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Happy Halloween!

As the wheel of the year turns once more, we find ourselves drawn into the depths of darkness, a season that beckons us toward the warmth of the hearth, and into the loving embrace of family and dear ones.

Today we celebrate Samhain, known as Halloween in the modern world. It's a time when the veil between our realms grows thin, and those who've crossed over may reach out to us, offering wisdom or caution. Listen closely, for even in whispers as elusive as creeping fog, their messages hold significance. If a voice, like a thin, moist mist, warns you to beware, heed its counsel. On Samhain, you might not see their misty astral forms in the sunlight, but you'll feel their presence, unsettling and real, much like a scene from a chilling horror tale.

The spirit world's mysteries reach farther than our imagination dares to wander. I know this intimately, having witnessed, smelled, and tasted its essence in our first home—an 1848 Civil War-era farm, undoubtedly haunted, but a story for another time.

There are indeed things that go bump in the night, and it's wise to be attuned to them. You'll sense their presence in a sudden chill in the air, the sweet fragrance of spring honeysuckle or lilac on a crisp autumn evening, or a phantom hand resting upon your shoulder, as a friend experienced one Samhain eve while tending to her horses. She turned, finding no one there, only the fading voice of her Lakota grandfather cautioning her about the old barn ladder.

There's a little bit of witch in every woman…

Throughout centuries, we've attempted to grapple with the unseen, the unexplained, either by casting them out, ridiculing them, or denying their existence. However, these simple forms of banishment prove futile, for how can we rid ourselves of something