smoke
curls thin and grey
and spirals
just like the dancers
on the Witches New Year
Samhain
on this most sacred of nights
when the veil between the worlds
of the living and the dead
is thinnest
it is a time when we honor our ancestors
our beloved dead
and speak their names
into the smoke of burning leaves
a time when the spirits gather around us
and we dance the Spiral Dance together
the spirits weaving counterclockwise
between the living flesh of us
and the wispy smoke of them
they are the cosmic dancers
star children
we speak the names
of the babies born this year
honoring the sacred cycle of death and rebirth
the pungent smell of sweat and flying hair
and the warm flesh of hand holding hand
we know is so precious
just like the sweet scent of our babies skin
and the fruity fermented perfume of the wine we share at the end of the dance
breaking crusty fragrant bread together
and salty aged cheese
we speak our intentions for the next year
resourcing ourselves
in service to all life
Smokey scents for Samhain…
Burning Leaves by CB I Hate Perfume (available at MIN, NY)
Khol Gris by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz
–Monica “Skye” Miller, Natural Perfumes & Senior Editor