As the world (where I am at, at least!) gets bathed in frost, as the plants wither and die, as the trees bathe themselves in color and then drop their leaves, as the cold wind blows and as the darkness sets in, we in the druid tradition–and in any other traditions–turn to think about the ancestors. In this post, we’ll explore the global traditions surrounding honoring the dead that tie to August-October and honoring the dead to see similarities, we’ll discuss three types of ancestors the druid tradition recognizes, and then we’ll explore ways to honor the ancestors.

Food for the Ancestors!

Global Ancestral Traditions

When you start digging into ancestor traditions around the world, some striking similarities seem to emerge.

The Mexican Day of the Dead, which is a blending of European traditions and Aztec honoring of the dead, goes from Oct 31 – Nov 2. As part of…

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Ozark Encyclopedia – M – Milk

Ozark Encyclopedia – M – Meat

Ozark Encyclopedia – M – Manure

Glad my grandmother never used any of these … Though I did spend a lot of time running barefoot. LOL

Fragrances for Fall {DIY}

Good Witches Homestead

Without question, people adore the cozy smells of fall that brings pumpkin spice, tart apples, crisp leaves and spicy cinnamon. Bring those scents into your own home to celebrate fall without using harsh artificial chemical scents by making your own natural home fragrance on your stove. All you need to do is bring a pot of water to a simmer and add in spices with other fresh ingredients, such as apple peels, cinnamon, and cloves.

Combined together, these ingredients will send an autumn aroma throughout your home. As an added benefit, not only will your home smell like you have been baking (without all the effort) but the simmering water will help to humidify your home, which often suffers from dry air in the fall and winter.

Pumpkin Spice Simmering Pot

Ingredients

2 cinnamon sticks
4 pieces of candied ginger
1 clove of nutmeg

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the candied…

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Ozark Encyclopedia – L – Lightning Wood

Did You Know?

Good Witches Homestead

During the period beginning on the first Friday in October until the second day of November, the veils separating spiritual realms are extremely sheer.

A History of Spirit Keeping

Spirit Keeping, in the sense of how you keep spirits today, is nothing as it was even 120 years ago. Modern-Day Spirit Keeping is the by-product of the marriage between spirit conjuration and para-technology. Spirit Keeping, in its origin, is quite different. While those who were considered sages, psychics, or medicine men, would contact spirits for information, they were often sought for counsel through specific rituals performed to gain information for a specific person, or for personal awareness. Often times the person who had the ability to conjure the spirit was the only one allowed to converse with the spirit. The person coming forward to ask for guidance, or to ask for…

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Ozark Encyclopedia – K – Knives

Ecoregional Druidry: Adapting and Localizing Symbolism

The Druid's Garden

To follow up from two posts a month or so ago on ecoregional druidry and the wheel of the year and celebrating rituals, observances, and activities, I want to continue thinking about how druids can adapt basic practices of druidry to their local ecosystems. This is particularly important for those of us in diverse ecosystems around the world: part of nature spirituality is being with nature as she is in your region. Thus far in this series, we’ve explored a druid’s wheel of the year that is seasonally-focused on a local ecosystem as well as the different ways we might celebrate this wheel of the year with rituals, observances, and activities. Also tied to these spiritual practices are symbolism associated with the elements and directions; framing symbolism that weaves its way into our practices in a variety of different contexts. And so, in this post, we’ll delve into thinking…

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