SIPA Bonfire

My local Pagan friends got together at Gaia House tonight as part of a community event to talk a bit about Samhain and the origins of Halloween. I wasn't able to make it to that because I had work, but I met up with them for pizza afterward, and then we drove over to the Touch of Nature center for a bonfire!

We didn't stay out too late, because we all had things to get ready for the ritual tomorrow, but it was nice to see everyone and have kind of a laid-back Samhain Eve.

There was also a ton of wildlife out tonight! We saw a raccoon, an opossum twice, three deer, and a bunny rabbit! 

It's probably going to rain on us tomorrow, but we have a shelter reserved, so we shouldn't get too wet. If anything, maybe it'll lend some ambiance. I'm just hoping it's not freezing cold! 

October 30th, 2015

I carved my other pumpkin last night!

The electric candle doesn't show it very well, but it's Harry Potter! I'm taking it to the Samhain ritual tomorrow, and will be able to light it with a real candle then. I also made up another batch of pumpkin seeds to take.

Today, the dining hall is all decked out.

The cider is locally made and delicious. I could drink the entire vat of it.

They also have a coffin cupcake display, which is fun. 

Tonight, I'm planning to go to a bonfire with some friends, and then tomorrow is Samhain! I can't believe how fast October has flown by, but it's been so much fun this year!

October 28th, 2015

I took my pumpkin over to a local historic site tonight for my Architecture History class. We got extra credit if we carved a famous structure and brought it there for an evening open to the public to enjoy. 

That's mine on the left.

They got a fire going, and there was candy and apples for those who wanted to snack. There was even a very fluffy orange cat darting around that let me pet it, right before it climbed inside one of the volunteers' cars.

St. Basil's

Big Ben

Rose window

The front of my pumpkin (the Itsukushima Shrine torii gate)

The side of my pumpkin, with the Itsukushima kanji

Fallingwater

Sydney Opera House

There were some really fun pumpkins, and we had a couple of families bring their kids out to see them. It was nice to get to share some of the season's cheer with the community. Three more days to Samhain...

October 27th, 2014

I carved my first pumpkin of the season tonight! Check out the Itsukushima torii gate!

I only had an LED candle, so it wasn't very bright, but I'll light it with a real one tomorrow night, and hopefully that works better. I had a little accident with the thin piece in the middle cracking on the right side, but I've got it sort of propped up, so hopefully it stays.

I also roasted my pumpkin seeds!

It's a really easy recipe. Rinse the seeds, and then for about every two cups, add a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt. You can also add other seasonings; garlic is a good one. Then pour them onto a microwaveable plate and microwave on high, stirring every two minutes until they're nice and crunchy. It will probably only take between five and eight minutes of cooking, total.

October 26th, 2015

I'm going to pack as much Samhain into this week as I possibly can!

This past weekend, of course, was the Halloween party. Here's some of other people's pictures, after they got added to the Facebook group:

New friends!

A Valkyrie and a dog with a fondness for fire.

A civil war soldier.

Myself, winning the "Most Creative Costume" prize.

I still don't understand how this happened.

Zombie chicken?

And then tonight, the resident housing department invited students to come paint mini pumpkins during one of their meetings, and goodness knows I love me some pumpkins, so I went.

Mine was inspired by Van Gogh's The Starry Night; the lighting kind of washed the color out, but I like it. 

My mom also sent me some goodies in the mail. I didn't take a picture, but suffice it to say, I won't need to go trick-or-treating to get my chocolate fix this year.

October 25th, 2015

The party last night was really nice! I met a few other Pagan students, as well as lots of adults in the community, got to pet the sweetest little black cat, and ate more Samhain snacks than I probably ought to have.

Here's my Carlos the Scientist (from Welcome to Night Vale) costume. I actually won "Most Creative" for it! The other categories were "Sexiest", "Scariest", "Best Couple", "Ugliest", and "Most Pathetic". My favorite by far was the fact that somehow, people got it in their heads that they could put down whoever they felt like for "Best Couple" (as opposed to pairing costumes which obviously went together, like ketchup and mustard or something), and ended up nominating two guys, one dressed as a Greek god, and the other dressed as a peanut.

For my prize, I won this lovely spiderweb lantern. The hostess, who won for "Sexiest", also gave me her plastic rat prize, on the condition that I named it after her. These have both been duly added to my stock of Samhain décor.

October 24th, 2015

I bought my pumpkins yesterday!

