Rituals for the Road: Making Your Own Talismans, Amulets, Charms

Before you travel for work, study, and pleasure, it’s good to create charms and talismans of power. You can also craft your own ritual tools from what you gather in your travels. Nature will often provide you with tools: shells, bark, and stones. In addition, you may also meet new spiritual teachers as you make your way on the pilgrimage that is life. Pay attention and you will learn much and receive many gifts.

A Medicine Wheel shamanic group run by Brooke Tarrant taught a group of drumming novices, myself included, how to make rattles and drums from recycled leather and sheepskin. In fact, all the materials we used to decorate our rattles and drums were found objects: crystals, sand, tiny shells, and sticks from the forest floor. Last, we used “feather medicine” and decorated the rattles with rawhide and found feathers, each with personal totemic meaning. With a final drumming circle and fire ceremony, we blessed the drums and rattles and each other. During the ceremony, we used both the new and old rattles and drums in some immensely powerful energy cleaning and healing. Even physical aches and pains were alleviated with these new tools. Rituals for the road should also be recorded in your Book of Shadows: what you find, who you meet, and what you create. When the spirit moves you, you should be creative. You can construct a sand mandala or take photographs on the beach to preserve your inspiration. One lovely custom from long ago: Upon your return home, create shadowboxes, which are really like little shrines of the sacred objects from the road.

Casting the Sacred Circle and Calling the Four Directions

Native American culture honors and respects ancestors as guiding spirits. This ritual uses Native American-inspired invocations of your ancestors as your guides.

Before calling the sacred circle, prepare yourself and your space as previously described. You may choose to cast the circle using a drum or rattle as you speak, saying:

Grandmothers and Grandfathers, please come and create the sacred circle of light. Surround me in a circle of light. Thank you.

Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the north, I thank you for coming and I welcome the energy of the north, Great Spirit, the sacred Mountains, connection to our ancestors and the elders, and connection to our knowing, remembering, and our wisdom. I welcome White Buffalo here. Aho!

Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the east, thank you for coming, and I welcome the energy of the east, the golden doorway that leads to all levels of awareness and understanding. I connect to the rising sun, to the warmth of the sun, to new beginnings, to illumination, and to the light, for mental clarity. I welcome the spirit seeds of new ideas and the male energy to move forward. I welcome the energy of Eagle here. Aho!

Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the south, I welcome you and thank you for coming. I welcome the energies of the south, innocence and play and coming into the world from our child’s wonder, our authentic self. I welcome the balance of lightheartedness. I welcome the energy of Coyote here. Aho!

Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the west, welcome. I give thanks to the energies of the west, the place of letting go of what no longer serves us, the place of diving deepinto the void, the darkness, Great Mystery, the place of the creative feminine and looking within. I welcome Bear here. Aho!

Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the Above World, I welcome you and the energies of Father Sky, the Cosmos, Star Beings, Light Beings, Ascended Masters, Angels, Archangels, and all who work with us from the light. Welcome. Aho!

Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the Below World, Great and Mother Earth, we welcome your mud, your beauty, and all our ancestors of the earth, the mineral kingdom, plant kingdom, animal kingdom, all creatures, and our relatives. We give thanks to you and all your vibrations and your wisdom. I welcome the nature spirits and align with the elements. Aho!

Grandmothers and Grandfathers at the Center of all being, we welcome you. I welcome the energy of love and well- being, the place that connects us all at heart. May we know our oneness and our unique gifts. Aho!

Once you have opened your chakras and created the sacred circle, you may call for a vision, pray for guidance, pray for healing, or choose to give thanks. This is a circle of light where you are connected to the divine source of love and light. Enjoy your journey. When you have completed your mission within the circle, open the circle by giving thanks to all who came to guide you, guides and totems, and all the energies of the directions. 

Guided Meditation

Close your eyes, take a deep breath in and let it go. Breathe in again, breathing in peacefulness and breathing out tension, breathing in joy, breathing out frustration, breathing in fresh air, breathing out staleness. Begin to imagine that you are sitting in a beautiful pyramid of golden light. The light within this pyramid totally surrounds your body. Take another deep breath, then let it go. Imagine that there is a mirror image of this pyramid beneath you grounding you into the earth, creating a structure of light all around you. Breathe in the light, feel its warmth, and relax.

