Samhain 2002

Southern Edition

Many of you have said you didn't know what was inside the article, until you visited each and every page. Following is an index of articles, hyperlinked, and which page you can find them on. Just click on the index item itself to read the articles:

SECTION 1 - HOLIDAY LORE
April 30th Down Under - AWDU
Celebrating Samhain - Tristan
Samhain: History, Recipes, and Activities - Moonfyre
Samhain Word Search - Part One - Isha Arrowhawk
Samhain Word Search - Part Two - Isha Arrowhawk
My Samhain Experience - Nimue
Dead Festivals: Tradition or Contradiction? - Jan Duarte
Rites of Passage - The Final Passage - AWDU
New Beginnings - Moon Horse Witch
Rites of Passage - Handfasting - AWDU

SECTION II - BOOK REVIEWS AND FAMILY VALUES
Nocturnal Values, By Konstantinos - Review by G. Rain
Mythical Musings Website Reviews - Laurel Reufner
Promoting Pagan Family Values - Selene Silverwind

SECTION III - PATH PROGRESS
Your Magickal name - should it be secret? - Kim Robertson
I Walk The Path Alone - DreamDancer

SECTION IV - THE CAULDRON
The Meant-to-Be Meeting - Isha Arrowhawk
I was Cleopatra in a previous life... - Kim Robertson
An Unusual Encounter - Diogo Monte-Mor
Mythical Musings - Laurel Reufner
The Nature of the Universe - Kim Robertson
The Golden Age - William Bond
The Storm - Lorelei
Mystic Moon - G. Rain
Beating A Not-So-Hasty Retreat - Wren Walker
Announcements - Brenna Fey D'Amaurot
Australian Herb Guide - Moonfyre
Samhain's Eve - Moon Horse Witch
Teen-Wicca - AWDU

Samhain, what a wonderful holiday!! The month of shadows. The time when the veil between the worlds thins, and when the doorway to and from the Otherworld opens and the past merges with the present. Two themes are present: the return of the dead, and that of the labyrinth, the journey between the worlds. The symbol of the spiral is linked to each of these two themes. This is the time of the Spiral Dance. A number of people join hands to form a special spiral dance. It's led, in your Hemisphere clockwise, into an inward spiral. This is symbolic of the journey of the soul into the Underworld where the dark aspect of the Great Goddess awaits. Then the dancers expand outward in a counter-clockwise spiral. The outward spiral is symbolic of the return to life from the Underworld. It is also a time for honoring our ancestors, and at our Shadowfest we set a place at the table for those who have "gone over" that we want to commune with and honor. Did you know that in Italy stockings were hung for Belfana, who is the gift-giver Witch figure in Italian lore? She filled the stockings with fruit, nuts and gifts for the children. This is your holiday, and it's written about much better than I can in the articles in your Flagship Edition. Read it. Save it. It's a first for Cauldrons and Broomsticks Ezine. Our FIRST Southern Hemisphere edition!!!

Inside you will find hand picked articles about the holiday, poems, and articles to keep you busy for days. You will find information about practices, projects, recipes, and individual thoughts about this time of the year. I'm not going to do what I usually do; and go article by article ..... but will direct you to the index above for you to see what we've brought you. And the regular series' are also there so you won't miss a thing. You'll be amazed, informed, and entertained. There are also articles that will make you think, make you love, and make you feel the season at it's best. I'm very proud of our new staff with what they've submitted for this very important issue, and I hope you will share that pride.

Yes, it's Samhain! And it's time for your FIRST Cauldrons and Broomsticks Southern Edition!!! Man, has there been a lot of planning and work from everyone on this one, but you no longer have to adapt what is written for the Northern Hemisphere to your own practices. You now have your own Ezine!! :) Written by some of the foremost writers from Brazil, Argentina, and Australia for regulars, headed by a staff from Brazil, Argentina and Australia among others which are some of the most dedicated people I've seen. Visit your new web site to meet them. This is not a re-write of the information published for people in the Northern Hemisphere as that would be really confusing, but this is your very own publication written by and for people where you live.

You will notice though that there is TWO holiday puzzles by our wonder Isha Arrowhawk. No, this is not a mistake. This is to introduce BOTH of our new staffs. The seasons are different; your celebrating Samhain and in the North their celebrating Beltane, and you raise energy the complete opposite of our East-South-West-North. You have had to adopt our information from the Northern Hemisphere publications for your use for too long ..... but no more. We've given you your own Ezine, web page, and we've given you your own staff of your peers. Feel free to share it far and wide, as long as it remains in it's entirety, as some of the articles are under copyright.

It would not be possible without the help of our dear Brenna. I called her out of retirement to head this project and I'm amazed with what she has accomplished. I told her what I wanted, and she did it. Of course, she calls me a Control Freak which means I kept stepping on her toes, but even with me in the way she and the staff has done a wonderful work here. This is the future of Cauldrons and Broomsticks. Two different Ezines, lists, web sites, and staffs ..... to serve our readers the way I promised to do long ago. And of course, it will continue to be free. This is the staff and my gift to the Wiccans and Pagans of the world. A small gift, but one that I hope is accepted gratefully. If you go to our re-structured web site you can see what your brothers and sisters across the world are celebrating, how they're celebrating it, and what their customs are with a click of your mouse. The world is getting smaller, and we're being given more information to be able to understand each other. This can't help but be a good thing.

Now, I leave you to your Samhain issue, implore you to explore the rest of the world through our web site, and from the staff of Cauldrons and Broomsticks - Southern Hemisphere we wish you a Merry Samhain. We are now, as of today, Cauldrons and Broomsticks Ezine, Worldwide.

Blessings, warmth and love .....
Midnight Grey Wolfpup
Editor/Publisher/Owner
Cauldrons and Broomsticks Ezine, Worldwide
http://www.cauldrons-broomsticks.net/