At Samhain, we meet at a threshold. The harvest has been gathered. The light is withdrawing. Nature begins her descent towards winter, inviting us to turn inward too.
In the old Irish seasonal calendar, Samhain marked the beginning of winter and the darker half of the year. It was understood as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld grew thin and those who had died might draw close once more.
For this women’s circle, we will gather in that spirit of remembrance. Not only to look back, but to recognise ourselves as part of a much greater tapestry. There are those who walked before us whose lives, choices, love, struggles and stories have shaped the ground upon which we now stand. Some we may have known deeply. Others may be names, photographs or fragments of stories. And many will be completely unknown to us. Yet here we are.
And just as something of the past continues through us, what we choose to nurture, heal, embody and pass forward becomes part of what comes next.
We are somebody’s ancestors too.
Together, we’ll create space to honour this continuum of those who came before us, the lives we are living now, and those who may come after us.
Our time together
We will gather around a shared ancestral altar, with an invitation to bring a photograph, object, natural offering or something else that connects you with those who came before you.
Through sacred cacao, guided meditation, song, ritual, reflection and sharing, we’ll explore our relationship with ancestry and belonging. There will be space to remember, to listen, to honour what we have inherited, and to consider what we consciously choose to carry forward and what might end with us.
As always, you are invited to participate in the ways that feel right for you. There is no expectation to share anything you would rather hold privately.
You do not need to know your ancestral history to take part. Ancestry can hold many meanings: blood lineage, chosen family, cultural lineage, the people and places that have shaped us, and our relationship with the wider living Earth.
Come as you are.
Bring your stories, your questions, your remembering and your not-knowing.
Together, we will sit at the threshold honouring the lives behind us, tending the life within us, and listening for what we wish to leave behind us.