Friends in New York City (not to mention those in L.A.) look at me like I'm crazy when I say I love being in Maine at this time of year. "But it gets dark at 4 p.m. and it's freezing cold." Yes, I agree, that's true, but I kind of like that. My friends shake their heads and walk away thinking I've gone round the bend. But, no, I'm in my right mind. I do like this turning in. I like the shutting down. It feels to me as if the Earth is encircling itself with its own arms and settling down for a long winter's nap. Well deserved I might add. After all, the Earth has been going full tilt for six months.

Maybe it's my Celtic blood that attracts me to this time of year. In the Celtic year, the months between Samhain (Halloween/All Soul's Day/The Day of the Dead) to Beltane (May 1) are considered the dark months. The Celts believe that, in the turning of the seasons, death always precedes rebirth. The Celtic day begins at sundown, and the Celtic year begins at the year's death or Samhain.

Here in Maine, we gather by the fire, or the wood stove, lift a glass and tell stories. We craft, whether it be stories or curtains or sweaters or wooden loons, or pots, or beer. We sink into the mysteries.

Do we seek visions in the firelight, in the smoke, or in a bowl of water – visions of our true love, visions that inspire hope, or visions that help us to identify our path in life more clearly?

Let's align ourselves with the Creative Mysteries of life, death and rebirth. Let's invoke the Gods for help in our creative projects. Let's perform the Sacred Rituals and sing life into being. Let's plant the seeds for our rebirth, focus our minds, and reconnect.

If you are interested in reading more about our Celtic ancestors, here's a link: https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/celebrating-the-seasons/celebrating-samhain

Transformations
We tell stories. 
We tell stories to make sense of our lives.
We tell stories to communicate our experience of being alive.
We tell stories in our own distinct voice. Our own unique rhythm and tonality.

Transformations is a story-telling column. The stories are written by community members who are my students. Our stories are about family, love, loss and good times. We hope to make you laugh and cry. Maybe we will convince you to tell your stories.
— Kathrin Seitz, editor, and Cheryl Durbas, co-editor

"Everyone, when they get quiet, when they become desperately honest with themselves, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, only to discover what is already there." — Henry Miller

Kathrin Seitz teaches Method Writing in Rockport, New York City and Florida. She can be reached atkathrin@kathrinseitz.com. Cheryl Durbas is a freelance personal assistant in the Midcoast area. She can be reached at cheryldurbas@tidewater.net.