I love Halloween.

It is, bar none, my favorite holiday.

And I do think of it as a holiday, as in the original version of that word: Holy Day.

There has just always been something magical about the day, and the night, for me.

Maybe you’re in the same gear. Glad to have you along.

Beyond the spooks, thrills, and chills that are usually associated with October 31st, I also think of it as a new beginning.

Way back, when Halloween was still Samhain, (pronounced Sow-in), the day was celebrated as the changing of the year.

Just as in the old-time, when they held that the new day began at nightfall and lasted until the next nightfall, the year was considered to begin in dormancy – the dormancy of what we call Winter. Of course, in the northern climes where it was celebrated, Winter came a wee bit earlier than it does for those of us closer to the equator.

Life begins quietly, gestates, grows and emerges. Dormancy yielding to action. So too did they believe the yearly turning followed the same cycle.

Now, before I devolve into a history lesson that I’m certain to screw up, let me get back to why I find the holiday so captivating.

You could wait for January. Make a list. Probably ignore it because it’s too cold, too dark, or whatever.

Or, you could start now.

Think about what you want to become and what you’ll need to do to get there.

Let it gestate through the holiday season.

Let it grow inside you and begin to emerge when the days get longer and the frost lifts from the world.

Give the idea time to germinate.

Give yourself time to plan.

Time to be absorbed in the becoming.

Plant your seed now, and let it rest in the earth until time and purpose nudge it into sprouting.

At least, this is what I do. It seems a good place for it.

A good place for the beginning of plans, for the kindling of desire.

There is one ritual I recall reading about: a bonfire would be set, and burn all night. As it burned down, the embers would be used to start another bonfire. Symbolic of the turning of the year.

Maybe you feel your own fire has burned down.

If so, now is the perfect day to blow the coals to life and move them to where they can burn again.

A new fire for a new year.

A quiet beginning, waiting to burst into life.

Regardless if it’s new beginnings or just tons of candy you look forward to, I hope your Halloween is as happy, spooky, eerie, joyful, hopeful, thrilling and chilling as you wish it to be.

Today’s a good day for wishes.

Happy Halloween.