Samhain: the Third Harvest
Planetary System chart depicting Eclipse of the Sun, The Moon, The Zodiacal Light, and Meteoric Shower, from Yaggy's Geographical Study, 1887. Source
Samhain, a Celtic word meaning "summer's end," is a celebration of the end of the harvest season, the third of the three harvests. The days are shorter, the weather turns cold, and if you haven't picked it by now, you probably won't be eating it. On the Wheel of the Year, the wax and wane of the seasons are marked by the Solstices and Equinoxes. In between these are the cross-quarter celebrations, of which Samhain is the fourth. On this curve of the Wheel, life turns inward and slows down.
Samhain is also known as the harvest of the soul. On a personal level, a key question might be: what in me needs to die to make space for possible new growth in the next turn of the Wheel? In many traditions, this is the time of year to honor the dead and our ancestors. It is said that the veil between the worlds is thinner and messages pass more easily. Consider making an altar to recognize and honor your ancestors: human and nonhuman, biological, creative, spiritual, and intellectual.
Find ceremony in closing up your home in preparation for winter. Any garden or outdoor tools or furniture that are no longer needed should be cleaned up and put away, thanking them for their service. Prep your garden and yard for winter, even if your garden is a tiny windowsill planter. Make your resting and sleeping spaces warm and cozy to prepare yourself for the Dreamtime.
The Dreamtime is the winter season that begins on November 1, the long dark. It is time to turn inward and slow down, to dream of what we might grow in the next turn of the Wheel. It’s also a great time to come together around the fire as community and repair tools, share stories and songs, and share food.
This is not a season of sadness, although letting go can sometimes have moments of anguish. This is a time to celebrate the work that we’ve done to reach exactly this point in time. It’s a time to share this gratitude and to slow down and prepare for the sweet rest of the Dreamtime which is the winter months to come.
November 4 and 9: two Rewild Salish Sea community conversations
What classes and events do you want Rewild Salish Sea to offer? Are any of you willing and able to help us hold some of the logistics pieces? Please join us for either or both of our upcoming Rewild Salish Sea community conversations and let us know!
Saturday, November 4 from 9:30 - 11 am
Thursday, November 9 from 7 - 8:30 pm
It's time for us all to deeply question the default cultural conditioning and to find ways to break the spells of modernity, unweaving the digital, consumerist spell that entangles all of us, and to find ways to create solid, lasting, mutual-aid-driven, interdependent community.
Place-based skills like weaving, mending, fixing, carving, foraging, tracking, food-growing, and the like bring us back into our bodies and create a sense of potential and accomplishment that we don't get from screens. (Re)learning the metaphoric skills of reweaving our community ties is crucial and foundational as we move in these uneasy, uneven times of collapse.
Avery and I have been building Rewild Salish Sea for most of this year, and we are only two people who hold day jobs. We'd love to see this community grow and become rooted, and that takes effort and tending. We see Rewild Salish Sea as a mycelial network of existing and new teachers, organizations, and communities throughout the Salish Sea region, and we feel that it is coming into being for a reason, at this time of change and upheaval.
In these Rewild Salish Sea community conversations on November 4 and 9, we will be asking:
What types of events are wanted? Some examples:
Monthly skills series (weaving, mending, fixing, carving, foraging, tracking, food-growing, etc)
Monthly or quarterly book club on rewilding themes (social technologies, decolonizing/hospicing modernity, mutual aid, degrowth, etc)
Monthly or quarterly in-person event to explore rewilding technology and how we can balance the pervasive digital tools we have with the world we want
Monthly or quarterly plant walks to learn more about what grows in your area and what is useful for eating, crafting, and making (this could move around the Salish Sea to a different location every month)
Quarterly earthquake/disaster preparedness classes
Online Zoom meetup approximately every other month with Rewild Portland at Philosopher's Fire
In-person meetup for the Annual North American Rewilding Conference in January (we would be joining online as an in-person group via Zoom/Whova)
Others?
Are you part of an existing rewilding/mutual-aid org, and would you be interested in collaborating?
What is your preferred frequency for events? In person? Online?
Who might want to hold threads of the org such as outreach and event planning, social media help, and skills filming/editing?
Who might want to hold regional nodes outside of Seattle (Olympic Penninsula, Olympia, Tacoma, San Juan Islands, Bellingham, Duvall, Vancouver/Vancouver Island BC)
Do you have meeting space for events, either indoor or outdoor?
Should we establish a council with rotating leadership roles? We are not a nonprofit, so this form would help us have some structure to manage logistics and to have an accountability framework so each person knows what they're taking on
If you can't make it to our Zoom calls, we'd still love to hear from you about the questions above.
