Creati(vity)on Calls
If you like to write, paint, sing, dance or do any other type of creative activity, Samhain can be especially inspiring. The color of the turning leaves, the differing patterns of light as the days shorten, the sounds and the smells, all of these and more stimulate your senses. So, today I would like to share some writing and photography that was inspired by this season of the Witch. Enjoy!

Part the Veils (2013)

In shadowy forest of trees
And blackness of night
The call issues forth
To come dance round
Blazing bonfire bright.

Come heed the call
The mysteries of
Samhain night to be taught
By blessed Ancestor and Kin
Their wisdom to be sought.

The veils finally thinned
The Gates open wide
For Kith and for Kin
To walk by your side.

Night wind chills thickened air
Hush now be silent to hear
The soft whispers of gentle
Spirits who linger quite near.

You know the hidden path
Dried leaves crackle underfoot
You walk through the woods
Canopy of tree holds the darkness
Thick and heavy like blackened soot.

A sacred circle of clearing revealed
Carefully scribed and lovingly prepared
You call to the Ancestors
Your intent boldly declared.

Fire blazes full and flames leap high
As words pierce the silence of night
Wisps of smoke flicker here and there
As you surrender and open to true sight.

Cloaked shadowy figures emerge
Near the trunk of each autumn tree
Penetrating and loving eyes look on
Shrouding their deep mystery.

Wispy fingers that beckon
Calling the Beloved to Their side
Listen closely for answers from
Them to silent questions you
Dare not and cannot hide.

Surrender all of your fears
These specters mean you no harm
Through joys, pain and suffering
They have always helped dry your
Tears and offered up their calm.

Part the veils held between
Ancestor Spirit and gentle Human
Their gift on this Samhain night
The call once again to join each as
One in wisdom’s blessed communion.

Can You See Me? (2010)

I’m hiding in the palette
Of fall leaves
Can you see me?

Light splatters like paint
Over my body and my leaves
Are brilliant with Fall light.

Can you see me?

Metamorphosis (2012)

Crackling leaves are burning
Transformed from life to death.

The crow calls out relentlessly
To those unseen and the
Crone’s outstretched hand
Pulls me tightly to her breast.

The air chills at her touch
Long icy fingers tapping out
the heart beat of life’s pulse within
The solemn silence of darkness.

The pause of silent breath
Power and strength drawn
From the sinewy strands of time.

Quartered path of gravel and stone
Flesh and blood
Moonlight and stars
The wellspring of Earth
The light of the cosmos above.

I tremble within Her embrace
Form giving way to the formless
Mind swirling within the waters of insight
Sight pierces the veil, the
Road cautiously chosen.

Knowledge of the unknown becomes
The heat of my desire and
The quickening spark waiting in fertile darkness
Pulls me towards rebirth into a place of Light.

The air is chilling and leaves are turning. The smell of wood in fireplaces and the comfort of snuggling deeply into warm covers promises the call of late Fall and the rising of the Crone’s power as Samhain nears. Enjoy these beautiful Autumn days.

Samhain Morning Leaves (2011)

Look up
Look up!

A beautiful sight
Fills the view!

Graceful branches
Stretch in silhouette
Against a newly lit sky!

But you have to look up
To see all that nature
Has as canopy of morning.

The day will move at its pace
Even if you take no notice of
What awaits your gaze.

So…

Look up!
Look up!

And perhaps what moves you
Through your day is memory
Of morning sky’s beauty
And the call to Look Up!

I often arrive at work early, and as the Fall approaches it is not fully light yet. This picture was taken from the parking lot one morning.

I looked up and was greeted by the beauty of a gently lit morning sky. The silhouette of a large tree that is on the lot seemed to have inked its way across the sky. The leaves had begun to turn and some were denser than others. The impression was one of serene beauty and massive power.

The interesting thing of note is that the setting is one of a suburban neighborhood setting. The lot that the building is on has a few trees on it but pointing my camera level would have revealed a brick and mortar building, streets, homes, a chain link fence and dumpsters. Looking up created quite a different impression leaving the brick and mortar world behind.