Now image there is a ball of light at the top of the pyramid. Begin to bring this golden ball of light down through the top of your head through your crown area. Opening the crown chakra, located in the top of your head, allow the light to filter down through your crown into the center of your head and expand it out so that all the cells in your head become one with the light, relaxed yet alert. Now take another breath and, as you exhale, relax and let all the tension of the day drift away and become more and more relaxed with each breath you take. Now image the light moving in and out of the center of your forehead, opening up this energy center to the light. As you imagine this, feel the energy coming in and out of this area in the center of your forehead, opening up this energy center to the light. As you imagine this, feel the energy coming in and out of this area in the center of your forehead, opening this energy center for new awareness and clarity. Know that as you sit in sacred space and work with this guided meditation, this process will become easier for you.

Over time, you will develop new ways of sensing, feeling, or seeing the light energy, but for now, relax and allow this golden light to move from your head down to your throat... allowing the light to massage your throat, opening up your throat to the light...readying your throat to speak your truth. When you feel each center opening, simply move to the next, breathing in and out. Imagine the light moving from the throat now down to the heart, bringing warmth and a golden glow to the heart center. Open your heart to its warmth by imagining your heart as a flower unfolding, opening to the warmth of the sun and your breath.

Stay here in the heart feeling yourself nurtured by the light. Notice the rhythm of your heartbeat...your rhythm, your vibration...and breathe. And now allow yourself to go deeper within the heat. Ask to go to your deeper heart, your soul heart, your wisdom heart...we all know this place...ask to go to this place and sit there with yourself. When you’re ready, bring the golden light from the heart center to the upper belly and open up the solar plexus chakra to the light. Sit there for a while, feeling this energy center open. When you are ready, move on. Bring the light to the lower belly, opening this energy center, and sit there for a while. Now bring the light from the lower belly to the base of your spine, your root chakra, opening this energy center to the light. Once you feel your connection at the base of your spine, imagine a cord of light running from the base of your spine into the center of the earth, grounding you in the earth. Know now that you are connected to heaven and earth and yourself for all of your knowing.

This meditation is a powerful way to connect before each healing process. It opens and connects you to yourself, the divine and the earth, providing an inner connectedness that supports inner listening.

At this point, invite in your spiritual guides or guardians, if you have not already done so before entering into the guided meditation.

Calling guides and helpers is easy. Simply say, “Guardians from the light, please come to me and assist me on my healing journey.” You may choose to know them and can say, “Show yourselves to me; let me know your presence.” Sometimes a friend or loved one who has passed away will come, sometimes an old pet will appear, sometimes you may feel a touch on your shoulder or a loving presence. Trust these moments. You can always ask, “Who is with me from the light?” If you feel a strange presence that makes you uncomfortable, ask who it is or simply ask the energy to go to the light and leave your space now. If you are unaware of guides or elders that work with you, there are some exercises later to introduce you to your helpers. Your higher self and other higher beings, such as angels, must be called. They are always present, but to actively work with you they must be invited. I call them like this: “Angels, Archangels, please come and be with me now. I would like your presence with me for this healing. Higher Self, please work with me now.” I also call all my guides and animal allies whenever I create my sacred space. 

Energy Work: Managing Energy and Creating Sacred Space

Liz Ashling is a shamanic leader in Larkspur, California, who has worked with hundreds of people in her practice to help them live in balance and “awaken oneness.” She has inspired the following meditation. This uniquely holistic approach to energy management provides the opportunity for deep inner work, since within sacred space you experience meaningful exploration to transform your life.

I suggest that you create a special space for yourself, a safe space for healing, such as an altar or healing sanctuary. You want to focus on what you wish to heal. You may wish to write out an intention list with your desires. While you hold your healing intention in your mind, begin to notice what would support your intention. It may be a picture of a healed person, a symbol, or a picture of a spiritual master such as St. Francis, the Blessed Mother, Kuan Yin, or the Buddha. Choose whomever you feel most connected with. Honor Mother Earth by placing a bowl of water on the altar as well as a white candle to banish bad energy. Use something to represent the element of fire and something to represent the earth: fresh flowers, crystals, and pictures of a sculpture of your animal allies and totems. If you have a permanent sacred place with an altar, simply add items with healing powers that match your healing intentions. The ritual of creating an altar provides support to your process.

