Samhain, from the Gaelic word meaning ‘summer’s end’, is halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. In Britain, the clocks go back and the evenings are dark. It is the turning point when autumn moves towards the cold of winter.
Many cultures honour their dead at Samhain, a tradition that gave way to Halloween, or All Hallows Eve.
The other side of death is birth. Dead leaves fall from the trees, but they nourish the earth, supporting new life. Recognising that Samhain is a time not just of death, but of rebirth, Celtic peoples celebrated Samhain as the Celtic New Year.
It is an atmospheric time to visit the woods. Why not get together with friends to make an edible mandala to celebrate autumn and the changing season, using this extract from The Children’s Forest.
An Edible Mandala
Autumn is a special time of balance, when day and night are an equal length. Look with the children at the trees and see how some of the leaves are starting to change colour: the energy of the tree is moving towards the roots for the coming winter. This is the time of gathering, harvest and celebration. We share nature’s gifts with the animals.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Gathered autumn treasure, such as chestnuts, acorns and hazelnuts, rosehips, blackberries, apples and hawthorns.
- Berry tea and cups
- Food to share (such as crab apples and hawthorn honey
- Fire
- Beeswax candle
TO PREPARE:
- Prepare the fire and feasting area. Come together and share the essence of a mandala; a flower-like pattern created as a form of meditation. Send the children out to find berries, nuts and gloving autumn leaves. This gathering can be done together on a walk.
- Create the mandala by clearing a circle in the forest. Place the candle in the middle. Carefully place the berries, nuts, leaves and seeds in a beautiful pattern extending outwards from the light. It is time for contemplation and working quietly together.
- When complete, each person gives thanks for some aspect of autumn that they love. Form a circle and, holding hands, go round the mandala singing a seasonal song, such as ‘Yellow the Bracken’. Children might try closing their eyes for half the circle as they turn, to give a sense of the equal dark and light at this time of year.
- Finally, make a wish of goodwill for the animals, that they might have enough food to eat in the winter to come. This edible mandala is a gift for them.
- Afterwards, feast and tell stories by the fire. Remember to blow out the candle and take it with you when you leave.
Extract taken from The Children’s Forest by Dawn Casey, Anna Richardson and Helen d’Ascoli.
