Happy Samhain to my wiccan brothers and sisters and a big belated happy halloween to everyone else!

I had the best time handing out candy this evening. We don't get many trick-or-treaters out here due to the locale, but the ones we get are truly cool. One little girl came out in a full body Tigger suit, complete with a hood. Ears, tail and all. Her mommy had painted her face with a little black nose and some kitty whiskers and she was too precious. She got three treats.

She got bonus points for cuteness.

Another girl came by later, early teens and gothed out without being overdone. She was wearing a beautiful corset dress with a red and black bodice and a black skirt. The skirt dropped to her shoes and the corset laced in the front.

The kind of thing I'd wear with a feeling of "I don't know about you Miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier."

She didn't go nuts with the white makeup and had a slight blood trail from the corner of her mouth, as if she had just "fed". Whether she had done all of this herself or her mom did, the result was pretty fucking groovy.

I was waiting for everyone to go to sleep so I could do my Samhain thing, but when I glanced at my clock and realized that it was 11:15 and Zoe was still going on all cylinders I decided to go ahead with my plans and include her. We went outside for a few minutes and looked skyward. The sky was so beautiful. No moon, just an endless expanse of black and navy broken only by starlight. We were really enjoying the view when we heard something moving around in the back yard. Since there was no moonlight to see by I had no idea what it might have been. Probably a deer or the groundhog who lives in our yard. Admittedly I'm still a little spooked by the recent not-so innocuous lurkers in the dark, so I decided to take our little celebration inside.

I held Zoe and we stood in my kitchen and prayed for awhile, speaking to both the Goddess and God. This last year has had it's challenges but was still a good one and we let them know how grateful we were for their blessings. We then asked for continued protection and for a blessing for a friend and lit a white candle, which is still burning in my kitchen. We then thanked the Lord and Lady again and bid them hail and farewell.

It wasn't as huge on the ritual scale as lots of other pagans do, but it was still quite special. I keep saying "we", as if Zoe had an idea what was going on. I know she didn't, but in her way she still contributed. She has a gentle, innocent energy. With her contribution the small ritual we did is sure to be successful.

It was so wonderful to share that with her, so meaningful. That's the first time any of my children have been involved in my wicca and I can only hope they develop an interest later on in their lives so we can all practice together. I have this dream about one of my children eventually becoming handfasted in our back yard.

Of course, that will involve a nice emergence from the broom closet.

Actually, as well as I know myself, the romantic notion of emerging from the broom closet doesn't bring to mind a metaphoric bursting forth. My coming out would be more like an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, and the way Adena opens the door of a car and spills out onto the sidewalk.

That's me. I'd trip over the doorstop and spill out of the broom closet.

Whump!

I'd have a broken heel on my Mary Janes and a dislocated breast but dammit, I'd be out.

Perhaps someday.

For now I'll just enjoy things the way they are. I've come to the conclusion that as long as I feel comfortable with what I do that it's okay if I have to keep it a secret.

I've been longing to share it with someone though. It means so much to me to be able to do that.

And tonight I did.

I wanted to add these links as an afterthought, but in doing so I'll post a warning I didn't get. The first one I got from Scanzilla's journal. The second was posted at Gothic Girl.

It's basically the same thing but with two different endings. Both will scare the shit out of you if you aren't prepared. The second one is especially scary (it has THAT FACE - those of you who have been with me for awhile know what I'm talking about).

Remember, you've been warned.

Find the Ghost:
BOO

Where's Waldo:
Don't zoom in like I did

The second one actually caused me to leap up from my desk and run screaming from the room. My hands shook for over an hour.