Here is where you can apply your personal design and creativity. Tap into your intuition and let it be your guide in this sacred shrine. Altars may include a variety of items, such as minerals like rose quartz, amethyst, quartz crystal, turquoise, or any other minerals that promote healing and add supportive energy during your process. Some people use sage, evergreen, or cedar to prepare themselves and their space, asking to clear away earthly demands and confusion as they smudge. The result is the enhancement of listening to yourself, which leads to a deeper inner wisdom. Some people choose to use holy water or wear a gold cross as they do their healing process, while other place a glass bowl of blessed salt water on their altar to keep the space clear. Any of these can help to create sacred space and prepare you for your process. You may wish to play classical or soothing music in the background while you process. I prefer silence of my drum and rattles.

You should do the following exercises in silence, without interruption, and in a safe place. Once you have created your space, sit quietly without being disturbed for an hour or so. Turn off your phone and get comfortable. I suggest that you sit rather than lie down because you will be less likely to fall asleep. Now close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to quiet yourself. Note: I suggest that you read these exercises into a tape player, so you can simple close your eyes and listen to the process. 

Recording Your Rituals

I recommend creating a Book of Shadows to keep notes on ceremonies you have participated in and witnessed. Your BOS can and should be a document of what works for you in terms of specifics—moon phases, colors, numbers, herbs, etc. You can greatly expand your BOS with notes on your ritual projects and your life as a work in progress. Here should be your musings, your writing of invocations, your hopes, and your intentions. I call this the “journal of the journey,” and it can take any form of your imagination as long as it catches the deep truths of what you hope to accomplish.

Your ritual record need not be fancy, but it should be raw, honest, and real. Tell the stories of what really happened, mistakes and all. Those who are the most truthful and open will gain the most from their record of experience. Not every group ritual will be a smashing success—someone will be grumpy, someone else might say the words wrong, or you will all get nervous and forget what to do. Or nature may change your plans. For example, an outdoor full moon circles planed for a year may be driven indoors by a rainstorm that puts out the candles and wilts every spirit. Nevertheless, I am always encouraged and amazed to discover the so-called mistakes we learn most from. If everything is perfect, the ritual is more likely to slip from memory. Life itself is messy and bumpy. Think of the metaphor of the Navajo blanket in which the weaver, despite his skill, always makes one mistake. The metaphor is that life itself is not perfect, and the blanket should be reflective of life. That one “crooked thread” can be the strongest stitch holding the fabric together.

At one full moon weekend, a woman’s circle organized by Z. Budapest started off badly when several women didn’t show up, failing to help pay for the retreat house. The ever-resilient Z. only noted the resulting blessings. The women present created a coven of thirteen, a number sacred to the goddess. With fewer women, we could cook and clean up faster, leaving more time to hike in the woods and pray. During the first hike, we discovered a natural spring bubbling out of the side of the mountain. Inspired by this miracle of nature, we splashed and bathed and Z. created an on-the-spot goddess water rite. It was the highlight of the retreat, and an unexpected blessing. Pure magic was woven by Z.’s experienced hand with this crooked golden thread. By documenting and sharing the ritual stories, I have learned much about ritual and about myself in the process. 

Designing Your Own Rituals: Traditional and Alternative

Participating in ritual can change your life. Even practicing one ritual can uplift and inspire you for years, and regular involvement can lead to spiritual riches. Ritual is soul work. Increasingly, with our hectic workday schedules, you may find yourself creating rituals and meditating alone, praying by yourself, and performing daily spiritual practices solo.

In addition to planning more intricate proceedings, you should also craft little on-the-spot private rituals that serve immediate spiritual needs. You can celebrate your gratitude to a deity that is special to you or light a candle and meditate at your altar on a holy day. Your rituals should reflect the ebb and flow of you outer life and your inner work.

This kind of ritual is simple and pure; I call it real ritual. Your spiritual pursuits should be a mix of simple, solo ceremonies and more complex ones that you perform alone or with others. The work of the soul is stimulated by interactions with others and grows in your time alone. Rituals enliven and add meaning to each day. Your simple daily ceremonies and practices are the individual threads that weave the fabric of your life rather like a tapestry quilt that grows thread by thread, stitch by stitch, and square by square. You need the threads, the patches, and the squares to hold together the tapestry of a rich, memory-filled, and meaningful life.