As always, we express gratitude that the Salish Sea region has such an amazing community already! See it on a map, and let us know if we can add more nodes.
Thank you for your support on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Monday, October 9th
Thank you for the great group that came out to support land-tending at The Heron’s Nest in support of the Duwamish Tribe on Indigenous People’s Day, October 9! We cleared a lot of invasive English ivy (some of the trunks were several inches wide!) from the northern part of the largest contiguous remaining forest in the Seattle area, the West Duwamish Greenbelt, cleared the drainage ditches along the road in prep for the rainy season, gathered firewood, added roof poles to the outdoor classroom, and worked on the chicken coop. Many hands make lighter work. Thank you @buttonstothetop for leading the crew and for the photos 🧡
If you missed coming out that day, watch The Promised Land, an award-winning social justice documentary that follows two tribes in the Pacific Northwest: the Duwamish and the Chinook, as they fight for the restoration of treaty rights they've long been denied. In following their story, the film examines a larger problem in the way that the government and society still looks at tribal sovereignty.
Andrewism: a great YouTube channel about degrowth, by Andrew Sage, an anarchist writer, video producer, and organizer from Trinidad and Tobago. Watch How Degrowth Can Save the World
Degrowth: living well by slowing down and prioritizing well-being, equity, and sustainability.
Often people ask: what can I do in the face of the global capitalist system, which pursues exponential growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental destruction? One answer is the degrowth movement (Bill Gates hates it so it must be good! 😁)
Some say we are already in a state of unplanned degrowth. With forethought, however, degrowth can be a politically accessible soft-reform movement which is needed for widespread change. Focusing on funding and improving public services, reducing work hours, enabling sustainable development, and removing dependencies on growth will move the larger society in a more humane and sustainable direction.
On the local and personal level, we can pursue much more immediate forms of degrowth by buying less, making and repairing more, and practicing community and mutual aid. Check out the many excellent community resources such as tool libraries, mutual-aid groups, learning orgs, and more on the Rewild Salish Sea community map. Are we missing something? Contribute more resources to the Rewild Salish Sea map here.
Credit: Becca Barad, from the AOC Mutual Aid 101 Toolkit
Form a mutual aid group
Mutual aid is “cooperation for the sake of the common good.” It’s getting people to come together to meet each other’s needs, recognizing that, as humans, our survival is dependent on one another.
Mutual Aid 101 Toolkit: created by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and organizer Mariame Kaba during the COVID-19 lockdown, includes step-by-step instructions for how you can build your own mutual aid network.
Big Door Brigade - a website guide to everything mutual aid by organizer Dean Spade.
Mutual Aid Disaster Relief - a mutual aid network with many guides, reports, and resources.
Existing mutual aid groups around the Salish Sea region
There are many small mutual aid groups operating in the region, and these are just a few examples:
Puget Sound Anarchists zine, Notes on Mutual Aid
Gender Justice League list of mutual aid
SnoCo Mutual Aid for Snohomish County resources
South Seattle Emerald maintains a page of mutual aid groups
Jefferson County Anti-Racist Fund, a mutual aid project focused on the individual and collective wellness of our local community of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
Check out more mutual aid orgs on the Rewild Salish Sea resource map. Did we miss any orgs? Let us know and we’ll add them to the map.
Upcoming events around the Salish Sea
Tell us about your event and we will share it.
Free Wilderness Awareness School eCourses
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The Heron’s Nest Landback Project: Outdoor Education & Restorative Justice Volunteer Land Stewardship Day
Every Monday, 10 am - 2 pm
Work includes general landscaping, blackberry root removal, ivy and invasive species removal, new plantings, weeding, small building projects, and more! All ages activities, Gloves, tools, snacks, and drinks are available. Come as you are, feel free to bring what you like. On leash dogs welcome.
Heron’s Nest, 4818 Puget Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106 (above the Duwamish longhouse)
Seattle Spoon Club
Every third Friday of the month, 6 - 9 pm
A gathering of spoon enthusiasts in the Seattle area. Come join this wonderful community. We will have spoon blanks available, but we asked that you bring your own tools.
More information
Pratt Fine Arts Center Woodshop, 1902 South Main St, Seattle, WA 98144
Basic Bushcraft
Sat and Sun, Nov 4th – 5th, 2023, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
The ultimate expression of freedom is the lack of reliance on items you can’t produce yourself. This is the essence of Bushcraft—what you need to know to craft and successfully use the tools for living in the Bush. Each skill that we teach will have a practical application. Theory will be put to the test. You will learn fundamental skills in how to live closer to nature. Instead of just surviving, you will learn to live and thrive with the natural materials that surround you.
