Day of All Souls

According to the astronomical calendar, we are exactly halfway between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. The ancient pagan understanding was that, at this critical joint between the seasons, cracks in the fabric of time and space opened up, allowing contact between the spirit world and the mortal one. In the Christian tradition, it’s the Feast of All Souls, a day when we remember those who have departed from this world, when we honor their lives, and, at least in the Rachel tradition, celebrate the continuation of their influence in our lives.

If we look to the heavens (which looking to the heavens is what got the ancients thinking about the veil between the worlds at this time of year in the first place), we can observe the influence of celestial bodies even after their stellar deaths. In death, stars become white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes, none of which produce much (or any, in the case of the black holes) brilliance or luminosity – on their own. However, if a dead star has a companion star, a living star in the same system, then the exchange of matter from one to the other produces explosions which can shine brightly and radiantly.

Now, I am not going to say, “Likewise, when we lose someone with whom we have had a relationship, they continue to influence us in ways that shine through us and thus they continue to live on in memory,” because (a) I don’t like analogies that tie everything up in nice, neat little packages and fit together perfectly, and (b) if we wanted to be astronomically accurate, the explosions of which I wrote (so poetically) in the paragraph above, occur because the dead stars are pulling matter from the living stars, stealing their light, and consuming their life – making the dead stars more like zombies, and while I personally like zombies*, that’s not the analogy I want to use for Day of All Souls.

What I am going to say is this: Today is All Souls Day. Let’s celebrate life. And let’s remember and honor the lives of those who’ve passed away. And maybe the best way to do this is to let our own lives shine brightly and to be positive, living influences on those around us.

And we should know that zombies are not real.

* if you would like to know more about my affection for zombies, you can read the Halloween post on my Friendster or MySpace blog. Or if you don't have access to those sites, let me know...