You can choose from the wealth of correspondences in the appendices to add layers of meaning, depth, and effectiveness, building your knowledge, expanding your experiences, and connecting you to the world’s wise traditions. Also, by keeping a Book of Shadows or personal ritual journal, you will have your own set of measurements and memories of what has worked for you. The appendix gives ingredients that you can add to your ritual “recipe.” Let’s say you want to create a personal and private ritual to get a new job. You can look up the best time to do it in the Ritual Resources section and you will see that a Thursday new moon would be an optimum choice to perform such a ritual. 

There are also different divinities you can choose from to call upon for help in this ritual, from jovial Jupiter to the very sympathetic and helpful Lakshmi, to name just two. There are also a variety of herbs and plants you can choose from to assist with money matters, along with correct colors for candles and essences for both incense and oils that supply abundance. When you create your new job ritual, therefore, you can select the right traditional correspondence that matches your need and you are halfway there.

Focus and attention concerning your intention are of equal importance. In terms of the language of your original ritual, you should write from your heart, which will ensure that the words will personally affect you and work for you. Believe in yourself and believe in your intention and the right words will flow. There is no exact science to writing rituals. Just match the words and correspondences to your intention, and you will be a creator of rituals.

It is natural that once you are completely comfortable working with the realm of existing rituals, you should begin to trust you own intuition and create your own. Listen to your inner voice and trust yourself. Correspondences are a start, but you must take a leap of faith and delve into the depths of your own psyche for rituals you create, enact, and share with the world.

While we know there is no exact science to ritual design, there is an art to it, and the knack is developed from participating in group rituals, learning from the experienced elders, performing private rituals, and endeavoring to craft rituals on your own for every season and reason. The art of creating rituals is the work of the heart, and while it is not always easy, it is the work of creating joy in your life. With each ritual, you are taking a step to a reality of your own creation. Rites and ceremonies serve many purposes in our lives. They can be designed to fulfill one person’s wish, help a member of your spiritual circle, or help heal the entire world like the Dalai Lana’s sand mandala ritual. There are no limitations to the scope of rituals you can design. Where there is need, you can supply intention and inspiration and, in so doing, spread bliss in your wake. Rituals can change the world, and your rituals will most certainly change your world. When you are designing ritual, you are really designing the life of your dreams. 

Winter Solstice Ritual, December 21

Winter solstice rituals traditionally celebrate the rebirth of the sun. In a safe place outdoors, build a bonfire and create a solstice altar to the east of it. Place a small cauldron with a candle in it on the altar, and surround it with mistletoe, ivy, and holly. Participants should also wear crowns woven from these evergreens. If it is too cold or snowy where you live, you can gather indoors and form a semicircle around the fireplace, or around the altar.

Begin the ritual by holding hands around the fire. Hum softly, gradually building the hum to a shout. This shout represents the cries of the Goddess giving birth once again to the sun, and to the new year. The ritual leader says:

All bow to the East! Hail to the newborn Sun, and to the Great Goddess who has brought him forth!

Everyone bows to honor the Sun God and the Mother Goddess. The ritual leader chants: 

Brigid,

Diana,

Morgan,

Cerridwen,

Heaven’s Queen,

By the light of this moon In this dark night,

Teach us the mystery of rebirth.

The ritual leader lights the candle in the cauldron while everyone else remains perfectly still. Now is the time when the Goddess will reveal herself privately to each participant. If you are outdoors, listen and look carefully for a sign. Traditional omens are a sudden wind, shooting stars, the screeching of
an owl, and the appearance of a deer. Even if you are indoors by the fire, the Goddess will still make herself known in your heart. When the time feels right, the ritual leader says:

Queen of the Stars, 

Queen of the Moon, 

Queen of the Earth, 

Bringer of Fire,

The Great Mother gives birth to this new year 

And we are her witnesses.

Everyone shouts: 

Blessed be!

Pass the lit cauldron to each participant so they can speak a blessing for the new year and the new sun. Place the cauldron with the candle back on the altar. The ritual leader closes the ritual with this final expression of gratitude to the Goddess: 

Blessed be to the Mother Goddess 

Thank you for the sun that gives us life 

Without beginning and without end 

Everlasting in Eternity.

This ritual is now done!

A toast to the new sun should take place with hot cider or mead, and warm festive foods. 

