of practicing alongside you and using the creative alchemy tools to create my own work. You can download a copy using the button below and/or listen to the audio.
The Great Wide Open
My creative process always begins outside. This is where I weave the outer landscape with the inner one. Follow me into the high desert of Eastern Oregon, where we’ll explore the incredible botanical variety of this seemingly barren landscape, gathering teasel and sage. Then we’ll head into Eagle Valley for the last apple harvest of the year.
In the Studio
After viewing The Great Wide Open, let’s head into my studio. This is where I metabolize, incubate, and process all the elements which make up my current state of creative alchemy. We’ll chat about your Samhain care packages, talk about some themes of this season, and create a painting of the Milky Way using some intuitive and free-form techniques.
Collaborative Alchemy Podcast
Collaborative Alchemy is a series of conversations with artists, thought leaders, activists, farmers, educators, creatives, and other polymaths where we tell our stories, expand our histories, and hold space for new ways of being. My guest is orchardist and poet Linda Joy Cordtz. We’re chatting about farming as meditation, poetry, and the transformational nature of living close to the earth. Her new book of selected poems can be found here.
“Your partner is nature. She will always show you the most unbelievable bounty, and then whisk everything away.” — Linda Joy Cordtz
FUEL FOR THE FIRE
Writing prompts and further exploration, links, reading lists, spotify playlists, etc. Click on the images or buttons below to view, visit, or download.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Invitations for Further Connection
CREATIVE ALCHEMY COMMUNITY CALL — November 22nd
Thank you to everyone who joined us on Sunday, November 22nd at 10:00am Pacific Standard Time for our Community Zoom Call. Here is the recording of that call:
The Samhain Community Gallery
Would you like to share your work with our community? Please send photos or copies of your in-process art, knitting, poems, jewelry, short stories, sculptures, gardens, quilts, and other creative endevours inspired by the Samhain bundle to Sarah at sarah.greenman@gmail.com!
Click on the image below to see or read the piece!
Leaf Cuttings by Judith Hankin
Tarot Card Incense Burner created by Molly McCarter
“Funeral Potatoes”, short play by Thelma de Castro
“Such Vitality”, essay by Thelma de Castro
Leaf Cuttings by Judith Hankin
Leaf Cuttings by Judith Hankin
Samhain Writing Prompts by Brandi Moody
Art installation entitled “Grief” by Victoria Carnate
About Your Samhain Care Package
For those of you subscribing to the full Cycle through Patreon, your care-packages will be arriving between October 23-27. These love-filled packages contain natural objects, local Eastern Oregon flavor, and art ephemera to inspire your journey, and adorn your seasonal altars.
CONTENTS of the SAMHAIN PACKAGE:
✦ welcome letter
✦ “Read Me” - a poem by Linda Joy Cordtz
✦ “Taste Me” - dehyderated peaches from Eagle Creek Orchard
✦ “Smell Me” - a hand-crafted aromatic blend (do not eat!)
✦ “See Me” - dried autumn leaves & mini pinecones
✦ “Feel Me” - dried Fuller’s Teasel head (dipsacus fullonum)
✦ A 5 x 5 inch signed archival mini-print
ABOUT the AROMATIC BLEND:
Ingredients: These ingredients were combined to capture the unmistakable scent of Eastern Oregon’s unique mix of forest floor and high desert, so dominant at this time of year. Ingredients include wild sagebrush leaves and blossoms (artemisia tridentata), Douglas Fir needles, Pinderosa Pine needles, Rosemary, Lavender leaves and flowers, and culinary sage (salvia officinalis).
Source: The wild sage and pine needles were all sustainably foraged and gatherered in Richland and Halfway, Oregon. The rosemary, culinary sage, and lavender were grown in Sarah’s garden, then harvested and dried in her art studio.
Directions: This blend can be used in a variety of ways. But my favorite way to scent my home is to simmer it in water. Use crockware (or a pot) that you do not cook food in. Add the dreid blend to one or two cups of boiling water. Simmer on the stove or in a simmering pot. The scent will last for hours. (Don’t be alarmed when the herbs turn black. That’s normal.) You can also keep the dried blend in a fabric bag to scent a drawer. Squeeze it periodically to release the scent. Another way to enjoy the smell is sprinkle it on the coals of an open fire.
ABOUT the DRIED FRUIT:
Type: JH Hale Peaches
Source: These are organicaly grown at Eagle Creek Orchard. I harvested and dehyderated them ((in a Covid-safe environment)) so that you might enjoy a taste of the season’s last offerings.
Directions: You can eat them as is, or you can soak them in water for a few minutes to rehydrate them a bit. Your choice. Either way, they’re delicious!