One is for an extra credit Architecture History project, and the other is to take to next weekend's group Samhain ritual.

I also want to save and dry the seeds into snacks, although I'll need to pick up some oil to be able to do that. I wish I would have thought of it at the store yesterday, but oh well.

Tonight I'm going to a Samhain party! I'm quite excited, albeit a little nervous, and I've got some packs of mini donuts to bring. Should be a good time!

October 23rd, 2015

It's gotten so beautiful down here. Between all the trees and the leaves and just the smell of autumn in the air, it couldn't be nicer.

I took this picture the other day - look how yellow the leaves are!

I also enjoy this decorative menhir garden; it sits on top of a hill in the middle of a wooded patch, and is just delightfully Pagan.

This was the trees this morning. Look at that early sun falling through them!

I'm headed to the store now to pick up some pumpkins. Samhain is definitely in the air.

October 15th, 2015

I meant to post these photos on Monday, but I ended up forgetting. My fall break was lovely, but not really enough of a break. I'm hoping I can relax some this weekend, but as many projects as I have right now, that could be kind of hit-or-miss. 

Anyway, on Monday, I went for a walk with my family through one of the local forest preserves where my brother volunteers. It was absolutely delightful weather, unseasonably warm for October.

The leaves are starting to change color. Most of them were turning yellow, although we also saw a few trees going red.

The view over the prairie.

The lake, shrinking as we head towards winter.

A sulphur butterfly sipping some clover nectar.

Purplish aster flowers.

A big toad.

A woolly bear caterpillar.

We also saw a young goldfinch sitting on a flower eating the seeds. The wind was really whipping her around, and finally the plant snapped back and tossed her off. She was just fine, but the rest of us were cracking up because she just went "boing" and flew like three feet. 

All in all, it made a really nice interlude before coming back to class. 

October 11th, 2015

What an idyllic October day! It was in the mid-70's here today, and I got to go apple picking with my family. We saw a coyote on the drive up to the orchard, as well as a pheasant, which I don't think I've ever seen in the wild before.

The orchard was beautiful, and the Empire apples had just come into season; they're our absolute favorite, and we got a lot of good ones. 

We also picked Jonafree, Liberty, Ultra Gold, and Cortland.

The orchard also has a pumpkin patch, as well as raspberries, melons, and more. In the past, they've had fantastic deals on their produce, but I think we came too early for that this year, so we didn't get a ton of gourds or anything, although dad did pick up a turban squash.

While we were there, I also found a perfectly straight apple-wood stick and a bunch of guinea fowl feathers. I'm going to turn them into a new wand!

October 10th, 2015

I'm officially home for fall break! I'm off school through Tuesday, so I took the train back, and then my family met me and we had lunch in the city.

We decided we'd go walk around a new park, and the weather was perfect.

One feature which I especially got a kick out of was this:

The end of the pathway ended in a roundabout, and had slabs of stone set up to align with the sun on the solstices and equinoxes. I suppose it just seemed rather Pagan to me.

October 5th, 2015

I'm really enjoying the opportunities this Pagan girl gets in Architecture History. Today in the middle of lecture, my professor asked who all had walked a labyrinth before. I was one of the very few who raised their hands, so my prof basically said, screw the lecture, let's go walk a labyrinth.

We walked across the street to Gaia House, and went out to their labyrinth in the back. 

It was pretty crowded with thirty or forty of us all trying to walk through it at once.

My professor then went on to explain how this labyrinth is a near replica of the one at Chartes Cathedral in France, and how the stacked stone over the neighboring waterfall represents the altar.

Chartes in turn is built on the site of worship of an ancient Celtic goddess, and is recognized as a significant energy vortex by many metaphysicians.

All in all, it was an exciting day to be learning about architecture.

October 2nd, 2015

I wanted to post this yesterday, but I ended up doing a bunch of homework instead, so here it is today. Happy October! I am excitedly getting ready for Samhain. I had to do a change of living quarters yesterday, but I'm all settled in my new space now, and I really like it. Here's some pictures of how my roommate and I have decorated it:

Some spooky cards for the door.

Tinsel, my calendar, my candelabra, and a few other things that got cropped out.

Trick or treat! 

Some little ghosts fleeing Sam and Dean Winchester.

A pumpkin and tea light to spookify my roommate's dresser.

More pumpkins.

My Samhain altar, which I'll talk more about some other time.

I love October!