Kwanzaa: December 26th

In 1966, a Black Studies professor at California State University in Long Beach, Maulana Ron Karenga, conceived Kwanzaa, which means “first fruit” in Swahili. Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1) is very much a community ritual and begins with a gathering before an altar covered with the symbols of the season: corn; a woven mat; a unity cup; and an African flag of red, black, and green. Also on the altar are gifts made by the hand and a special Kwanzaa candleholder holding seven taper candles. The colors of the candles are red, for the blood of the people; black, for the people themselves; and green, for the land. Each night of the festival, a candle is lit commemorating and honoring the Seven Principles, Nguzo Saba, of Kwanzaa:

1. Umoja for unity

2. Kujichaguliaforself-determination

3. Ujima for shared works

4. Ujamaa for shared monies

5. Nia for life purpose

6. Kuumbaforcreativity

7. Imani for faith 

Chanukah: the Festival of Lights

Here we have another moveable feast, which is one of the most beloved of all Jewish holidays. As we know from the Roman historian, Tacitus, in the second century BCE Antiochus IV, the Seleucidian king, blocked all Jews from visiting their own temple on Mount Zion and tried to force them to sacrifice swine and eat the meat, which is against their religion. He also placed an edict commanding Jews, under penalty of death, to leave their sons uncircumcised. The stubborn and cruel Antiochus also invaded the Jewish temple on Mount Zion and installed a statue of Zeus therein. Many lives were lost in the struggle, but the Jewish resistance, led by Judah Maccabee, the “Jewish Hammer,” overcame the Greek forces and reconsecrated the temple on the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev in 165 BCE The triumphant Jews declared that this event should be remembered each year with a festival. Judah then lit the candelabra, or menorah, in the temple. The miracle of the menorah is that there was only enough lamp oil for one night but it lasted eight nights, thus the tradition of lighting a candle each day during Chanukah’s eight nights. Feasting is also an important part of the ritual, with the customary latkes (fried potato pancakes) often topped with applesauce and sour cream.

December Festivals, Ceremonies, and Rituals

December 1, Festival of Pallas Athene (Ancient Greece) 

December 2, Festival of Shiva (Hindu)

December 3, St. Xavier’s Feast Day

December 4, International Hug Day

December 5, International Volunteers Day 

December 6, St. Nicholas Day, precursor to St. Nick

December 7, Burning the Devil Night in Guatemala, La Quema Del Diablo

December 8, Festival of Ix Chel, Mayan lunar goddess 

December 9, Virgin of Guadalupe first appears (1591) 

December 10, International Human Rights Day 

December 11, Pilgrimages at Tortuga, New Mexico

December 12, Pilgrimages at Guadalupe in Mexico, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

December 13, Saint Lucia Day in Sweden

December 14, Feast of St. John of the Cross

December 15, Consualia in Rome

December 16, Las Posadas in Mexico, procession commemorating the Holy Family’s search for lodging

December 17, Saturnalia begins

December 18, Virgin of Solitude Day in Oaxaca, Mexico

December 19, Feast of Saint Boniface, the apostle of Germany

December 20, Commerce God Festival in Japan

December 21, Winter solstice

December 22, Saint Chaeremon Day

December 23, Laurentalia, Roman festival of hallowing the home

December 24, Mother Night (Anglo-Saxon) 

December 25, Christmas Day

December 26, First day of Kwanzaa (Afro-American)

December 27, Freya’s Day (Teutonic)

December 28, Holy Innocents Day (Mexico) 

December 29, Saint Thomas of Canterbury’s Day

December 30, Nia, or Purpose Night during the celebration of Kwanzaa

December 31, Hogmanay (Scotland)

Nearly every solar god is celebrated in December—Baal, Attis, Adonis, Apollo, Ra, Baldur, and Mithra, to name a few. Scots celebrate Hogmanay, a secular holiday with roots in the worship of the ancient solar god, Hogmagog. Yule is one of the pagan sabaats, or the eight holidays of the wheel of the year, and is celebrated on December 21, the shortest day of the year. The word Yule comes from the Germanic jol, and means midwinter. The old tradition was to have a vigil and a bonfire from dusk to dawn to make sure the sun does indeed rise again on this longest night of the entire year. 

Diwali Ritual

 Diwali offers us the opportunity to vanquish our own demons and start anew. The symbols of light and sweetness are used here to represent the intention to replace resentment and bitterness with hope and balm. Essential elements of this ritual are plenty of candles, a new piece of clothing (such as a scarf) or a new item of jewelry, and a plate of sweet cakes, confections, or candy.

