Alithia's Samhain.

 Samhain.

Alithia lit a solitary, white candle and placed it on the narrow window sill and sang:

"With this candle

and by its light

I welcome ye spirits

This Samhain night!

May you send out energy to guide the dead to the other side" she said and looked outside on the newborn night rubbing her moist hands on her black ashen skirts.
"Six hours to go and lots to do." she muttered and went back to her steaming pewter cauldron boiling in the centre of the small room.

"Unwanted spirits I call thee" she chanted,

"I call thee into the light,

guardian spirits I call thee,

I call thee into the light,

herb and candle burn away,

lingam stone will clear the way,

go back to where you need to be,

leave my home just to me.."

Green smoke filled the air and she coughed but continued to stir silently her magic brew which was so thick now that she had to pull and push her oak ladle with both hands.

"Welcome winter, waning season,

now with night the New Year comes;

Hail the horse's head with blessings-

Blessings be on those who bide here

and indeed on all the world."

Her hair was falling wet on her forehead, losing some of its fiery glow and stuck on her sweaty cheeks as she sang her sacred song. She knew the time drew near for the offering which signalled that the potion was ready. 

She pulled the fat rooster from a basket underneath the table and stood above the rising steam. The poor creature sensed that its end drew near and fluttered its wings and shriek, but not for long.

With a small unceremonious twist of her fingers and a short turn of her dagger the witch beheaded the animal and emptied its blood in the brew. 

"Earth and Water, Fire and Sky

I invoke the God on high

This night we are Between the Worlds

To celebrate the year unfurled!"

Two more hours had passed and now Alithia, crouching low, was pulling glass phials the size of her palms from the bottom kitchen cupboard and hurriedly placed them in a neat row on the heavy oak table. 

"One, two three..." she counted and stopped when their number was 12. 

Using an old copper funnel she filled all 12 phials with the green potion that was now emitting a strong smell of  rosemary and sage and corked them tightly. When all of them were ready, she smiled to herself and started stashing them in her countless skirt pockets until they were so heavy she had to pull them all up again and tie another apron around her waist to keep them from falling again.
She picked up a few acorns, the fruits of the sacred oak and a secret message to those she wanted to reveal what she was, and placed them on her head, underneath her fiery curls and pulled her black hat over her ears as hard as she could. Wrapping her woollen shawl tightly around her shoulders she opened the door. The glass phials in her pockets clanked happily as she stepped into the Samhain night.

All fires extinguished, Alithia walked past the dark houses where a single light on the window sills burnt to guide the dead across the veil. That light was the only evidence that people dwelled in the village.

Soon, one by one, the doors of the houses opened and the people streamed into the street with only a Jack- o - lantern to show them the way.

A bonfire was to be lit on the top of the hill tonight, the mother of all  the fires of the coming winter.

Alithia moved slowly through the procession while more doors opened  and men, women and childern moved silently uphill, the small lanterns in their hands dancing back and forth.

A yellow glow reached her eyes the higher uphill she went. Her heart filled with anticipation; this was the night of all nights; this was the witch's night.  She pulled her hat over her ears again and caressed one of the small bottles in her apron pocket.

(painting by Terrauh Barret)

Alithia looked around searching for a sign that the witches were here and that the ritual was about to begin. She didn't have to wait long because a woman  in a black cloak came out of the trees right at the edge of the forest. Soon, she was approached by another who putting something in her hand was allowed to enter the forest. That small gesture was all Alithia wanted to see.

Slowly and without attracting attention she walked towards the woman, pulled an acorn from under her hat and slid it inside the waiting woman's hand without saying a word. She felt the woman's eyes on her face from underneath her cloak. Silently, the woman pulled aside and let her pass. Alithia walked inside the dark forest feeling certain that in this moonless night she was going to be lost. 

She would have been for sure if another woman holding a Jack- o - Lantern didn't appear in the darkness. Relieved, Alithia slid another one of her acorns in her hand and the witch pulled aside.  

Now she was walking uphill, the trees were pulling away so the darkness around her became less dense with every step. She was able to see them long before she reached the top; A dozen witches had already gathered on the top of that hill, the ritual was about to begin.  

.......................................................

"Dark Mother, Goddess of Death and Rebirth, 

Ruler of the night,

assist me in my magickal rite.

Lift the veil between the worlds,

as this time-out-of-time begins and as the barrier thins.

I ask for your blessing and guidance as I commune with my ancestors

this Samhain night."

All twelve women in unison chanted into the night. Alithia's pockets were empty and she was feeling lighter than air. The little vials were given to the witches who now held them tightly in their hands waiting for the right moment to break them open at their feet. 

"Dark Father, aged Consort of the Crone,

Lord of the Underworld,

I ask for your blessing and favour on this magickal night,

and during this rite.

Keep safe my ancestors as they come to me,

from the other side of the Veil,

for me to hear and see."

One by one the witches cast their phials to the ground where they smashed filling the air with a dense green mist that covered the entire hill. All of them were silent as the portal, firstly as soft as a smoke ring and gradually more solid, appeared in front of them.

The circle was broken by the souls of the recently dead who glided past them and walked through the veil and into the other side. 

Some faces were smiling, others were looking around them confused but each and every one of them was guided through.

Some of the witches wept when they saw the faces of their beloved ones, who waved goodbye for one last time. 

More and more people came and walked inside the veil. Alithia tore her eyes off them to look at the ones who were waiting for them on the other side. Thin silhouettes of men, women and children were waiting for their loved ones with open arms, to take them into the other side.

There was a man standing at the far corner of the door on the side of the dead. He didn't seem to be waiting for anyone but was rather looking at her with longing eyes. She knew that man, she knew who he was. Her mouth fell open but she forced it shut with her hand.

"Father?" Alithia mouthed and her eyes filled with tears. Though her father had passed away more than a decade before she had never expected him to come for her.

"Father." she said again and the man nodded. Lifting his hand he waved at her and smiled. 

This was night of all nights, the night Alithia spent with the man she loved the most and had missed so; her father had come back for her and was now filling her with joy.

None of the women moved for the entire night, not until all souls were guided through.

Then the sky flushed with the first touch of  Sun and the magic mist scattered in the air. Only then did the witches sat on the ground to rest, but none of them found the strength to speak. 

Samhain had ended but their Gathering had just began, they had plenty of time for words.