Pooka’s Page for Grownups…

Happy, Blessed Samhain!

Our Team has worked especially hard to put together a great issue for you and the young
people in your life. Every 6 weeks these folks stop what they’re doing to donate their time,
energy and considerable talents for you and your family. Aren’t they great?

We now have a Facebook page where the Team can get together, brainstorm, hash out ideas and be reminded of our
next deadline.

We’d love it if you stopped by and left a note telling them how you appreciate their efforts. (I tell them all the time, but
it’s different coming from YOU! That makes it Real.) Tell us your stories, your ideas, what you like and want to see more
of. Believe me: We’ll read it, see it and hear you!

Anyone can post. And while you’re there, why not “Like” us. (You do, don’t you?) See you there!
facebook.com/PookaPagesTeam

I’ve had lots of inquiries lately about the Pooka Pages Shop. It’s still closed until I can find another publisher for the Elsie
& Pooka books. But the Café Press Shop is open: cafepress.com/pookachild

Have a great Samhain!

from Lora, Pooka and the Pooka Pages Team
 Also known as: Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, Shadow Fest, Night of Remembering

Samhain (pronounced “Sowain” or “Sowhen”) means the “end of summer” and harkens back to the days of the ancient Celts
when the year was divided in two parts – the warm half, or “summer”, and the cold half, or “winter”. It is a “between” time
when communication with the spirits is much easier and many forms of divination are used. Pagan families set aside this night
(or the night previous) for remembering ancestors, family, friends or pets that have crossed over to the Summerland.

In This Issue

Storybook Chair – Pooka & the Trick or Treaters by Lora Craig-Gaddis

Coloring Page – Elsie’s Ancestor Altar by Lora Craig-Gaddis
Elsie’s Herb Garden – Rosehips by Evelien Roos
Little Kitchen Witch – Marshmallow Treats on a Stick
A Letter from Scotland by Fiona Tinker
Make a Skeleton Wreath by Sally Echternach & Connall
Coloring Page – Samhain Fairy by Nathalie Dussault
Remembering the Ancestors by Raven MoonShadow
Make an Ancestor Tree by Raven Moonshadow
Coloring Page – Samhain Banner by Nathalie Dussault
Scents & Stones by Wendy Fischer
Miss Epstein’s Library - Book Review by Wendy Fischer
Book of Shadows- Samhain Bubble Message Ritual by Sally Echternach
Lotions & Potions by Sally Echternach & Connall
Little WitchCrafts – Spider n’ Web Decoration by Rayne Storm

The Pooka Pages Magazine is published 8 times a year by Lora Craig-Gaddis.

To subscribe, go to: www.pookapages.com
Elsie & Pooka characters are © Lora Craig-Gaddis

This Issue of Pooka Pages is © Copyright October 2012 No portion of this publication may be used without the
author/artist’s permission. To contact an author or artist or for general inquiries, write to pookachild@hotmail.com
Pooka and the Trick or Treaters

Twilight was turning the forest trees into dark silhouettes.In the middle of the trees was a clearing and in
the middle of the clearing sat a small cottage. Light glowed from its multi-paned windows and the steps
leading to front porch were stacked with orange pumpkins and buckets of purple and gold fall flowers.

Inside the cottage, a cheery fire crackled on the hearth and next to the hearth, a small black cat was purring
loudly. Pooka loved Samhain!

He watched as Elsie bustled in and out of the kitchen, transporting bowls and plates of molasses cookies,
caramel apples, popcorn balls and bits of taffy wrapped in twists of waxed paper. Each was carefully arranged
on a table by the front door. The little witch had been baking and cooking for days.

“What are those for?” the cat asked.

“Trick or Treats,” she said.

“Trick or whats?”

“Treats,” she said.

“I know they’re treats. But why are you putting them way over there when I’m sitting right here?” sighed
Pooka.

“They’re for the trick or treaters,” Elsie replied.

Pooka rolled his eyes. There she went talking gibberish again! “Trick or whatters?” he asked.

“Treaters,” she repeated, then stopped and looked at him in surprise. “Oh, I forgot! You don’t know about
them.”

Pooka blinked at her and waited.

Elsie came over and sat next to the cat on the hearth. “The Trick or Treaters usually stick to the village on this
night, but Farmer Gilroy’s wife warned me that we might get few this year.”

“But what are they?” sighed Pooka. By now, he was getting quite exasperated.
Before Elsie could answer, there was a sudden loud pounding on the cottage door. Pooka sprang to his paws
and dashed toward the window. Visitors at this hour?

