Hallowe'en marks the end of the Bright Half of the year and the beginning of the Dark Half. At this time of the year when the natural world is preparing for winter's rest our thoughts turn to those we have loved who have left us. Where do we go when we die? We know our bodies return to the earth, but our souls...that which has loved and lived and observed and felt the holy connection to all creation... is that gone forever? The veil that divides the living and the dead is said to be thinnest now. Is it possible to communicate with those that have passed into the next world? Some feel it is. Through prayer or meditation many feel connected still with loved ones and feel that they intercede on their behalf. Today is All Souls' Day in the Christian world. Although it is traditionally a day to pray for souls lost in purgatory, which is not my personal belief, I feel it is appropriate today to think about the lives of the ones who went before us into the Unknown.
From the Celts, throughout the Middle East and into India and Asia people have viewed birds as a symbol of the soul- of immortality.
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