29 Oct Prayer to Persephone on Samhain Eve – Kimberly Schneider
Last night in the group I was leading people talked about the difficulties of transitioning from summer to fall. This morning I read a poem by Kimberly Schneider who some of you know from the podcast she did for us. Her post and poem are about this transition. Kimberly’s mystical poetry helps guide us through the dark shadows of life. She’s going to be doing an online poetry writing course and also leads trips to Ireland which you might want to join to walk deeper into the mystery of your life. Here’s the post from Kimberly.
The nights are suddenly much colder here in the central United States. Leaves are showing off their brilliant colors before the trees move into their seasonal bareness. We’re picking up the last few boxes of bounty from Kraut Run (the local farm where we get our veggies and meat), and daylight savings time ends on Sunday.
The dark time of the year approaches.
This Thursday at nightfall it’s Halloween, of course. And in our house we also celebrate Samhain, the Celtic New Year, along with All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day on November 1st and 2nd. I set out pictures of those we love who’ve passed on, light candles for them, and look forward to the nearness we feel to them as the veil between the worlds grows thinner.
Some parts of me dread what I know is coming in the winter months: heavy coats, grey skies, biting winds. But I also know that the stillness that the long, cold nights bring with them is necessary for my soul. If I can surrender to the barrenness of winter, I’ll feel rejuvenated next spring.
At Samhain time, I draw strength from the story of the Greek goddess Persephone. Growing up I always heard that she’d been abducted into the underworld. But I’ve learned that in the original version of Persephone’s tale, she chose to enter the shadow realms, because she wanted to help lost souls. And while she lived there during the winter, she found her power, and became a Queen in her own right.
We too, can grow in power when we allow ourselves to move into the rhythms of winter, taking more time for quiet and contemplation and rest. When we tend to our own lost souls, we emerge with deep knowings we could not have attained any other way.
I hope you enjoy this Samhain prayer poem, and that it encourages you to make space for your inner silence and shadows.
Prayer to Persephone on Samhain Eve
I am not afraid
to bid farewell
to the greening time,
the growing time,
the harvest time.
This year, Persephone,
let me join your descent.
Open the hidden door
to the earth’s very womb
and let me slip inside.
Lift the veil from my eyes
and reveal to me the Otherworld.
Lead me through the realm of Faerie:
the glittering, glistening, gossamer
world of enchantment.
I am not afraid.
Take me further still
into the darkness.
Whisper sweet words in Charon’s ear
and hush the snarls of Cerberus
so that I may come
to the silent place,
the winter place,
the waiting place.
I am not afraid, Persephone.
But lend me your strength
when lady death greets me
with a frosty kiss,
and grant me your courage
when the soft sweet pool of nothingness
envelops me.
Remind me, Persephone,
that Winter will come—
whether I want her,
or no,
and that she bears gifts
for those who are willing to receive her.
For the candle makes no magic
in a warmly sunlit room,
and departed souls don’t come to visit those
who won’t acknowledge death.
Take me with you, Persephone.
I am not afraid.
Only promise me
I may return with you
in Spring.
copyright 1999, Kimberly V. Schneider