Autumn and the Paranormal

Fall is the one time that I feel I’m in my element. I love it when the trees change colour - greens turning to hues of orange, burnt sienna, or brown; there is a nip in the air that beckons you to rake piles of leaves only to scatter them all over the place as you jump into it and whirl around like a dervish. Autumn for me is also a time for romance. Warm fires, cozy gatherings for two, a thick rug by the hearth, glasses of wine, and strawberries, and chocolate. Then the strawberry’s juice drips by the side of your mouth and your man moves in for the…..
Enough of that. ;)
Autumn is also the time when people of earth-base religions prepare for when nature sleeps, cloaked in the white blanket of winter. I had the pleasure and privilege to be invited to this kind of celebration during Halloween last year. For many non-Christians, Halloween or Mabon is their equivalent of Christmas. Jack-O-Lanterns didn’t necessarily have to be pumpkins. Our very creative host, carved lanterns from orange peel so when the candle was placed inside, it gave out a beautiful scent. The party was well represented. People from several denominations and countries came over to celebrate this time of the year while the children in their Halloween costumes pranced and squealed in between eating marshmallows, crisps, cheese to down these with juice or tea.
This is also the time when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. November 1st and 2nd, while work days here, are official holidays in several countries steeped in the Catholic religion. These are the days when people go to the cemeteries to pay their respects to the dead, gamble or tell stories by the crypts as though the dead were among the living. It has been said that if one wanted to speak to the dead, to ask them help for something they wanted here on earth, they could speak to the departed during these two days and the dead would hear them.
Ghosts abound during this time. And for those we see in costume, we never know if that’s really a costume or if they’re the real deal.
Would we?