The witch's cauldron
TOTEM Flower Essences for Halloween
Without question, Halloween is my favorite holiday. In a way, it’s the only “traditional” holiday that I actually celebrate! It’s equal parts Samahain, Day of the Dead, All Saint’s Day, the Wild Hunt, and so many other pagan traditions all mushed into one glorious skeleton-decorated shindig. I love it so much that my husband and I got married on Halloween, decorating our home with hundreds of marigolds- the flower of the Day of the Dead- and inviting our ancestors to come be “guests” during a time of quarantine and lockdown. In a spiritual sense, it was a “full house” that night!
An excuse to get witchy
Whatever you want to call this glorious tradition, it’s essentially a great excuse to get witchy with it. Almost every culture across time and geography agree that this is the time of year when the veil between worlds thins the most, making available spirits and phenomenon from the “other side”.
Given this easy access, it’s an optimal time to focus on spiritual practices, particularly those that have a witchy vibe. I personally tend to pivot to focus on a few, key elements:
Contact with my ancestors. Whether you celebrate the Day of the Dead or the Catholic All Saints’ Day, the theme is consistent: October 31st and November 1st represent a window to interact directly with spirits that have passed on. For me, I always reach out to my grandmother- the actual inspiration for our TOTEM Dead Grandma Flower Essence. My grandmother LOVED Halloween, and we would work with her for weeks to get her neighborhood haunted house ready for its big premier. I’ll pull out pictures of her or try to honor her memory by putting super creepy decorations outside of our place here in Austin.
Magic potions, like flower essences. So many of our neighbors have witch/ cauldron decorations outside in their yards, and it always gets me thinking of witchy herbalism and the creation of flower essences. I’ll never shake the unexpected shock of discovering that my TOTEM Flower Essences kind of work like hardcore witchcraft, and now I approach the work with much more reverence and awareness of impact. Working on our flower essences has gotten me thinking about just how powerful old school “medicine”- and even witchcraft- really were, and I now feel a strange sense of communion with the fake witch decorations huddled around plastic cauldrons.
Connection with totem animals. Two nights ago, I was woken up by an owl hooting right above our bedroom. It was quite the feat, considering that I wear earplugs to bed and don’t generally wake up for anything until the morning. In my family, owls have a very specific connection to my grandmother, and I took this late-night visit to be her visiting…and being loud;) So many totem animals seem to emerge at this time of the year- along with our ancestors and other “Lower World” characters- offering us support as we shift seasons.
TOTEM Flower Essences for Halloween
There are a few of our TOTEM Flower Essences that are ideal to leverage during this time of the year, including:
Dead Grandma
As referenced above, I associate my grandmother with Halloween and this overall time of the year. So, it was fitting that I name our marigold flower essence- designed to amplify mediumship and connection to ancestors- after her. “Dead Grandma” is also an homage to her hilarious, dark, acerbic sense of humor. In other words: the name is a joke that she would get;)
Marigolds are the official flower of the Day of the Dead, and those celebrating cover their altar with these flowers and images of their deceased loved ones. The belief is that our ancestors are drawn to marigolds and, therefore, will gather where they are placed.
Our Dead Grandma Flower Essence takes advantage of this magnetic pull, assisting us in connecting with loved ones on the "other side" or amplifying our natural mediumship abilities. I was surprised by just how grounding, cozy and downright nostalgic Dead Grandma has been for me. Since starting to take it, I have a moment almost everyday that reminds me of being a child, getting ready to trick or trick, and wander the neighborhood in costume without any sense of time or responsibility.
Dead Grandma also helps to alleviate inherited trauma, specifically "momma trauma" or negative family patterns from our mother’s side of the family. I wrote about this unexpected “side effect” of Dead Grandma in the upcoming November Issue of Best Holistic Life.
Learn more about Dead Grandma Flower Essence or purchase it on our new TOTEM Etsy Shop HERE.
Black Mirror
By far the creepiest flower in the TOTEM Flower Essence garden was our Black Iris. They bloomed before anybody else, and upon their flowering I noticed some unusual fairy activity in the backyard (including being woken up by fairies speaking fairies language outside of my bedroom window). I would find little mosaic tiles with irises painted on them in the planter, and if you follow me on Instagram you may remember when they started displaying human-like faces in their buds.
And all of this made perfect sense in the context of the purpose of our Black Mirror Flower Essence, made of black irises. Named after both the dystopian science fiction series and the witch’s scrying mirror, Black Mirror is formulated to help you see through to the “other side”. This is particularly useful for divination- i.e. reading tarot cards, tea leaves, runes, or even palms- and undertaking a seance: the effort to connect with spirits in the spirit realm for spooky insights and messages.
Since taking Black Mirror, I’ve noticed an influx of signs and symbols and omens and portents, and some days it kind of feels like I have the cheat codes to the matrix! This is a great essence for any psychic or shamanic practitioner, anyone looking to develop their psychic abilities, or simply as a performance enhancing drug for an optimal Halloween experience!
Learn more about Black Mirror and/or purchase it on our new Etsy shop HERE.
Lucid Dream
Our Lucid Dream Flower Essence has become a real underground hit! Theresa Reed (aka The Tarot Lady) has been singing its praises, even sharing a very touching dream experience of seeing her mother, who had passed on some time ago, in a dream after ingesting the essence.
And I just noticed a beautiful review of Lucid Dream on our new TOTEM Etsy shop, saying: “My favorite is the Lucid Dream. I've been dreaming like crazy since I began using it!”
Made of mugwort- a direct relative to the very witchy wormwood- Lucid Dream is designed to amp up our dreamtime experience, going so far as to support us in dreaming “lucidly”- i.e. understanding we’re dreaming and controlling our own dream experience in real time.
I started taking this essence recently, and have also discovered that it really helps me fall asleep and stay asleep. And, when I dream, it’s off the damn chain. Considering the veil between worlds is totally thinning around this Halloween holiday, Lucid Dream could shoot us into the stratosphere with insights from dreams!
Learn more or purchase Lucid Dream on our new Etsy shop HERE!
Happy Halloween!
I’ve got a good feeling about Halloween this year. Several of you lovely people have reached out to share that you’re already enjoying visits from spirit and receiving psychic downloads, with one client even staying, “The veil is thinning early this year!”. Take a moment to remember and honor your loved ones, pull some tarot cards, and get in the mood for the short spooky season!
Here at TOTEM ATX we’re hosting a few new, local clients and lovely shop owners at our work/ live space for some mezcal and tamales, so if you’re in the area reach out to learn more: rachel@totemreadings.com