As he reached the window, he heard voices yelling, “Trick or Treat!” At last the mystery would be solved!

He leaped to the sill, pressed his little black nose to the glass and peered towards the front porch.
Immediately, his eyes got as big as pancakes and his fur sprang straight out in all directions! He jumped
backward off the sill, twisting his body in midair so he could hit the floor running.

“It’s the Trick or Treaters!” he cried. “They’ve come to get us! Run, Elsie!”

The witch watched in open-mouthed astonishment as the cat ricocheted around the room. He finally landed
on top of the tallest bookcase and squeezed himself behind a potted plant. Little black ears and two huge,
terrified eyes peeked down at her through the leaves of the plant. “Elsie, HIDE!” the cat hissed.

To his horror, she started laughing! She laughed so hard that for a few minutes she couldn’t speak. Finally she
gasped, “Pooks, it’s alright!”. And then he saw Elsie actually head straight for the door and open it to the
hoard of monsters, ghouls and zombies crowding against it.

“Trick or Treat,” they yelled.

Elsie reached for a plate of cookies. She didn’t even seem nervous. Apparently the horrible monsters that
roamed on Samhain could be appeased with treats?

One of them poked its ugly head in the door and looked around. “Where’d your cat go?” it asked. “I saw him
in the window.”

Elsie grinned up at the bookcase. “He’s hiding,” she said.

“Is he a scaredy-cat?” the creature sneered.

That did it! Pooka was insulted. He slowly emerged from behind the plant and cautiously leaped down from
the shelf. Besides, he told himself bravely, Elsie might need help dealing with the monsters. He crept to the
door and peeked out from behind Elsie’s skirts.

The greedy monsters were stuffing their bags with the treats that Elsie held out. Pooka fervently hoped they’d
just grab the goodies and not him and Elsie!

One of the shorter ghouls looked up at her. “My mom says you’re a witch,” it announced.

“Of course she is,” said the biggest one. “Can’t you see her costume?”

“It’s not a costume. She wears that all the time,” said the first. “Mom says she’s a real witch!”

A small voice piped up from in back of the others. “I’m a real princess,” it said.

The speaker pushed her way through the monsters to reach the plate of cookies. Pooka was surprised to see a
little girl dressed in a long pink satin dress. On her head was a gold, cardboard crown that sparkled with
glitter. Pooka recognized Farmer Gilroy’s youngest daughter.

The shorter ghoul reached up and pushed its face on top of its head. Pooka stared. The face was a mask! And
underneath were the freckled features of another Gilroy child. The boy asked, “So, are you a real witch?”

Elsie just smiled.

“Hey, these are good!” said the biggest monster. He too had lifted his mask and was biting into a popcorn
ball.

Pooka found himself relaxing now. They were all children! No wonder Elsie hadn’t been frightened.

A mid-sized monster asked, “So what do real witches do on Halloween? Fly around and scare people?”

Elsie laughed. “For one thing,” she said, “we call it Samhain. And, no, we’re too busy to go scaring anyone.
This is a big holiday for us. Why don’t you come in and have some hot apple cider and I’ll tell you about it.”

The children peeked around her into the cozy parlor. “Okay, but just for a minute. We’ve got lots of houses to
go to.”

The Gilroy kids paraded in – all five of them – and plopped themselves down on the furniture. Elsie went to
the kitchen and came back with a tray holding mugs of cider and warm spicy nut bread.

One of the older girls was warming herself next to the hearth. She pointed to the old photos arranged across
the fireplace mantle. “Is this your family?”

“Some of them,” Elsie said, joining her. “The ones who are no longer living.”

“How come you’ve just got dead people up there? That’s sort of creepy,” said the oldest boy.

“Not at all,” Elsie told him. “These are all people I love and people who love me. Death doesn’t change that.
They’re still a part of me. And witches believe that on Samhain – or Halloween, as you call it – it’s easier for
the spirits of those who’ve crossed over to come visit us. It’s like a big family reunion.”

“Why is it easier for them to come on Halloween?” asked one of the boys.
Elsie sat in her chair by the hearth and Pooka settled in her lap. He knew this part, but he still liked hearing
about it.

“To witches this night is the dividing point between the light and dark of the year. Like going from one room to
another – as you cross the threshold, there’s a brief, magical moment when you’re between rooms. Only on
this night, instead of between rooms, we’re sort of between Time. When that happens, it’s easier for us to
feel the presence of those who are living in other worlds besides this one. That includes the presence of loved
ones who have passed.”

