Words of Power: This is Samhain.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

This is Samhain.

Oweynagat (Cave of the Cats) at the great mound of Rathcroghah (Roscommon, Ireland) The wild cats tamed by mighty Cuchulain emerged from this Sid. And the Morrigan, raven warrior goddess, emerges from it every Samhain, riding in a chariot pulled by a one-legged chestnut horse.

Stoke the bonfires, and set them ablaze. Slink into the twilight. Bathe in the darkness. Set the Wheel of Life on fire, and dance within its whirling shadows. This is Samhain. Celtic New Year. Halloween. Day of the Dead. There are no borders tonight or tomorrow. The "dead" walk among the "living." The "living" walk among the "dead." Yes.

I have not been a stranger to death in this life. I have held the door open for loved ones who had to go, because their bodies had run out of time, and I have watched those I could not save slip through the cracks in their minds, because their sanity had sprung an irreparable leak.

There is a damn good reason Padma Sambhava spent so many years dwelling in graveyards, meditating, and befriending fierce Dakinis. And it wasn't just to realize the impermanence of "life," or even to realize the illusory nature of "death," it was to immerse himself in the immense power that wells up in the space beyond both veils.

This is Samhain. Celtic New Year. Halloween. Day of the Dead. There are no borders tonight or tomorrow. The "dead" walk among the "living." The "living" walk among the "dead." Stoke the bonfires, and set them ablaze. Slink into the twilight, bathe in the darkness. Set the Wheel of Life on fire, and dance within its whirling shadows. Yes.

-- Richard Power

Richard Power's latest book, Humanifesto: A Guide to Primal Reality in an Era of Global Peril is available now in soft cover and Kindle versions, from Amazon and elsewhere.

Diego Rivera - Day of the Dead (1924)

About Richard Power

Richard Power is a writer, speaker and yoga teacher. He offers workshops, classes and private instruction in yoga and meditation. He is the author of 14 books, most important are Wyrds of Power: New Languagee for A New Reality (2017), I, the Dragon: Chronicles of An Epic Life Among the Humans (2018), and Secret Engine of the World: Further Notes on Primal Reality, Gaian Politics & the Arc of Human Evolution (2021). For more information on all of Power's other books, visit his author's page on Amazon.com.

For much of his life, Power worked in the fields of security and intelligence. He delivered briefings and led training in forty countries, and was an adviser to governments and corporations. His views have been featured in interviews on CNN, PBS, NPR and the BBC, and quoted in mainstream news media, including Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters and Associated Press.

This blog explores new language for the truths of the ancient future, and reflects insights into Vajrayana Buddha Dharma, Kashmir Shiva-Sakti philosophy, Hatha and Tantra Yoga, the Shamanic path, and other aspects of the world's collective mystical heritage. It also offers commentary on art, music, literature, human rights, sustainability, independent journalism, economic justice and the Climate Crisis.