Light as many candles as you can in the room where you are performing this ritual. Create a circle of candles, and create sacred space by having a symbol of each element in your circle: a dish of salt or earth, a cup of water, incense, and a candle. Sit lotus-style in the center of your circle and relax in the flickering candlelight. Feel the center of your circle and relax in the flickering candlelight. Feel the presence of the four elements and the balance they create. Notice how warm and alive the room feels. Notice how the gentle, flickering candlelight makes you feel safe. Now think back to all the difficult situations you have experienced over the past year and think of the people who have angered or hurt you. Imagine them surrounded by the warm, loving candlelight, and say to each of them, one by one:

I release you. May the lights of Diwali bless you.

As you release each person or situation, visualize their image melting into the candlelight. While the image fades from your mind’s eye, place a bite of the cake or confection in your mouth. Allow the treat to dissolve, spreading its sweetness across your tongue. Visualize and feel that sweetness spreading through you, counteracting any of the traces of pain or bitterness that might remain. This is the sweetness that your new life holds, untainted by these bitter demons that have held you back.

When you have finished releasing your demons to the light, purify the new piece of clothing or item of jewelry by passing it through the smoke of the incense. Put on your new piece of jewelry of clothing, saying:

With this act, I declare the past gone, and see the future bright with hope.

Stay within your circle of light as long as you desire. Leave some of the cake or sweets as an offering to the gods in thanks for your new life. 

Diwali in India: The Cluster of Lights Festival

Diwali, one of the most beloved holidays in all of India, is another moveable feast that generally takes place around mid-November. People will circumnavigate the globe to return home to be with their family during this special time. The Hindus treasure this late-autumn festival week and dress up their homes and themselves. All the streets and windows are brightly lit with special diwali lamps, small ceramic affairs filled with oil and cotton wicks that twinkle like stars, in every home and even on fences, garden walks, and porches.

Diwali is like a New Year, when everyone can start again, forgiving quarrels, wearing new clothes, and starting life anew with a fresh attitude and bright hopes. In the village and mountainous regions of India, bonfires are going strong, warming up the landscape along with fireworks that light up the night skies.

Diwali honors the victory of Rama, an avatar aspect of Vishnu who battled a ten-headed demon that stole Rama’s wife, Sita, with devotional music, lamp-lighting rituals, feasting, games, gambling, gift giving, and special foods, such as sweets, fruits, candies, and pastries that are constructed into temple- like towers.

November Ceremonies, Festivals, and Rituals

November 1, All Saints Day

November 2, All Souls Day, Dia de los Muertos

November 3, St. Hubert’s Day, celebrated with a hunter’s Mass

November 4, Mischief Night in England with bonfires and firecrackers, a “festival of chaos”

November 5, Guy Fawkes Day in England since 1605, also known as Bonfire Night

November 6, Leonhardi-ritt in Bavaria, for St. Leonard, patron saint of cattle

November 7, Mayan ghost banquet

November 8, Fuigo Matsuri, festival honoring Hettsui no Kami, Japanese goddess of the kitchen hearth

November 9, Dia de Camana (Peru)

November 10, Martin Luther’s birthday (1483)

November 11, Remembrance Day, Armistice Day

November 12, Tesuque Feast Day for Pueblo Indians

November 13, Roman festival of Jupiter

November 14, South America’s Little Carnival before Advent

November 15, Recycling Day (United States)

November 16, Festival of Bast (Ancient Egypt)

November 17, The Leonid meteor shower is visible on this day

November 18, Saint Plato’s Day 

November 19, Pilgrimage Day for Islam

November 20, Ebisu-ko, Japanese ceremony to the prophet god

November 21, Presentation of the Virgin Mary

November 22, St. Cecelia’s Day, patron saint of musicians 

November 23, St. Clement’s Day, saint of blacksmiths

November 24, Feast of Burning Lamps for Isis and Osiris (Ancient Egypt)

November 25, Mange Yam, harvest festival (Haiti)

November 26, Thanksgiving if a Thursday and St. Peter of Alexandria Day

November 27, St. Maximus’ Day in Provence 

November 28, Baha’i Ascension of Abdul-Baha in 1892

November 29, St. Andrew’s Eve, a night of fortune-telling in Europe

November 30, Saint Andrew’s Day 

Halloween Altar

On October 31, the veil is thinnest between the two worlds of the living and the dead. It is of vital importance to honor the dead. One way to do this is to create a special altar for this day, a tradition that comes down to us from the Celts among others. Create a new shrine just for this occasion with a chest or table in your home where people will see it and acknowledge your ancestors. On the altar, place photos, letters, and any mementos that will bring the energy of your late loved ones close.