The younger boy said, “I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandpa lately. He died last year. But sometimes I
think he’s in my room at night. It doesn’t scare me. It’s more like he’s watching over me. Will he be there
tonight?”

Elsie nodded. “Probably. You just have to open your heart.”

The little girl dressed as a princess spoke sadly. “Our old dog died and I really miss him.”

Elsie nodded again. “Animals too,” she said. “When you go home tonight, think about your dog and all the
fun times you had together. Perhaps his spirit will pay you a visit. It might help if you put out a dish of
something that was his favorite food when he was alive in this world.”

The girl’s face brightened. “Okay. He liked cookies! Can I give him one of these?” She held up one of the
molasses cookies that Elsie had made.

“Sure,” grinned Elsie and then added, “You wanted to know what witches do on Halloween. We feast, have
fun and remember the ones we love who are no longer living. You can do that too.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound very scary,” snorted the oldest boy.

Elsie shrugged. “Sorry.”

Pooka purred in her lap.

The boy rose, signaling to the others. “Guess we’d better go.
We’ve still got the village houses to visit. Thanks for the cider and
stuff.”

The Trick or Treaters lowered their masks again and headed

towards the door. Creaking on its hinges, it suddenly swung open
before them. The oldest boy froze in his tracks and looked over his
shoulder at Elsie. “How did that happen?” he asked.

The little witch glared up toward the ceiling. “Granny, stop that!”
she scolded. A soft chuckle seemed to echo around the parlor. The
kids all stared at each other, wild eyed, and then stampeding from
the cottage, they vanished into the night.

The door gently closed itself behind them.

 Roseh
Rosehips
By Evelien Roos

As Autumn has really started to take control, the “herb”

for this issue is easy to find. The Rose hip is the fruit of
the rosebush. Where during summertime beautiful roses
scent the air, rosehips are dotting the bushes with spots of
red and orange. If you ever get et in a spot where you need
to survive for a night in the woods, try and find these.

Rosehips are filled to bursting with Vitamin C. Up to eight

times the worth of a kiwi and even thirteen times more
than oranges! And besides the Vitamin C it contains
Vitamins
itamins A, E and K and antioxidants and minerals, so the
immune system gets a nice boost using rosehips. You can
make a nice tea, which, with a sprig of mint even tastes great!

Also, if your mom, or granny, is in the menopause (a great change, which come comess with ups and downs) she
might retain water, which is not nice. Tell her to have a cup of rose hip tea each morning with breakfast. It will
help the body get rid of the excess water.

Remember our Elderberry jam? Well, you can use that method to make Rosehip jam. Only make sure that you
cut open the hips and remove all seeds. These are covered in small hairs, which can cause a nasty itch, so
wear gloves during this process! If you re
regularly
gularly eat this jam, it’s a great way to keep your immune system on
par! Since The Great Goddess is a Mother. She knows that her Children will get a beating from the colder
weather, so She arranged for the Rose to have it’s hips at the ready for us. Isn
Isn’t
’t She the Greatest?

Another wonderful way to boost your immune system (and warm your tummy) is with this delicious soup
that’s very popular in Sweden. We often serve it as a dessert with vanilla ice cream.
Rosehip Soup

You’ll need:

• 11 ounces of fresh rosehips

• 2 cups of water
• A stick of cinnamon
• A piece of lemon rind
• 1 ounce of corn starch
• 3 ounces of sugar
• 8,5 fl. Ounces of apple juice
• 11 ounces of small almond cookies of shredded almonds

To make:
Cut open your rosehips, then take out the seeds and cut the hip into small bits. Add the water and boil the
rosehips until they are cooked-through. Add the corn starch and then the apple juice, lemon rind, cinnamon
and sugar. Stir well, and then remove the cinnamon stick and lemon rind. This soup can be eaten both hot
and cold.

Well, that’s it for this issue. See you in the next Pooka Pages! And remember: Any weed can be a healing herb!

