Happy New Year, everyone. November as I see it is always an odd time.
Pagan seasons, we are taught, begin at the Sabbats, yet the marketing cycle
encourages us to think about the next one. As a result, we’re besieged with
Xmas commercials and displays at the stores, and the only time we’re encouraged
to think about issues of death and sacrifice this month is Remembrance Day. (My
own parents being non-combatant Displaced Persons, the day regularly raises its
own issues for me.)
Here at the boundary of the biomes, we’re in the
dregs of autumn, wondering if the next snowfall will be the permanent one, and
how long we should delay raking the last of the leaves. It can be a month of
diversions; some of you will diligently begin writing “free-fall” novels for
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), others – how is this still a thing? –
will grow or don moustaches for Movember, to the chagrin or amusement of the
women around you.
Samhain, I was taught, is a time for closure: for
paying off of debts of all kinds, returning what was borrowed, doing what is
necessary to start the new year with a clean slate. It’s somewhat akin to the end of the fiscal
year for businesses. I must admit that
in my own case, I’ve been living Samhain in this sense for the last ten
years.
This reminds me that the Wheel of the Year may
correspond to the greater Wheel of our lives.
As a rough approximation, Closure at Samhain is followed by Death and
Rebirth (Yule), Childhood (Imbolc), Apprenticeship (Ostara), Adolescence
(Beltane), Maturity or Mastery (Litha), Parenthood or Mentorship (Lammas), and
Harvest (Mabon). Some of these may be
skipped, inverted, or extended, as our own life circumstances dictate. Still,
it’s food for thought as we descend into the reflective Underworld of the
season.
November Events:
Note these events are listed for
information purposes only. Dates and locations may be subject to change; see
the source for details. If I’ve missed anyone and you’d like to add to this
listing, please contact me. All times Mountain.
Oct 28, 10:00 am: Calgary New Age
Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.
Oct 28, 7:00 pm: Calgary Heathens
Meet and Greet at Denny’s McKnight.
Oct 29, 7:00 pm: Paranormal
Hallowe’en Party at Rose and Crown, hosted by Ghost Hunt Alberta.
Oct 30: Calgary Pagan Pride
Society AGM at Denny’s, 1804 - 19 Street NE.
Oct 31, 7:00 pm: Hallowe’en Night
Paranormal Investigation at Crossroads/Country Roads Saloon, hosted by Ghost
Hunt Alberta.
Oct 31: Traditional Samhain.
Happy New Year!
Nov 1-30: Movember, a.k.a. fuzzy
upper lip month. https://ca.movember.com/
Nov 1-30: National Novel Writing
Month. https://nanowrimo.org/regions/canada-alberta-calgary
Nov 3, 11:23 pm: Full (Beaver or
Mourning) Moon.
Nov 5, 2:00 am: Daylight Savings
Time ends. Fall back!
Nov 9-12: Taboo: the Naughty but Nice Sex Show at the Big Four
Building. http://tabooshow.com/calgary
Nov 11: Remembrance Day.
Nov 16-19: Art Market Art and
Craft Sale at Telus Convention Centre. http://www.artmarketcraftsale.com/
Nov 18, 4:42 pm. New Moon.
Ngetal/Reed Lunar Month begins.
Nov 25: Celtic Tree-Month of Ruis/Elder begins, according to Robert Graves.
Nov 25, 10:00 am: Calgary New Age
Market at Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Hall.
Nov 25, 7:00 pm: Calgary Heathens
Meet and Greet at Denny’s McKnight.
