Samhain has always been a threshold time. The air turns crisp, the veil feels thinner, and the ancestors are closer than ever.
Most of the talk around ancestors these days focuses on trauma. And yes, ancestral wounds are real. We carry patterns and pain in our bones. But here’s what I think we often forget: we also carry gifts.
More Than Trauma
It’s become trendy to trace everything back to “ancestral trauma.” But if we only look through that lens, we reduce our lineage to suffering – and that’s not the whole story.
Our ancestors were survivors. They lived through wars, famines, grief, upheaval. They found ways to laugh, to love, to raise children, to create beauty in the cracks. And they passed down not only their wounds but their resilience, their wisdom, their creativity, their sheer bloody determination.
We are the living proof of their strength.
What Runs Through Our Veins
Maybe you inherited your grandmother’s courage, your grandfather’s patience, your great-aunt’s fierce independence. Maybe the rhythm in your blood comes from generations who danced, sang, and told stories around the fire.
Yes, we need to heal what was broken. But we also need to claim what was brilliant. The spark of innovation. The ability to adapt. The quiet endurance. The sense of humour that carried people through impossible times.
That’s in you. Right now.
Gratitude at the Threshold
Samhain is a time to honour the dead, but it’s also a time to honour the living thread that connects us to them.
Light a candle. Set an extra place at the table. Whisper thank you into the autumn night. Not only for what was hard – but for what was given. For the grit, the grace, the grit-your-teeth-and-keep-going energy that you stand on today.
The Sacred Rebel View
Rebellion isn’t only about breaking chains. It’s also about reclaiming treasures. We are not only the product of pain – we are the inheritors of strength.
So this Samhain, remember: your bloodline didn’t just survive. It created you. And inside you live not just the shadows of what they endured, but the bright, enduring fire of what they achieved.
Claim it. Live it. Be grateful for it.
Because the greatest honour you can give your ancestors isn’t just to heal their wounds. It’s to carry their gifts forward into the world.
