editorial
by Thea
Samhain means death, darkness and divination for starters; the ancestors, the otherworld and the otherworldly, ghosts, magick, Tootsie Rolls and, if you're lucky, at least one good scare. This issue of Widdershins has a taste of all of the above (except the Tootsie Rolls " -- but you know where to get those on your own).
The theme for this issue is "working with the shadow." As pagans, we know that light and shadow are two sides of the same coin; one is nothing without the other. During this time of the year, when the sun is slipping away and the darkness is growing, we are reminded of this sacred dichotomy, and we explore, and even embrace, those parts of us in the shadows. To inspire us, Bestia Mortale has written a tale of shamanic journeying in a war-torn land. Sylvana writes about her experience living in the shadow. Anita plumbs the depths of mysterious Scorpio; Genevieve revels in the darkness of blues music in Earth Tones, and Chantelle takes us on a tour of the Museum of the Mysteries.
To me, there is nothing darker than politics this Samhain. It seems appropriate then, that we received not one, but two political submissions. Kevin Filan compares Marxism and the Wiccan Rede, while Dana Corby warns about the Bush Administration and its philosophy of Dominionism, providing that good scare I promised earlier.
For the last few years around our house, we've been joking that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This joke is no longer funny because it's becoming a terrifying reality. The Bush Administration, with its "shadow government," has trampled our civil rights, blatantly and arrogantly lied to the American people and lined the pockets of its wealthy donors by screwing the poor and middle class (and not the way we like to be screwed, either!). As practitioners of alternative religion, we have a great deal to lose during a second Bush term, but we have a great deal of power too. We can vote the Four Horsemen out of office on November 2. Send 'em packing to whatever hell they were forged in. Remember: Voting is a magickal act. It is working your will. As much as we embrace the shadow, this Samhain is time for us to help restore the light.
Copyright © 2006 by the article's author