Place candles on the altar and light them during twilight. While it may seem uncomfortable at first, talk to your ancestors and tell them about what is going on in your life. Share memories and speak about whatever you feel inspired to speak of—grief, hopes for the future, troubles, all you need to share. Take as much time as you need with this. Place the bowl of water with white flowers—gardenias are an excellent choice—on the altar and leave it overnight.

In the morning, say good morning and goodbye until next year. Then take the water and pour it in your front yard or outside near the front door of your home. You have communed with your beloved dead, and they are now free to leave and return to you next year. The water contains all the blessings and love from your ancestors whom you have honored and with the special altar, and you will receive their blessings and love every time you walk through your front door. 

Chinese Harvest Mooncake

In China, the full or Harvest Moon in October is celebrated with mooncakes, which are offered to the Goddess Chang-O, the Lady in the Moon. This is the time when wheat and rice are harvested, making it an important time of thanksgiving for food to have on hand through the winter season.

The rice and the wheat are baked into cakes that look like the big round moon up in the sky and are used as offerings, along with melons and pomegranates, to the goddess. The women making the mooncakes put their intentions into them by whispering secret wishes into the batter. The unifying action of blending and mixing the tasty cakes represents family harmony. One sweet aspect of this ritual is the selection of a young girl to enter the “heavenly garden.” At the ritual feast for the goddess of the Harvest Moon, this young lady becomes the prophet of her family and community, and she is urged to share her visions about the coming year and the prosperity of the village or the land. Feasting on mooncakes and other ritual foods is followed by games and singing under the bright light of Chang-O’s moon.

October Celebrations, Festivals, & Rituals

 October 1, Beginning of Shinto “Godless” Month in Japan with pilgrimages to shrines temporarily abandoned by the gods and spirits

October 2, Old Man’s Day in Hertfordshire, England, a day of charity and prayer

October 3, Zhong Oiu Jie is a moveable Chinese Moon festival celebrated around this time

October 4, Saint Francis Day, when pets are blessed

October 5, Pilgrimage to Zapopan in Jalisco, Mexico, celebrating the Virgin

October 6, Festival of Vishnu begins (Hindu)

October 7, United Nations Children’s Day

October 8, Okunchi in Japan with a lucky lion dance parade 

October 9, Han’Gul, Alphabet Day (Korea)

October 10, Shuangshi Jie, National Day in Taiwan, also called “Double Tenth Day,” a festival of folk dancing, sword fighting, and martial arts

October 11, Medrinalia in Rome, the celebration of new wine 

October 12, Fiesta de Nuestra Senora del Pilar in Spain

October 13, Fontinalia, Roman Festival in honor of Fons, son of Jupiter

October 14, Japanese Battle Festival, Mega-kenka Matsuri, celebrated with battle rites and reenactments since 201 CE

October 15, Festival of Mars (Ancient Rome) 

October 16, World Food Day

October 17, Family Day (South Africa) 

October 18, Heroes Day (Jamaica)

October 19, Our Lord of Miracles procession in Peru since 1687

October 20, Guru Har Rai Day for Sihks

October 21, Festival of the Black Christ in Panama, El Jesus Nazareno

October 22, Cheung Yeung (Hong Kong)

October 23, Swallows depart from Capistrano (and arrive back on March 19, St. Joseph’s Day)

October 24, United Nations Day celebrated globally with school fairs, concerts, exhibitions, and banquets

October 25, Saint Crispin’ Day (1415), immortalized in Shakespeare’s Henry V

October 26, Quit Rent Day in Europe, celebrated with ceremonies, feasts, and presentations and token payment of rent with horseshoes

October 27, Feast of the Holy Souls

October 28, Meiji Festival in Tokyo featuring five days of performances, classical court dances, concerts and horseback-archery contests

October 29, Ringing of “Lost in the Dark” Church Bells in England

October 30, Angels’ Night, also known as Devil’s Night (United States)

October 31, Halloween, Samhain

Although October is the tenth month of the year, it comes from the Latin word for eight, as it was the eighth month in the Roman calendar. The Romans designated the month of October to honor Astraea, daughter of Zeus and Themis. Astraea lived on earth, but when mankind became too evil, she departed to the stars. The chilly air and biting winds of October symbolize her departure from earth. The Celts call October Deireadh Fomhair, and the Anglo-Saxons called it Winterfelleth, which translates to “winter is coming.” The Franks linked October to the grape harvest and the pressing of new wine, calling it Vintage Month or Windurmanoth, Farmers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in America called the October full moon the Hunter’s Moon, and Native Americans refer to October as Second Summer, which is why we sometimes call it Indian Summer. 

