Happy Halloween ! (Samhain) to all 💀😀

              I have often found it fascinating that different cultures seem to celebrate the dead/the real of spirits around October 31st/November 1st. In Britain, East Europe, Mexico etc this marks a time to at least remember "the departed". In my culture, cemeteries are lit with candles from people who have left them near the graves of their loved ones who have passed, together with flowers. For me, it always seemed like a peaceful holiday. I find death comforting, mostly. 

         Furthermore, I have dabbled in Wicca(a term I use out of convenience rather than a strict observance of the "religion") for years, sometimes I have gotten surprising results with respect to what some might call "manifesting", other times, well, I have at least gotten the benefits of the peaceful contemplation/meditation implicit in casting a spell. And Wiccans celebrate Samhain as one of their main holidays. This is the time when "the veil" between the living and the spirit world is thinnest throughout the year, and it is said we can more easily communicate with them. So, it is a good time to say a prayer for the souls of the departed, pay extra attention to any intuitive nudges or dreams you may have during this time. 

         And since I like to find connections, I tried to look for an astrological link to Halloween, and, the one constant with Halloween is the Sun being in Swati Nakshatra, "The start of saintliness".

   This is a nakshatra ruled by Rahu, a "deva" or godly nakshatra, a nakshatra connected to asceticism and spirituality, amog other things. Rahu also rules Ardra, a nakshatra connected to Aghori, a group of ascetics in India who engage in "post-mortem rituals" including eating from skulls, making jewellry out of bones, sleeping in tombstones . Might be a stretch, but Rahu, being the other side of Ketu, also indirectly relates to death, and the bridge between the living and the dead, or between spiritual realm and the "Maya" - the illusory material world.