Samhain 2006 (2)

SOUL FOOD ©
by Lady Raven Ariana
Samhain 2006

Last year we had a long Indian summer. We didn’t have any snow until December and an uncommonly late first frost. This Autumn we are seeing more weather that is similar to Autumns of old. I felt the point where the season shifted. We’d been having a very hot summer and one morning in late August I woke up and felt a change. I had a sense that this was going to be a colder transition and perhaps we’d see more moisture.

It is now October and my early intuition looks to be true. Colder temperatures, rain, and an early first frost are what we have been seeing. The foothills and mountains have snow. The trees are decked out in their bright colours and some of the leaves are beginning to fall.

I have been busy with my preparations for the annual Feast of the Ancestors. This is a tradition that we have practiced for over 20 years. Invitations have gone out, along with directions of what to bring and prepare. Each year portions of the Feast are similar and some might be new. We generally have a bonfire, an Ancestor altar, guided prayers for the Ancestors, and a feast. Those that have passed are spoken of, remembered, and have a plate of select delicacies from the prepared Feast dishes offered up on the Ancestor altar.

This year folks are directed to bring a special dish from a recipe that they learned from an Ancestor or Ancestors. They are directed to prepare to speak about their Ancestor and the connection that they have with the food that they bring. We will also be having a bonfire and Ancestor altar.

I have decided to prepare two special dishes and speak about them. I have chosen to make crepes stuffed with ham, Swiss cheese and sour cream. I will also be making homemade applesauce. I have chosen these because of two special Ancestors and their connection to some of the service that I am currently involved in.

I had an interesting and traumatic childhood. Two very special people were inspirational and crucial to me. One was my maternal grandfather, Pop. He had a great love of animals, nature, and the natural environment. He encouraged my curiosity and natural inclination to love the same. He’d bring home interesting creatures from the desert and allow me to look at them and handle them. He would then return the creatures to the place that they came from. He didn’t allow me to keep them as pets and told me that they had a home, just like me, and needed to go back to their families and environments.

Pop comforted me in many ways and encouraged my intelligence. He always believed that I could achieve great things. He would also cook special meals for me while I kept him company. He loved making homemade applesauce, pancakes and other tasty treats. He loved to tease and he’d make up funny things to say over the applesauce or pancake batter. Like an incantation, he’d wave his spoon around and say, “ Holy monroly and chickenma togys!” or some other bit of nonsense. I learned to make applesauce, can tomatoes, and cook other family food from Pop.

I learned how to cook crepes and stuff them with diced ham, Swiss cheese, and sour cream from Agnes. Agnes lived in my grandparent’s neighborhood. Off and on I would live with my grandparents. Agnes was known as the Cat Lady. I didn’t even know her name until I was a preteen. She rescued cats and had a very nice setup where she lived. She had a lot of cats, but each one was taken care of, had veterinary care, love, attention, and everything they could ever need. When I was little, I saw some of her cats and boldly rang her doorbell. She invited me in and began my education in domestic felines.

Each cat was catered to. I was even allowed to pet some of the less social felines. I learned which cats couldn’t get along with others, which were old and cranky, which ones loved to play, how to groom, take care of, clean up after, and cater to felines. When I was a preteen and teenager my mom married an animal hater. I wanted my own cat so bad that I bought everything I needed. I begged and begged for a kitten. The animal hater would not allow any pets.

Agnes would come pick me up at my unhappy home and take me to play with her cats. She was a good teacher and listener. She spent many long hours listening to a very unhappy young person. She would make us crepes and tea as a special treat and she taught me how to make the crepes. She’d let me look at all her issues of “Cat Fancy” magazine and continue to encourage me. During my teen years, some nasty person turned her into animal control because they felt she had too many cats. It broke her heart to have to give up her animals.

I ended up being sent away when I was 16 years old. Much later, when I was married to a nice person, we visited my birth state and old neighborhoods. My grandparents had passed away, but I wanted to show my husband where I had lived. I went to visit Agnes and was sad to hear from her husband that she had passed away from breast cancer years before. I couldn’t help but wonder if the loss of her cats perhaps weakened her and she became ill and died.

Currently my kids are grown up and raising their own families. I have retired from full time work as a High Priestess of my local community. I have decided that now is the time for me to do some of the work that I never had time to do. I have gotten involved in the issue of the conservation and preservation of the remaining wild felines. I am also involved in the domestic cat fancy and work to help educate and promote responsible ownership of all felines.

I know that my current service was inspired, nurtured, and encouraged by Pop and Agnes. We love what we are exposed to and that we have actual contact with. I have met too many people that have tried to discourage me in my work. They feel that I’m wasting my time and that extinction is inevitable. Some people have even told me that mass extinctions are needed and that humans are a natural and needed tool to bring about the current mass extinction. I disagree. I remember Pop and Agnes always trying their best to do what is right. Humans have many talents and we could preserve biodiversity if we wanted to. Saving species would come at the cost of extinction of human greed and thoughts of human superiority.

We stand at the North West quadrant of the Wheel of the Year. The veil between the worlds is thin. Our Ancestors are waiting for us to acknowledge and honor them. They have left us many legacies and knowledge, just waiting to be discovered. They want us to thrive and carry on the work of our lineages. I can feel Agnes and Pop smiling. They are happy that someone is carrying on with work that is dear to their hearts. The Ancestors include all the creatures that have passed before. My beloved Sage, the Maine Coon, also waits for me. He sees his picture on my message board and purrs with approval. The diverse creatures that have passed are happy that some humans want to work to see their lines survive. We are moving towards the longest night of the year when the feasting begins.