The Sapling Oracle - Samhain '24
in which we find ourselves right in the middle of this darker half of the darkening half of the year
Hello! Welcome or welcome back to another Sapling Tarot Newsletter, I’m so grateful that you’re here.
This year, the night of Samhain coincides with the New Moon in Scorpio, which makes my little witchy heart oh so very happy - even if darker skies means less visibility for trick-or-treaters (don’t forget your torch!).
The season between the autumn equinox through to the winter solstice is so magical and dramatic, with Samhain sitting right in the middle of this darker half of the darkening half of the year.
Between the autumn equinox and now, it’s a really busy time, the hedgerows start bursting with fruit from around late August, but the colour changes and general spectacle is at its most intense around the end of September, beginning of October.
By Samhuinn, the wind and even slight frosts has stripped a lot of the deciduous trees down to a few shivering leaves, just enough to rustle nicely overhead, filling paths with crunchy (or more likely, squishy, squelchy) leaves. The birds seems extra busy and are making themselves known to people with bird feeders, tapping their little feet and beaks impatiently. Our robins have been back, staking their claim on their territory for the coming winter.
There’s a sense of anticipation in the air, not unlike Spring. It feels like the natural world is in that slightly wide-eyed, frenzied period that humans have before Christmas, making sure they’ve got everything organised, online grocery deliveries sorted, decorations up, last minute present shopping etc. However, unlike Spring, watching this flurry of activity gives me the impression that it’s time to rest, to really slow everything down. As I write this, the clocks have just changed, the sun now sets well before the end of the working day and my household is having our annual discussion about how we need more lamps (and I’m reminded I need to put up a curtain pole). We’re hunkering down and trying to make our little burrow as cosy and comfortable as we can for the next few months. I’ve had a bit of a running joke for a few years that I operate much like a coastal holiday cottage, generally only open for business between March and October.
All of this is to say, while I love the spooky, scary, ghosty, creepy bits of the season, as a festival I find Samhuinn an incredibly comforting time of year, following the natural cues to adjust to a schedule that is much more my kind of speed. That’s not to say that Winter is easy, what with the expenses of ever climbing fuel prices and a legion of very demanding tiny birds to feed, but in terms of the cycles of the year, I always feel grateful to be able to lean into and take inspiration from the world around me. To be reminded that resting and eating and keeping warm is essential to surviving as the creatures that we are.
Ancestors and the Dead
While the idea of “the veil thinning” at this time of year might be a Victorian invention, for generations many cultures around the Northern Hemisphere in have had a sense that the people we’ve lost are closer at this time of year. Film and media might tell us that this is something to be feared, but for many it’s a source of great comfort.
But what do you do if you don’t like your family? Or if your ancestors were involved in things that you don’t agree with, or you get the sense that hey might think that about you?
In her book Ancestral Tarot: Uncover Your Past and Chart Your Future, Nancy Hendrickson discusses different types of ancestors. The kind we’re perhaps most familiar with is what she refers to as Ancestors of Blood — people we have biological or genetic links to, but for many people these ancestors feel less accessible, whether due to adoption, estrangement or other forms of disconnection. That’s why I like that she mentions there are (at least) two other sorts, Ancestors of Place (people who existed on the same land as you) and Ancestors of Time (people who share experiences with you — at least, that’s my reading of it. Hendrickson’s version involves previous lives and that Ancestors of Time are people you know from previous incarnations).
I really like these two other categories of ancestor and think they deserve just as much, if not more, attention. I think particularly of people in the past with whom we share struggle and marginalisation — for instance, in my case queer and disabled ancestors. It really brings home the idea that we’ve always been here and regardless of how different our lives have been, there is this thread that links us all.
I also really love the idea of ancestors of place, and that feels particularly apt at this time of year when which often conjures images of the departed roaming the land. If you take the animistic view that every living thing (or non-living, depending who you speak to) has its own spirit and personhood, your world simply explodes with possibilities for these sorts of ancestors — it’s my view that it’s almost impossible to be lonely if you’re an animist, as you get to experience a world just fizzing with life, soul and personality.
Seasonal Eating and Drinking
Orchard fruits like apples, pears and plums are particularly special at this time of year either to be eaten fresh or cooked and spiced and eaten by the spoonful or turned into a gorgeous pie. Warm, spiced/mulled apple juice is also a personal favourite!
Gourds (pumpkins and squashes), root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, beetroot) and brassicas (cabbage, kale, cauliflower) are all at their best in the autumn months. Whether you’re roasting them, mashing them or adding them to soups and stews, they all impart the classic sweet and earthy flavours of the season.
While mushrooms are largely available year round, now is a great time for interesting wild mushrooms. I’m not confident enough to forage for myself but some supermarkets now do little punnets of a miscellany of different mushrooms, which I’ve been taking full advantage of!
❄️ Look out for the Full Frost Moon in Taurus on November 15th ❄️
Music
because it’s the season to be dancing around your house in your dressing gown to keep warm (or maybe that’s just me?)
Pet Cemetery
Taking a moment for fluffy friends that are no longer with us.
Hear me you who steers the course of all mortals, And gives holy time to all ahead of whom you lie. Your sleep tears the soul free from the body's hold, When you undo nature's tenacious bonds, Bringing long and eternal slumber to the living. Common to all, you are unjust to some, When you bring a swift end to youthful life at its peak. In you alone is the verdict common to all executed, For to prayers and entreaties you alone are deaf. But, O blessed one, with sacrifices and pious vows, I beg you to grant long life, that old age might be a noble prize among men.
Orphic Hymn to Thanatos (Death)
What’s New at Sapling Tarot
Phase Two of Witches for Palestine is up and running with another incredible raffle - every 5 GBP donation to Cwtches to Gaza is an entry! Just send proof of donation to witchesforpalestine@gmail.com.
Thanks so much for being here, I hope you have a beautiful evening and I’ll speak to you again soon! x