Oracle Of The Green Sight

Possession: When the Living Borrow the Dead For this final Halloween special, I wanted to look past devils and into something more intimate: not demonic horror, but the eerie reports of human spirits taking hold of the living. The stories are rarer, stranger, and—at least to me—more haunting, because they feel like unfinished conversations between the dead and the breathing. What We Mean by “Ghostly Possession” In the chronicles below, the possessing presence is described as a human soul —a deceased person who “steps into” a living body to speak, to ask for help, or to finish what life left undone. Whether you view these as psychology, suggestion, or something genuinely paranormal, the records exist: witness statements, court documents, period pamphlets, and investigations by early psychical researchers. I’ve gathered several of the most striking cases—some famous, some seldom retold. 1) “The Watseka Wonder” (Illinois, 1877): Lurancy Vennum & Mary Roff In Watseka, Il...

Fortune Telling and Divination at Samhain There has always been something about divination that pulls at me — not for the thrill of guessing, but for the mystery of listening. I’ve read tarot for half my life, never as a parlor trick, but as a quiet conversation with symbols that seem to remember more than we do. And perhaps that’s why, of all nights in the year, Samhain has always felt closest to my craft — a night when the veil thins and people once dared to ask the dark for answers. 1. Seeing Beyond the Firelight Long before tarot decks or crystal balls, the people of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales sought visions in simpler ways. They stared into bowls of water or candle flames, hoping to glimpse a face — often that of a future lover or one long gone. Bonfire ashes were cast into the wind to divine omens for the coming year. 1 These were not games to them, but solemn acts of hope and dread. In some Scottish glens, a girl might eat an apple before midnight and then brush ...

u Masks and Disguises: Spirits, Guisers, and the Haunted Face of Halloween Every October, as the wind sharpens and twilight lingers, masks return to our streets. We think of them as playful—painted faces, store-bought disguises—but their roots run deep into older fears. For centuries, to put on another face at Samhain was not a game. It was protection. 1. The Night the Dead Walked Across the Celtic world, Samhain marked the turning of the year’s light into darkness. On that night, the dead were said to rise and walk the earth, mingling with the living. Spirits, fair folk, and wandering souls moved unseen through villages, drawn by hearth light and offerings of food. To survive their gaze, the living turned to disguise. A mask was more than costume—it was camouflage . 1 Old Irish tales warn of travelers who ventured out unmasked and never returned, “taken” by the sidhe for their beauty or their defiance. But those who covered their faces might walk safely among the dead, mista...

Fairy Folk at Samhain: Offerings at the Threshold There are autumn nights when I can almost feel them. The air stills, leaves skitter across the path, and I sense I am not entirely alone. I’ve always believed in fairies, though not the tiny winged ones of picture books. At Samhain, when the veil thins, I think of the Aos Sí — the “people of the mounds” — who were once both feared and honored across Ireland and Scotland. This was their season: a time when neighbors left offerings at thresholds, not only for their ancestors but also for the unseen folk who walked abroad. Who Were the Aos Sí? The Aos Sí (pronounced “ees shee”) were not quaint sprites but powerful beings tied to the ancient burial mounds, or sidhe , that dotted the Irish landscape. Some traditions remembered them as ancestral spirits. Others whispered they were older still — remnants of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the pre-Christian gods of Ireland, diminished but not gone. To many, they were simply the hidden neighbors: d...

The Medieval Imagination of All Hallows: Ghosts, Relics, and Purgatory When I think of Halloween in the Middle Ages, I picture a world where the veil was not only thin but crowded. The faithful heard bells for the dead, the air smelled of candle wax and incense, and the dark corners of the churchyard stirred with whispers. This was the era when Halloween became layered with theology, folklore, and fear — saints and spirits walking side by side. 1. Ghosts and Purgatory Medieval belief was shaped by the rise of purgatory as a doctrine. By the 12th century, the idea that souls lingered in an intermediate place before heaven had become central. All Souls’ Day (November 2) was set aside for prayers and Masses for these souls. 1 But folk imagination went further. Tales spread of purgatorial spirits returning at All Hallows, sometimes to seek prayers, sometimes to punish neglectful kin. In Ireland, stories told of the restless hosts — companies of dead souls wandering the land until...

Saint Catherine of Siena: Fire of the Spirit Saint Catherine of Siena: Fire of the Spirit Following our deep dive into Hildegard of Bingen , we turn now to another extraordinary woman of faith: Saint Catherine of Siena . If Hildegard’s visions revealed creation’s secret harmonies, Catherine’s were a fire that burned through corruption, politics, and the walls of her own body. Mysticism, in Catherine’s life, was not a quiet refuge but a consuming fire. A Mystic in the Midst of Turmoil Catherine was born in Siena in 1347, the twenty-third child of a wool dyer’s family. From an early age, she experienced visions of Christ and pledged herself to Him. Unlike many mystics who withdrew from the world, Catherine plunged headlong into it. She ministered to the poor, tended plague victims, and wrote letters that thundered across kingdoms. Her spirituality was intensely personal but never private. ...

From Samhain to All Hallows: Rome, the Church, and the Shaping of Halloween Every October I feel the air buzzing with a strange blend of memory — Samhain’s wild firelight on one side, All Hallows’ solemn bells on the other. The Halloween we know today is born from this meeting place. In this post, I want to show you how Rome’s festivals, the medieval Church, and curious folk customs wove together. Along the way, I’ll share some lesser-known tales — from soul cakes to horse skulls — and even a personal note about my own family’s ties to the House of Lancaster, where many of these customs thrived. 1. When Rome Met the Celts: Feralia, Pomona, and Apples The Romans loved their festivals, and two cast long shadows over Celtic lands: Feralia : a Roman festival for the dead, when offerings were made to ancestors. Though held in February, its spirit echoed in other observances and found resonance with Celtic practices. 1 Pomona’s Feast : honoring the goddess of fruit and orchards...

Samhain: At the Threshold of Worlds October has always felt like a homecoming to me. The air sharpens, the leaves burn gold and crimson, and lantern light glows warmer against the dark. As a lifelong lover of Halloween, I can’t help but confess that this is where so much of it begins — at Samhain , the ancient festival that marks the crossing from light to dark. To stand on an October night, with the wind carrying the scent of smoke and soil, is to sense you are standing at a threshold between worlds. What Samhain Was (and Wasn’t) Samhain (pronounced Sow-in or Sah-vin , depending on dialect) was not the “Celtic New Year” in the tidy calendar sense we often hear today, but rather a liminal turning point. It was the great hinge of the year: the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter’s dark half. To the early Irish and Scottish peoples, this was more than agricultural bookkeeping — it was a spiritual frontier. Cattle were driven from summer pasture, fields closed, and...