Octoberfest!

I love October, and not just for Hallow's Eve purposes. There is a certain blue in the sky which only appears in October. Concord grapes are in season, the full beauty of the foliage is blossoming, and there's my birthday in there too ;) So many Witchy events this month!

There have been questions lately regarding Italian practices during this time of the year. I've actually posted about this before, in May. I suggest you surf over and read that first because it's one of the posts I actually like lol

The Major Italian festivals dealing with the dead weren't in October/November, they were in February and May. It wasn't until the 700s, when the church wanted to bring the celts into the fold, was the official "all souls day" moved to November 1st.

Around November 8th, the actual mid point between autumn and winter (aka the astrological cross-quarter), the mundus was opened and food was offered to the dead. What's a mundus? I've posted about this before too! I'm on a roll tonight with the past links. See, this isn't just a daily devotional blog, it's the foundation for future work ;) Again, the highlights: It's the center of the city where, some say, there is an access point to the underworld and upperworld. A pit was dug, offerings were made, and it was covered with a slab and an altar was erected on top of it.

Here is a link from Nova Roma describing the practice:

The Roman mundus was located in the Comitium, on the Palatine Hill. This stone was ceremonially opened three times a year, during which spirits of the blessed dead (the Manes) were able to commune with the living. The three days upon which the mundus was opened were August 24, October 5, and November 8. Fruits of the harvest were offered to the dead at this time.

This fits nicely with the feast of Pomona which took place on the 1st of November- orchards were harvested around this time and these are the fruits which were offered in the mundus.



That's all for tonight! Happy October!