Hello there, readers! My name is Libby (she/her), I’m the new General Manager at Touchstone. I was born and raised here on the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ nations. I’m of settler ancestry; specifically by way of Scotland and England. I’ve been working in the Theatre my entire career, first as an Actor, and then moving behind the scenes when I discovered my love of Producing and Arts Management. Outside my life in the Theatre, I am an avid reader of fantasy novels, an animal lover (especially my Dog, Millie), and I am slowly but surely training myself to be a better gardener.
Another huge part of my identity is that I am a practicing Witch, a tradition I inherited from the maternal line of my Family. It feels very fitting that my first project at Touchstone is a show named and themed after Baba Yaga, a famous witch from Slavic folklore, and that the run of the show happens to be over Samhain (pronounced Sah-wen), known to others as All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallowe’en. Witches, Wiccans, Pagans, and many other Spiritual Practitioners celebrate Samhain each year on October 31st/November 1st (in the Northern Hemisphere), and on April 30th/May 1st (in the Southern Hemisphere). Given that I was stuck on what to share with you all in this, my first Touchstone Blog post, I figured I’d write what I know and tell you a (very) little bit about Samhain!
Samhain marks the half-way point between the Autumn Equinox (known as Mabon) and the Winter Solstice (Yule). The nights are longer than the days now, trees are losing their leaves and their bare branches rattle in the wind. The colours of Summer have faded, and the world is painted in more muted tones. Marigolds and Mums, Pumpkins, Squash, warm drinks, and dried herbs aplenty. We are in the in-between, a liminal time between the bounty of the Harvest and the quiet of Winter. It is said that on Samhain, the veil between the living and the dead, between our world and the otherworld, is at its thinnest, making contact with our dearly departed easier.
In the Celtic tradition from which Samhain stems, families would set a place at the table for the spirits of their ancestors. During Dziady (a Slavic Holiday akin to Samhain), celebrations were held at cemeteries, and food and drink would be dropped on the ground to be shared with the spirits. Similar celebrations occur during Día de los Muertos, which is celebrated in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. Some Families set up altars in their homes called Ofrendas, which are decorated with photos of their beloved dead, and other things such as candles, sugar skulls, other sweet and/or savory treats, and marigolds.
Here’s my altar at Home. It includes candles to light my ancestors’ way, pumpkins and a sunflower to honour the season’s bounty, my grandmother’s witch bell (bottom right) for clarity, bay leaves for cleansing and protection, and my pendulum for divination. Your altar can be made up of anything that’s meaningful to you! It’s a place to take a pause and reflect each day, or even to just sit and breathe for a moment. You can also take part in other spiritual practices at your altar. Personally, I tend to use my altar as a space for divination work, either with my pendulum or one of my many tarot decks.
If something about this calls to you, and you try your hand at making your own altar for Samhain, make sure to send me a picture!
