Halloween may be a made up holiday. It may have been co-opted, Hallmarked, and sugared like a lot of U.S. holidays, but I transcend this. For me, Hallows Eve is more than all of this. It’s about acknowledging the metaphysical, ideas of other worldliness, the possibility of ghosts. It’s about witches and history, a collective human history and a personal, family history.
Both my maternal great grandmother, Martha, and her father Valentine (my great great) practiced cupping. Cupping, as I understand it, is an ancient healing practice where hot cups are placed on the skin to draw blood to the surface. Similar to acupuncture, cupping activates blood flow, helps with pain, and promotes healing. The practice of cupping was controversial, at least for Valentine and Martha. I don’t remember who told me this family story, but apparently the banker in the town where Valentine lived asked him to heal his leg. The man was suffering from gangrene, and the doctor in the town wanted to amputate. Valentine healed the banker’s leg, but when the townspeople got wind of this, they threatened to hang Valentine as a witch. Martha continued cupping in secret, and some of her family disapproved, saying she was basically practicing medicine without a license.
So on Hallows Eve, I think about healing. And witches. I honor the millions of people who died in Europe and those who died here in the States. I treasure the fact that I come from witches, that I am open to “alternative” medicine. I try to focus on the things that need healing in this world, namely the imbalance we humans seem to still have with our natural environment. I remember that we need pollinators, predators, trees, clean air, and water. I focus on how we humans need healing when it comes to our ignorance and intolerance of each other’s differences. I try to slow down my fears and open my brain. On October 31st, I reflect until I come up with ways that I can take personal action. For me, this is the beginning of my New Year’s resolutions.
I am told that Martha was a fun, mischievous person. I like that I am like her. On Hallows Eve, I have one costume, and I wear it proudly and playfully in the woods.
