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A Newsletter for Shining Lakes Grove, A.D.F.
Once again, the wheel of the year has returned to the beginning, and Samhain is here. Samhain is the High Day when we neo-pagan Druids honor the Ancestors, one of the three Kindreds (along with the Deities and the Nature Spirits) who are part of our cosmology. This time of the year has long been associated with death, with the turning of the leaves, the lessening of the sun's time in the sky each day, and the meat harvest, when the ancients decided how many animals they could manage to keep through the winter, and killed the rest.
Since the Ancestors are in our thoughts more often at this time of year, now would be a great time to set up an Ancestors altar in your home, if you don't already have one. The first thing to consider is the location of the altar. You should try to have a space set aside on a table or shelf, without anything else in that space. Try to have the altar in a part of your home where you will see it or walk by it every day, as this will help keep the Ancestors in your thoughts. Putting the altar along a western wall would be good, since the west is associated with the Ancestors in many traditions-the Isle of Avalon was to the west of Ireland, and of course west is the direction of sunset, the "death" of every day.
What should you put on your Ancestor altar? Anything that you associate with the Ancestors, of course. Anything that was given to you by an Ancestor when they were alive, anything made by them, and photographs of them are all good. If you don't have any of these, you can always draw a picture of them, or use an item that reminds you of them. For instance, anything involving a tiger would remind me of my grandmother.
And remember, the Ancestors aren't just the people who are related to you. They can be put into three categories-Ancestors of Blood (the ones who are related to you), Ancestors of Spirit (those who have taught you or inspired you in some way), and Ancestors of Place (those who lived in this land, or in your home, before you). You can have items for anyone who has passed on, if they are special to you.
You might also want to include a statue of a deity associated with the dead-Mannanan, the god of the dead in our Grove's cosmology, would be a great choice. I plan on adding a statue of Hermes, the Greek god who led the dead to the Underworld, to my Ancestors altar.
What sort of offerings should you make to the Ancestors? Food and drink are traditional offerings. The traditions I'm familiar with agree on one point-the more "aromatic" (i.e. smelly) the offerings, the better! From my experience, they love strong-smelling food and drink. If you are going to give food offerings at home, leave the food on the altar for a while, then dispose of the food someplace where animals will be able to dispose of the physical offerings. If you live in an urban area without many animals, you'll probably want to limit your food offerings accordingly. (I would suggest feeding them to your pets, but I would never ever feed people food to pets, as I'm sure my dachshund Sara will attest.)
As an alternative to food offerings, you might write a daily devotional for yourself. This would be something you could say and do every day at roughly the same time, to honor your Ancestors. As I mentioned earlier, sometime around sunset would be the ideal time for an Ancestors devotional. You can make it as simple or complicated as you like. It can be as easy as lighting a candle every night, focusing your attention on the candle's flame, and saying something like:
You who came before me
And laid the foundations of my world
And gave me breath
And showed me the path
I honor you this night.
I hope this helps you build a meaningful relationship with your Ancestors. And don't forget your living ancestors-call your parents and tell them you love them! Just because we believe that we can tell them after they die, doesn't mean you should wait! Call them already!
Yours in service to the Kindreds and the Grove,
Rob
Henderson, Senior Druid
![[sun]](images/slnsun.gif)
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Triskele Rivers Grove (based in Cincinnati) in an official capacity as the Guildmaster of Shining Lakes Grove's Healers' Guild. Triskele Rivers Grove was having their Samhain Festival, and like all their High Day celebrations, it lasted all weekend. My main purpose was to give Reiki attunements to the members of their Healers' Guild, as a part of an inter-Guild cooperative. My secondary purpose was to spend a nice weekend with another Grove. I feel that it is important to have a dialogue and interaction between Shining Lakes Grove and other Groves in ADF. As I am also the Guildmaster of our Warriors' and Magicians' Guilds, I looked forward to meeting and discussing Guild activities with the heads of these Guilds in Triskele Rivers Grove as well.
I arrived around 10:30 am on Saturday, October 28. The festival site was in a lovely field with adjoining woods. I was warmly greeted, and I enjoyed great hospitality from my hosts. The Guildmaster for their Healers' Guild, Krystal Wolf, had lent me a tent and I found that it had already been set up for me. After getting settled, I spent a couple hours meeting new folks and relaxing after my five-hour trip.
Then it was time to give the Reiki attunements. There were six people interested, mostly from their Healers' Guild. The attunements were given outside in a wooded area that is used as ritual space, and I felt that the attunements went very well. Everyone reported having a wonderful experience. Time was spent going over the manual and training on how to use Reiki. Practice time was also set aside the next day to gain hands-on experience on using Reiki on someone.
Overall, I found the trip to be well worth the effort. Visiting with another Grove that has local Guilds was very enlightening. I got to "talk shop" and compare notes on how things were done in our respective Healers' Guilds. I brought back many great ideas and, in turn, shared with my new friends ideas of my own, which were well received.
While I was there, I got the chance to spend time with Cullen, the head of Triskele Rivers Grove's Warriors' Guild. Their Warriors' Guild is very active, and is strongly represented in their rituals. Again, as with the Healers' Guild, there was a positive exchange of ideas, and tentative plans were made for a joint Warriors' Guild retreat.
I have always said that having local Guilds is the key to having a successful Grove. Guilds offer a more intimate setting where deeper friendships can be cultivated between like-minded individuals within the Grove. Attending High Day rites is important, but I don't feel that it is a good forum to really connect to your fellow Grovemates in the way that the Guilds do. Triskele Rivers Grove and Shining Lakes Grove are the largest Groves in ADF at the moment, and we are the only ones with local Guilds. Coincidence? I don't think so.
And so on Sunday, I bid farewell to the wonderful people of Triskele Rivers Grove, with many hugs and offers to have me visit again, and made my way back to Michigan and to my Grove.
Rodney Cox, Assistant Senior Druid
![[duck]](images/slnduck.gif)
Congratulations to the new officers of Shining Lakes Grove, to be inducted this Samhain:
And thanks to everyone who voted! Your participation is vital to the success of the Grove.
![[pumpkin]](images/slnpumpkin.gif)
SLG Yule Cards are now available. They come with a foil-embossed winter scene on the front, and the message "Season's Greetings" inside. They cost 50 cents each, or ten for $4. Envelopes are included. Contact Rob Henderson at (734) 487-4931 or robh@cyberspace.org to order.