Sluggy's Pages!

Volume 2, Issue 6 - Fall Equinox 1997

Welcome to Sluggy's Pages. This is Shining Lakes Grove's kids' page. It comes out eight times per year, with information and activities for the young folk and their parents. We encourage you to send us any seasonal stories, poems, art, games or puzzles for us to include in this newsletter. Editor is Mama Moon: (313) 439-0434 or send mail to: 38 Neckel Ct., Milan MI 48160.

Lore Corner

• The formal name for this time of year is Autumnal Equinox. Autumnal comes from a Latin word that means Fall, Equinox means equal night (and day)- Each is just about 12 hours long at this time.
• In Welsh, Fall Equinox is called Alban Hydref. In Irish it's Mean F—mharach.
• The exact point of the Equinox this year was Sept. 22, at 6:56 in the evening. It moves around, between the 20th and the 23rd, from year to year.
• On October 26, we will turn our clocks back an hour. That's called "Standard Time". We switched to Daylight Savings Time shortly after the Spring Equinox, now we return to the usual- or standard- way of keeping time. Remember: "Spring ahead, Fall back".
• The oak is one of the world's most important trees. Honored by the ancients, it is still a symbol of strength. There are over 75 different kinds of oak trees, and all of them have acorns no matter how different the leaves are. People in the past have made bread from acorn flour, ink from oak galls (bumps from bug-eggs) and many, many things from the wood.
• At this time of year, you have to be especially careful of deer crossing the road. The young males are growing up and looking for mates. That is called the "rutting season". They get very excited, fight with each other in order to impress the does, and forget to look when they cross the road. Watch out!
• Some Celtic gods associated with the deer include the Irish goddess Flidais, the Gaulish Cernunnos (whose name just means "horned"), the British Herne, and the Welsh Arawn.
• The Rowan tree is known in this country as the Mountain Ash. In spite of its name, it is not an ash tree at all, but in the same family as Hawthorne and Apple, the "fairy trees".
• The hazel tree, which gave the famous Salmon its wisdom, is commonly used for "water witching" or dowsing. To try this skill, cut a y-shaped branch, hold the two arms of the Y loosely in your hands, and walk foreward thinking of water. When you near it, the stick will start to tremble or dip a bit, and as you cross it, it should pull sharply downward. You can use this technique to find lost objects, too.

Fall Equinox Song

It's harvest time
It's harvest time
The air is sweet
The day sublime
We'll bring in your crops
Bring in mine
And thank the Gods
Our lives entwine.

Learn for Samhain:

Ancestors of this land
Ancestors of this land
Ancestors red
Ancestors white
Ancestors black
And every shade of tan
We honor you
Ancestors of this land
We honor you
Those who've gone before.

Ana's Playhouse

We call our Native American ancestors and their ancient gods our Allies. You can make a neat Native American toy with three simple things - a string or piece of yarn; a piece of doweling, a wooden spoon, or even a straight stick; and an old lid from a margarine tub. Cut the center out of the plastic lid, leaving just the slid ridge and a small edge. Tie the string (18-24 inches long) to the stick on one end and the ring you made from the lid on the other, now holding just the bottom of the stick, swing the ring and try to catch it on the other end of the stick. How many times in a row can you catch it? Challenge a friend or relative to this game from our Allies!

Word Scramble

Can you unscramble these tree names?

1. nhharowt
2. xlobeerd
3. lmpae
4. lubmrrye
5. ddrbue
6. caaatmrk
7. hicbr
8. cupers
9. rymecosa

(Answers at the bottom)

Family Traditions for Samhain

Samhain is the most special day for many pagan folk. We figured that it would probably have lots of traditions associated with it, so we asked four different moms to tell us what they do with their families. Here are their answers.

Most of us know the popular American Halloween tradition of dressing up and "trick-or-treating" from door to door, so we don't need to cover that one here. In my family, the children (and as many of their friends as possible) do that first. Then we celebrate Samhain together before the grownups go off to their longer and more solemn rituals. We like to take a walk together, inviting to join us whichever of our beloved dead are around. One year it was a kitty who had always loved to walk with us. This year it will be a wonderful grandmother who always liked long walks. We take this time to talk about them and remember what we loved best.

This is the time of the "Harvest Moon". It seems much larger than usual, and is often golden in color. Even if you have no special ancestor or beloved dead to walk with, go ahead and take a night-time stroll or stop the car on a country road and just enjoy this special time of year. Full moon will be on Oct. 15. New moon, or the "dark of the moon" will be on Samhain. Bright stars will be shining, but no moon. Will that make it extra scary or extra fun?

In my family, my mate and I sit down on each Samhain with my children, aged 5 and 7, and we spend an evening looking through the family albums. We tell stories about the relatives we have known who have died and repeat stories told to us by our parents. The little ones love to see what we looked like as children and comparing who looks like whom. "See Alex; mom looks like great, great grandpa! They have the same eyes and nose!" We talk about what those who came before did in their lives and what they contributed to their families and communities. In this way, we remember and honor our own ancestors and teach the next generation to remember. After all, isn't this kind of oral history is just what ancient people did?

One of the activities we do is visiting the grave of our baby that died, and the graves of dad's relatives. We go to a special memorial service held each October by Friends Supporting Parents, which helps people deal with the sadness of losing a baby before it's born. It helps us not to feel alone, and the children get to play with other children who have lost brothers or sisters, so they know they're not alone, either. Another, less serious, activity that we do is collecting leaves to make into a wreath for the front door. Gather leaves that have fallen from one kind of tree, either an oak or a maple, for example. First wrap the stems of two leaves together with thread, then add more leaves by wrapping down the original stems three times and putting the next leaf at the edge where leaf and stem join. Wrap three or four times down this one and add the next leaf, and so on. When the line of leaves is two or three feet long, wrap the tail onto the beginning and tie it off. That way, it's endless, just like the cycle of the year. Try using short pieces of thread and tying them together between adding leaves, that way the thread won't get tangled up.

Submitted by Kami Landy, Mama Moon, Emily Gabriel and Lisa Kamp.

Coming Attractions for Fall

Youth Activities Committee Meeting, October 8th, at 7 PM. Join us at Bill Knapps restaurant on Hogback and Washtenaw Rd. near US-23 to discuss children's activities and goals for this year.

October Play Date: Come pick apples and pumpkins at 1 PM on October 11th. Meet at Chili's on Washtenaw (Arborland Mall), in the corner nearest the road, and we'll go from there.

November Play Date is still under discussion. Suggest something for us to do on the 22nd of November, in the afternoon. Something warm.

Children, ask your parents for some mementos - things that help you remember - of your ancestors, to put on the Ancestors' altar at Samhain.

For our public service project, we will be collecting dry goods at Samhain and Yule, to bring to the homeless shelter. Useful things include toiletries (shaving stuff, soap, shampoo, nail scissors, towels, even a bit of cologne), new underwear in various sizes, blankets, sheets, diapers, and non-perishable food items. Please help keep some people cozy this winter, who don't have as comfortable a home and family as yours.

This year's Samhain ritual will be cold and dark and adults-only, so the children are invited to a costume party, supervised by Mama Moon, at 808 Brooks - that's the house of Timothy and Gareth. Bring healthy snacks to share, as well as some of your trick-or-treating "loot", and enjoy a chance to wear that costume once more. 6:30 PM, Saturday, November 8th, until the ritual is over - about 10:30. You may wish to bring pajamas, toothbrushes, and sleeping bags...

Answers to the word scramble

hawthorn, box elder, maple, mulberry, redbud, tamarack, birch, spruce, sycamore

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