Autumn Equinox

Here is a wonderfully creative variation on this seasonal rite designed by Robin Heerens Lysne, the author of Living a Sacred Life. It is based on the Native American Muskogee Creek tribal story about the spider who weaves her web sack to catch the sun and bring it back to earth. Lysne suggests holding a potluck dinner followed by a story-telling session as the light begins to wane. While people tell their equinox or fall season stories and feelings, they should hold the end of a ball of yarn or string and toss the ball to the next person to signal that it is their turn. As people hold the yarn, they should wrap it once around their wrists. When the talking is done, you will have a web of people woven together. Make the web of life with the yarn, symbolizing the weaving of night, day, relationships, and the time of autumn. When you are finished, let yourselves be in the web and contemplate the meaning of your connections.

The Orishas of Santeria

On September 22, 1862, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate freedom from oppression for the hardy and deeply spiritual Africans who kept their own religions alive despite the incredible odds against them.

African slaves brought their native religion with them wherever they went. African spirituality is based on nature—water, rivers, plants, seashells, and all the elements of the world around them. When the Africans came to the Catholic lands in Central and South America, their African deities were blended with Catholic saints to make an interesting new religion called Santeria. It was their way of keeping their African religion alive, and it has worked well. These orishas are spirit guardians, similar to those honored in Candomble. All of life is believed to come from one great creative force, Oloddumare. Practitioners of Santeria believe that everyone has one orisha as a guardian throughout his or her life.

• Aganyu corresponds to Saint Christopher. This volcano god is the father of Chango and whose mother is Yemmu. He can protect you from harm but only if you make your appeal through Chango.
• Babalu-Aye is associated with Saint Lazarus and is the deity to turn to for healing. He is one of the most beloved and needed of all the orishas. Babalu-Aye travels about with a bag of corn and offers healing and prosperity.
• Chango is a male god who corresponds to Saint Barbara. Chango holds major power. Red-coated and covered with cowry shells, Chango loves the good life—women, food, drink, dance, fire, lightning. He is the hot orisha. Call on Chango when you need passion in love.
• Eleggua corresponds to Saint Anthony, but he is a trickster who creates bewilderment in his wake. He is “all-knowing” and wants to be acknowledged first before any other orisha. Because order comes from chaos, it is believed that Eleggua brings us into wholeness.
• Obatala is a deity of both genders who corresponds to
  Our Lady of Mercy. He is a bringer of peace and purity, as evidenced by his white robes. Obatala teaches temperance and can help us control obsessive thoughts, anger, worry, and fear.
• Our Lady of Mercy. He is a bringer of peace and purity, as evidenced by his white robes. Obatala teaches temperance and can help us control obsessive thoughts, anger, worry, and fear.
• Ochosi corresponds to Saint Norbert and is the hunter god who lives in the woods. He protects and helps hunters, is a healer, and helps with legal issues. Ochosi is the orisha to turn to if you need to relocate.
• Oggun corresponds to Saint Peter and is the warrior orisha, holding all metals under his domain. Call on Oggun when you need a job or if you need a protector.
• Orunmila corresponds to Saint Francis of Assisi and is the orisha of fate. He is “one who lives both in heaven and on earth.” Since he holds all our fates in his hands, he can help us improve our destiny.
• Oshun corresponds to Our Lady of Charity and is a river goddess. She is the Santerian Venus and looks after affairs of the heart—love, marriage, and money. She gives us joy and abundance.
• Oya corresponds to Saint Teresa and is a deity of the dead. She is also a goddess of the winds and boundaries. Oya is a warrior and offers protection against death and is quite aggressive. She is married to Chango. 
• Yemaya corresponds to Our Lady of Regla and is a goddess of the moon and of the ocean and the patroness of pregnancy. She is always depicted as a gorgeous goddess who helps girls make the passage to womanhood. Yemaya is one of the most popular orishas.