Souling

 Whether you're a fan or not Halloween related talk abounds at the moment. Much of what we do now is imported from across the pond....when I was a nipper we did apple bobbing and maybe draped a white sheet over ourselves to turn ourselves into ghosts [homemade dressing up was very much the order of the day in the hard-up 1970s]. I'd never seen a carved pumpkin and we certainly didn't go to the bother of doing the same with a swede as our forefathers did....they're a devil to cut and take forever. In the main [bar the trick or treating which I personally detest] I enjoy it, but what I take from it is the focus upon the ancestors and where many of our own customs originated.

It has been a hectic time for Mythago this past few months as we've undertaken several new creative endeavours. The biggest project is tonight when we're holding our own All Hallows event. It's our first ever ticketed event and we shall be holding the fort for 2.5 hours. Part of what we're doing is reviving some of the folk practices which are in danger of dying out, so people will be able to take part in a call and response to the ancestors and we'll be introducing the new Hooden Horse as part of our soul caking ceremony. Many will rightly associate the horse with Kent, but it is very likely that similar would have happened here in Sussex. At the end of the day people will have marked this magical time using what they had lying around and animal skulls mounted on poles were common. You may never have heard of soul cakes Pre Reformation soul cakes were given to the poor, but in later years groups of children knocked on household doors and sang a song in exchange for one. The idea of the soulcake is that you break it in half...eat one portion and then leave the other piece out as an offering to the souls of the dead. Having eaten a few this past week or so they are absolutely delicious...bit like a rock bun, but more biscuit like in texture and form.

I am currently swinging between nerves and excitement....🤞. Wish me luck!

Arilx