Peace be with you, my friends! September is here already and I am looking forward to the coming weeks of Autumn, my favorite time of year. This season is so special to spiritual workers of all traditions since it is when the earth gives us all of her gifts and the spiritual energy just courses through the air. This time of year culminates in the celebration of Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, known in Voodoo as Fete Ghede.  In both Wiccan and Voodoo circles, this holiday is seen as a celebration of the New Year, the harvest and a communion with our ancestors, saints and spirits on the other side, principles that are important to all spiritual people and which we try to obverse and honor on a daily basis.

Autumn is special to spiritual workers of all traditions.

Last night was another important spiritual holiday, The Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, which is Asian in origin and not a traditional observance in Voodoo, but I have incorporated it into my yearly repertoire of spiritual holidays.  It is a time to honor spirits of ancestors and spirit guides on the other side and also to pray for those forgotten souls who have nobody left on earth to honor them.  There are legends in Taiwan and mainland China about Hungry Ghosts who appear on rural roadsides and deserted corners of cities on this night looking for offerings of food or spirit money.  Anytime we make offerings or pray for the dead we perform an act of great mercy for which the spirits are truly thankful and they in turn offer us blessings and protection here on Earth.  Last night, I placed offerings of flour dumplings, rice, cornmeal cake, wine, water, brandy and spirit money on my altar.  After presenting the offerings and asking their blessings, I burned the spirit money outside on my balcony.  Today the house is filled with a powerful yet peaceful energy!

On the 30^th of September there is another Asian holiday that I observe, the Mid-Autumn Lunar Festival, which is a festival of the harvest honoring the goddess Chang’e, the goddess of longevity that lives on the moon.   It is also a time to spend with family members and prepare large banquets.   I will blog more about this festival later in September.

On another note, I have a new addition to my family!  A two-month-old Siamese kitten name Vlad who came to live with me on Tuesday of last week.  Cats, as we know, are very spiritual animals and can easily see the spirits that are often invisible to the human eye.  In Thailand, once called Siam, Siamese cats were kept by monks and the royal family and were believed to chase away evil spirits, ward off bad luck and draw good luck!  These beautiful cats were even put in charge of guarding royal treasure.  In the future, I plan to write a blog about “lucky” animals from different cultures throughout the world which include cats, goldfish, roosters, canaries and more.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and that you have many wonderful activities planned for the upcoming Autumn weeks-the most fabulous time of year!