{"id":43425308,"date":"2021-11-02T13:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=43425308"},"modified":"2021-11-02T13:00:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T13:00:12","slug":"the-illuminating-spark-samhain-flamekeeping-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=43425308","title":{"rendered":"The Illuminating Spark: Samhain Flamekeeping Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"

A personal look into my Samhain observances.<\/h2>
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(Image description: A photo of several tealight candles placed and lit against a dark background.) Credit: Photo by Mike Labrum<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>

Every so often, my flamekeeping shift aligns with the fire festivals. I normally do a holiday flamekeeping shift for them, but the synchronization of the holiday and my regular flamekeeping shifts feels even more important to observe and celebrate the occasion.<\/p>

For me, Samhain has become less of focusing on one or two days and has become more of a season that can be centered around ancestors and death related deities. Brighid has Her keening associations, so She is well-suited for the holiday. My ancestor veneration is a work-in-progress and might possibly be different from what others do.<\/p>

With the days getting shorter, the start time at sunset crept up sooner than I realized, even with digital reminders. The decrease of daylight really signals how quickly winter is approaching after the considerable length of summer. The local weather is a slow indicator, but the diminishing light is the harbinger in the change of seasons.<\/p>

I have done some work into developing my heartthcraft practice, but I felt the need to deepen it on a symbolic level. I knew of how hearth fires were lit from the bonfires at Tlachtga <\/a>(known also as the Hill of Ward) and wanted to do my own version of it, keeping it relevant to Brighid.<\/p>

The fire-in-water imagery combines Brighid\u2019s main elemental associations and that of imbas, divine inspiration. It was the source of the poetry written by the Irish fil\u00ed. I also see this as a means of creation both on a cosmic level and on a smaller, domestic level.<\/p>

A friend gave me a small tealight candle that was lit from Brighid\u2019s sacred flame in Kildare, Ireland during a past Imbolc. I used this to light another tealight candle in a metal bowl I was using as a water-filled cauldron. From there, I lit another candle placed in a glass candle holder that has hearth related imagery. In essence, I was kindling a hearth of sorts while giving a nod to the Samhain bonfires.<\/p>

Along with this, I fulfilled prayer requests and offered incense, water, and some poetry reflecting the symbolism of lighting the hearth candle. I recited a poem I wrote to Brighid titled \u201cSamhain Prayer to Brighid, the Mourning Mother\u201d<\/a>. I also did an ogam reading covering the time period between Samhain and Imbolc and will use the feda I received as a focus through the next few months of the spiritual New Year.<\/p>

It was a simple but meaningful ritual, and I absolutely enjoyed the richness of the connections I saw in it. I would like to have it be part of a yearly Samhain tradition. Costuming didn\u2019t figure into this year\u2019s celebration, but perhaps I will incorporate that for next year\u2019s festivities. As the days darken and shorten, I feel this time of year is even more introspective, calling me to draw inward as I will likely spend more time at home.<\/p>

Have a happy and blessed Samhain season!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A personal look into my Samhain observances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43425308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43425308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43425308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43425308\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43425308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43425308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43425308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}