This festival is on the Wuruma Wheel of the Year. It is not on the Southern Wheel of the Year, which is the European-based Wheel as celebrated in Australia. (See Wheel links below.)
Wuruma Samhain fell on the 31st of May in 2009.
2009 was my first celebration of Wuruma Samhain. Later celebrations of it may differ.
Flora and fauna
Australian seasons are very different to those in the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, North America, etc.). It can be strange to look out the window at the blooming winter flowers on the native plants and think about Samhain. The winter cold is biting deep at this time of year and my head is still full of images from the European Samhain.
However, I found a few local native species that fit Wuruma Samhain:
* Red-bellied Black Snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) - now going to ground for winter, as are other snakes
* Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) - now migrating North and thus leaving the Central Coast of NSW
* Tailor fish (Pomatomus saltatrix) - now migrating North and leaving the Central Coast of NSW
I chose the colours of the Red-bellied Black Snake as my altar colours. I made a snake shape with black cord on my altar surface and put a pile of local sandstone at its head to represent it going to ground for winter in the element of Earth.
For flora I brought in a bare branch and several dead cobs of Coast Banksia (B. integrifolia) which is a local species of Banksia. This species has a dark leaf with a very pale underside, making it a liminal species. Banksia is also the old man of Australian native trees due to its wrinkled bark, another reason it is suitable for a Samhain altar.
(For photos and habitat maps see links below. See Wuruma Lughnasadh for my reasons for not using Aboriginal ritual (secret business) or initiate lore. The smoking ceremony is not secret business.)
Ritual
For the smoking ceremony (smudging) I collected leaves from native trees in the area, put them in a fire-proof bowl and lit them. It had been raining for a few days so I used dried leaves I collected a month ago.
I brought the ashes inside to my altar and cast a circle.
I called the quarters:
Water for East
Fire for North
Earth for West
Air for South
I included the seasonal flora and fauna in the quarter calls.
I addressed the spirits of the land, giving my birthplace and ancestry, and making them aware that I intend no disrespect or infringement on Aboriginal initiate ritual or lore.
I told them about the dying god of the European Neopagan wheel and about the symbolism on my altar and in my ritual.
I thanked them for the bounty of the land throughout the year, for its plants and animals and for its beauty.
I thanked the Elements for their presence throughout the year and their own special beauty. Then I opened the circle.
Confusion
The quarter correspondences I use for Wuruma rituals are different to those for the Southern Wheel. (See link below.)
I always address the Aboriginal spirits as the gods of a parallel pantheon. Given the history of black and white relations in Australia, I would feel very uncomfortable laying any claim to them.
I often have difficulty interpreting the Wuruma Wheel. I use the European wheel as a reference point because it's the only Earth-based religion I am familiar with. But sometimes I get tangled up in trying to find an equivalent in the Wuruma Wheel when there simply is none and my Wuruma rituals get confused and confusing.
It is my first time round the Wuruma Wheel and I am still basing my Wuruma rituals on the concepts of the European wheel and pantheons. Although I was born in Australia and have lived here all my life, mainstream Australian society is still follows the European patterns of clear-cut seasons.
The gods are sometimes very different too. Think about the names and forms the European gods take. The Horned God is a good example. He has horns, native Australia animals do not have horns. He represents life cycle of the cattle in the fields, in Australia the meat animals are kangaroos and crocodiles and smaller animals. When I think about the god as an Australian animal, I get an image of Skippy and, loved though Skippy is, he is not very god-like.
But I am willing to live with the confusion. It won't last forever. I started on the Wuruma Wheel because leaving out Australian seasons and flora and fauna leaves a gap I need to fill. The next time round it will be clearer.
The next festival on the Southern Wheel is Winter Solstice on the 21st of June.
The next festival on the Wuruma Wheel of the Year is Wuruma Begins (start of the windy season) on the 1st of August.
Wuruma Wheel of the Year
Southern Wheel of the Year
Elements on the Southern Wheel & on the Wuruma Wheel
Red-bellied Black Snake article with pictures and habitat map
Red-bellied Black Snake at Faunanet.gov.au
Humpback Whale article with pictures and world habitat map
Whale species article with Australian habitat maps
Tailor fish article with pictures and habitat map
Tailor (AKA Bluefish) article with picture
Skippy at Classic Australian TV
Banksia integrifolia
Coast Banksia at Friends of Lane Cove National Park Inc.
