Tonight is Samhain. It is All Hallows Eve. It is a night where the walls between this world and the next are thin. This is the night where the dead bleed through and if you wish to connect with them, you can listen to them, you can sense when they're present, and you can entice them to come. You can also make simple offerings to honor their place and presence in your life.Because They Were...You Are.
I honor my beloved dead, those I knew in this world, and my ancestral dead, those who paved the way for me.
I pour water in the glass cup on my Ancestor Altar. I light a candle in my fossil candle holder. It is the lighthouse guiding their way to me. I light more candles for specific prayers. I take in a breath and as I exhale I open my heart. I open myself to spirit world. I am not the lighthouse.
Patricia Art, my beloved dead
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Harold Riddle & Elsie Elizabeth Durant, my beloved dead
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Robert Joseph Art & Margaret Loretta Burke
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George Frances Durant & Emma Louise Burnah [NY]
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George Art & Katherine Pils [NY]
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Albert Durant & Rosella LaValley [both from Quebec]
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Adam Art & Katherine Maria Schmeelk [both from Germany]
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Ezra Wheeler Gillette & Mary Ann Boots [VT/NY]
Francis Berry & Elizabeth Ann Hill [NY]
Peter DeLozier & Lucy Raymond [CT/NY]
Hiram Tenney & Esther or Sally (unknown) [NY]
I open to my ancestors, known and unknown.
I pour water in the glass cup on my Ancestor Altar. I light a candle in my fossil candle holder. It is the lighthouse guiding their way to me. I light more candles for specific prayers. I take in a breath and as I exhale I open my heart. I open myself to spirit world. I am not the lighthouse.
I am the light.
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I open to my Grandparents:
Richard James Riddle & Donna MacDonald, both my beloved dead
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| With her much-loved cat Bella. |
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Mark Dutcher Eaton, my beloved dead, & Ruth Emma Ruston
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I open to my Great-Grandparents:
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| With daughters Dolores & Biddy. |
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Frank William Ruston & Minnie Estelle Wicker
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Royal Levant Eaton & Hattie Eva Smith
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I open to my Great-Great-Grandparents:
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| Frances & Lafayette are in the center, front. |
Lafayette Riddle & Frances Ann Gillette [NY]
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Frank Burke & Eliza Conners [NY]
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| Ruth & Charles are in the center back. |
Charles Evan Ruston & Ruth Ireland [both from England]
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| Hiram & Emma are the center couple. |
Hiram King Wicker & Emma Angeline Whitcher [NY]
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Bennett Eaton & Theresa Cordelia Tenney [MI/NY]
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Silas Parker Smith & Hattie Eva Dutcher [NY]
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I open to my Great-Great-Great-Grandparents:
Marquise DeLafayette Riddle & Sarah Clickner [NY]
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| Levi & Jane are seated in the second row. |
Levi Gillette & Jane Berry [NY]
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Samuel Burnah [from Quebec] & Mary (unknown) [NY]
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John Pils & Mary Burzee [both from Germany]
Thomas Burke & Ellen (unknown) [NY]
David Conners & Mary Dowd [both from Ireland]
Richard Ruston & Anna Richardson [both of England]
William Ireland & Phoebe Lenton [both of England]
Thaddeus Rice Wicker & Cynthia Lusk [VT/NY]
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Bailey Harrison Whitcher & Ordelia de Lozier [VT/NY]
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Solomon Gould Eaton & Hannah Ann Treadwell [NY]
Philetus Tenny & Malvina H. Targee [NY]
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Ammi Smith & Sophia Sears [NY]
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Reuben Feagles Dutcher & Eliza Marsh Bird [NY/MA]
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I open to my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandparents:
Freeborn Moulton Riddle & Abigail Chaffee [MA/NY]
William Clickner & Mary Ann Hayner [NY]
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George Durant & Safrona (unknown) [both of Quebec]
Francois Xavier Lavalle & Rosella LaRoche [both of Quebec]
George Arth & Wilhemina Wernersbach [both from Germany]
John Burke & Ann (unknown) [both of Ireland]
(unknown) & Betsy Conners [both of Ireland]
Barney Dowd & Betsey (unknown) [both from Ireland]
Edward Ruston & Jane Brooks [both of England]
Thomas Richardson & Mary (unknown) [both of England]
John Ireland & wife (unknown) [both of England]
John Lenton & Mary Wilson [both of England]
Pliney Wicker & Chloe Morgan [MA]
Elizer Lusk & Rebecca (unknown) [NY]
Simon Whittier & Dorcas Kittredge [MA/VT]
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Joshua Eaton & Lucy Gould [CT/NY]
Solomon P. Treadwell & Fannie (unknown) [NY]
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Thomas Targee & Ellen (unknown) [RI/NY]
David Smith & Betsy (unknown) [NY]
Heman Sears & Clarissa Debois [CT/NY]
Martin Dutcher & Cynthia Ann Feagles [NY]
Amanly Bird & Irene Pond Marsh [MA/NH]
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I open the front door.
The air is cold and tinged with winter.
I invite all who wish us no ill to enter and celebrate this night.
I ask my Ancestors to welcome in the spirits of the Recent Dead, of my beloved and missed Liz Seib. I ask them to watch over our friends Michael Maxwell Carter Davidson, Peter Blakeslee, and grumpy old Oliver.
I ask my Ancestors to welcome in the spirits of the Recent Dead, of my beloved and missed Liz Seib. I ask them to watch over our friends Michael Maxwell Carter Davidson, Peter Blakeslee, and grumpy old Oliver.
Who do you honor and wish peaceful passages to?
Leave offerings of food and liquor, of earthly things that smell strong and potent, of coffee, tobacco and candies. Leave them fresh, filtered water. Listen to the whisperings of the shadows. Feel peace fill your heart.
Let the candles burn low. Pay attention to your dreamings. The dead have things they wish to say. If you have any divination tools, ask the dead to speak through them.
Leave offerings of food and liquor, of earthly things that smell strong and potent, of coffee, tobacco and candies. Leave them fresh, filtered water. Listen to the whisperings of the shadows. Feel peace fill your heart.
Let the candles burn low. Pay attention to your dreamings. The dead have things they wish to say. If you have any divination tools, ask the dead to speak through them.
Lay the cards out. Draw a rune. Throw the bones.
Blessed Samhain.
Blessed Samhain.
Happy Halloween.
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| George Durant and wife Louise Burnah, their daughter Elsie Durant (who I knew until I was 17), her husband Harold Riddle (who died nine months before I was born on their wedding anniversary). In the front are their children, my Aunt Donna, my Grandpa Dick, and my Uncle Sonny. All are deceased now. |