More information
Linne Doran Campus, Cedar Lodge, 20410 320th Ave NE, Duvall, WA, 98019
(PLANT)FLUENCED a seasonal series of wild plant walks for ecological fluency
Tue, Nov 7, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Join Katie Vincent for a series of seasonal plant walks in the Snoqualmie Valley. We will learn about wild plants by the elemental conditions they respond to from the earth: WATER, FIRE + WOOD. On each walk, we will use all our senses to learn basic plant ID, ethnobotany and concepts of ecological design and succession. We will build intimacy with a seasonal selection of Pacific Northwest plants and explore how they interact with wildlife, humans, and fungi (i.e. as food, craft, medicine, shelter, etc). We will also grow our observation skills to help us orient to any landscape.
More information
Various locations in the Snoqualmie Valley, WA (RSVP for location)
Songs On Fire: A Song Circle Playshop
Thu Nov 9, 6:00 - 8:30 pm
...a fun, monthly community song circle. We will sing together and play a few warm-up games to get our juices flowing. We believe in song as a doorway to the healing our ecosystems need. Come and cast song spells with us!
Private residence (address provided upon RSVP), Duvall, WA
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Tracking Club (Seattle)
Sat Nov 11th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (please arrive by 8:45)
The mission of Tracking Club is to develop tracking skills for all ages, prepare adults to pass on tracking knowledge to youth, and to prepare children for a lifetime of learning about the natural world. You can never be sure what cast of characters we may be following: elk, otter, coyote, bobcat, bear, cougar, and more! At Tracking Club, participants are led by skillful naturalists into a world of mystery and intrigue that we call tracking.
More information
Golden Gardens (meet at the end of the lower parking lot), 8498 Seaview Place NW, Seattle, WA 98117
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Night Club
Fri Nov 17, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Night Club invites you to explore your relationship with darkness and light by practicing nature connection beyond the realm of day. Through games, discussion, modeling, art, sensory play, and more, you’ll experience astronomy, awareness, games & challenges, nocturnal critters, and campfire connection.
More information
Linne Doran Campus, Cedar Lodge, 20410 320th Ave NE, Duvall, WA, 98019
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Tracking Club (Duvall)
Sat Nov 18, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (please arrive by 8:45, carpools leave at 9:00 am)
The mission of Tracking Club is to develop tracking skills for all ages, prepare adults to pass on tracking knowledge to youth, and to prepare children for a lifetime of learning about the natural world. You can never be sure what cast of characters we may be following: elk, otter, coyote, bobcat, bear, cougar, and more! At Tracking Club, participants are led by skillful naturalists into a world of mystery and intrigue that we call tracking.
More information
Duvall Park & Ride, 16011 Main St NE, Duvall, WA 98019
Herbal Syrup Making Workshop (Bellingham, WA)
Sun Nov 19, 1:00 - 4:00 pm
In class, we will make some elderberry syrup that you will get to take home. This is a favorite remedy to have on hand during the cold and flu season and can be nice to know how to make your own (and what other herbs are nice to pair with the elderberries for immune support). We will talk about the benefits of making herbal syrups, how to make them, taste some various herbal syrups, and how to incorporate them into your kitchen or daily routines.
More information
Ravens Roots Naturalist School, 3577 Aldergrove Rd, Ferndale, WA 98248
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Tracking Club (Seattle)
Sat Dec 2nd, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (please arrive by 8:45)
The mission of Tracking Club is to develop tracking skills for all ages, prepare adults to pass on tracking knowledge to youth, and to prepare children for a lifetime of learning about the natural world. You can never be sure what cast of characters we may be following: elk, otter, coyote, bobcat, bear, cougar, and more! At Tracking Club, participants are led by skillful naturalists into a world of mystery and intrigue that we call tracking.
More information
Seahurst Park (meet at the end of Seahurst Park Road), 1600 SW Seahurst Park Rd, Burien, WA 98166
Wilderness Awareness School Monthly Night Club
Fri Dec 8, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Night Club invites you to explore your relationship with darkness and light by practicing nature connection beyond the realm of day. Through games, discussion, modeling, art, sensory play, and more, you’ll experience astronomy, awareness, games & challenges, nocturnal critters, and campfire connection.
More information
Linne Doran Campus, Cedar Lodge, 20410 320th Ave NE, Duvall, WA, 98019
Ravens Roots Naturalist School Spoon Carving Workshop
Sun Dec 10, 2023, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
In this introductory carving class, led by Ryan Johnson and Gary Cassera, learn to make handmade wooden spoons using a knife, axe, saw, and gouge. Each step of the process, follow along with the instructors to make your own spoon to take home.
More information
Chuckanut Center, 103 Chuckanut Dr N, Bellingham, WA 98225
