Week Seven: Samhain in the Prison

Samhain is an ancient Pagan holiday where the dead are honored and welcomed back into our lives, if only for a night.  Samhain is traditionally celebrated on October 31st, and it is often referred to as the ‘day without a day’ because it falls between New Years Eve on October 30th and New Years Day on November 1st.  It is believed that the veil between our world and the one the dead inhabit at its thinnest on Samhain and its sister holiday, Beltane.  Both holidays are wonderful days to work with tarot cards, read your tea leaves, and watch your dreams for messages from loved ones.

For Pagan inmates, Samhain can be a particularly difficult time.  Many inmates have never processed grief without some form of addiction or acting out to distract them from their pain.  While drugs, cutting, and violence do occur in prisons, it isn’t as easy to access, and many inmates find that those old patterns no longer serve them.  So what do they do with this pain?  Imagine never having felt the stab of pain one gets when loosing a beloved mother ten years prior, and to then have it suddenly leap at you while in prison.  It is difficult to bear, yet vitally important.

Some inmates carry the intense grief and shame of knowing that they have taken a life.  Others have experienced what one inmate referred to as “a prisoners worst fear” of loosing a loved one while incarcerated.  When this happens the inmate’s doesn’t get to hold their dear ones hand one last time, to say I’m sorry, or to ask for forgiveness.  Other inmates have the complicated emotions of having a family member die who was also their abuser.

Tonight will mark the second time that I have been part of a prison ritual for Samhain.  My intention is to provide a healthy representation of grief, and to be an extension of the Divine’s love that is unconditional and beyond reason (as the volunteer I work with is fond of saying).   I want to provide a sacred space where they can feel comfortable both feeling the joyful memories of the past, and the sorrows of today.

We will start the ritual by grounding our energies, calling the corners as a group, inviting the Divine to be with us, and then singing We Are The Flow. 

We are the flow, we are the ebb.

We are the weavers, we are the web.

We are the flow we are the ebb.

We are the witches back from the dead!

After the chant, I will pass out pieces of paper that are used as place cards for table setting.  Inmates can write the name of loved ones on the front of the card and then write something about the person in the inside.  We will have time to share memories with each other and this portion may take a while.  This is when grief shows her face.

We will have cakes and ale and listen to a selection of songs that have to do with the cycles of life and death.  One of my favorites is Ancestors Song by the fabulous Kellianna.  She has many songs that speak to this time of the year, and I highly recommend all of her music.  http://kellianna.bandcamp.com/track/ancestors-song

I will end the ritual with a reading from Starhawk’s ThePagan Book of Living and Dying.  On page 148-149, she has a set of prayers to be said just after someone has passed away.  I think their beauty and power will serve us in our time of remembrance.  In Starhawk’s words

May she/he become a star

In your night sky cauldron

And be brewed back to life.

May you all have a joyous and heartfelt Samhain,

Blessings,

Chaplain Holly