Elsie’s Note: We all know how much Pooka loves pancakes and I’ll bet you do too! Well here’s a yummy Rosehip
Syrup recipe to pour over your fall pancakes, and it only takes a total of about 30 minutes to make enough to last all
season:

Rosehip Syrup
4 cups (1 L) rose hips
2 cups (0.47 L) water
1 cup (1240 mL) sugar

Wash rose hips thoroughly. Remove stems and flower remnants. Boil hips and water for 20 minutes in a covered
saucepan. Strain through a jelly bag, cheesecloth or coffee filter. Return the clear juice to your cauldron. Add sugar. Stir
well and boil five minutes. Add a few drops of red food coloring if you want to and then refrigerate until used.
 A Letter from Scotland
Dear Little Witches,

We are all very excited here because it is nearly the Feast of Samhain – the old
name for Hallowe’en. For the grown-ups it is the Celtic New Year and there are
special celebrations and rituals. For the children it is a festival where they have a
lot of messy fun. I guess you already know a lot about Hallowe’en, but would you
like to know something about how Scottish children traditionally celebrate this
festival? Some things are a bit different and you might find them interesting.

Children dress up, just like you do, and go out to the homes of friends and
neighbors. They carry lanterns that they carved at home with a bit of grown-up
help. But their lanterns are not made from pumpkins – they are made from turnips
and they are called neep lanterns. A neep is a very large turnip and making a
lantern from them is really hard work. It takes ages to carve them and if the
children haven’t bent at least two spoons making them it’s not thought much of a
lantern! Children want to find the biggest neep they can to turn into a light for this
night. Did I mention that it’s really, really hard work to carve it?

When they are dressed up and the

lanterns lit, children go guisin (guy-zin). Guisin means to disguise. A long
time ago children used to guise by covering themselves in soot from the
chimney to confuse any bad ghosts that might want to scare them – they
would scare the ghost first and the ghost wouldn’t be able to tell one
child from the other because of all the dirty faces. Now children either
use face paints or masks to disguise themselves, the same as you do. All
of this is not much different from what you do. It’s the next bit that is
probably a lot different.

Children don’t go “trick or treating”. They call it “going out for their
Hallowe’en.” They knock on and when the door is opened, all the little
guisers chant: ‘The sky is blue, the grass is green, I’ll sing you a song for
my Hallowe’en!’ The person who opens the door says yes to this and the
children will perform a little song or dance in exchange for nuts, apples
or some sweets. If they do not really
know the person they sing their song at
the door and are given their reward –
their Hallowe’en. If the children are at the
home of a family friend they will be
invited in to sing their song and to take part in some games. This is much more fun – not
only because it is warmer but because the games are really silly.

One game is doukin for apples. I think this called bobbing for apples in America? I’m not
too sure, but you will probably know this game. Apples are floated in a large tub of water
and all children take it in turns to try to catch an apple using only their mouths. They have
to hold their hands behind their backs and the water is swished around so all the apples
are moving really fast. Children take turns to duck their heads into the water and the boy
or girl who catches the first apple wins the luck of the apple for the year. Everyone
eventually catches an apple, so that everyone has a little bit of apple luck for the next
 year. It’s a very wet, very messy game and a lot of fun to play. Sometimes it’s made
even harder for the apple-catcher and funnier for those watching. Instead of catching
an apple with their mouth, the child trying to catch an apple in the swirling water has to
hold a fork in their mouth and then drop it onto an apple, spearing it.

Another messy game is catching a toffee apple. All the toffee apples are tied to a rope
that’s stretched across the room, a little above head height. The adults make the rope
jiggle about and the children stretch and jump to eat the toffee apples – again their
hands are behind their backs and they only use their mouths to catch and eat the toffee
apple. The first one who finishes eating wins – it is a very silly game but it is a lot of fun
to take part in and to watch. It’s also very, very sticky!

You can imagine how messy some children get at Hallowe’en with these games!

Sometimes children are rewarded with a sweet called Tablet. It is a bit of a Scottish delicacy – very sweet, very bad for
your teeth – but oh so tasty! Perhaps you could ask a grown-up to experiment with making some for you? It’s one of
those things that is a bit tricky, even for grown-ups. It needs a lot of heat and it’s easy for it to turn into fudge or toffee if
the heat is wrong. (But it will still taste good!)

However you celebrate Hallowe’en, have a lovely, safe celebration and a magical Happy New Year.
Samhain Blessing to you all.

Fiona Tinker

How to Make Scottish Tablet

You will need a willing grown-up. Tablet is too tricky and too hot for children to cook – and your best bet is to
supervise and make sure your grown-up doesn’t eat all the tablet first!

Ingredients:

2lb granulated sugar ¼ pint milk

4oz butter large tin of sweetened condensed milk
¼ pint water 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

(Taking it slowly and watching the heat is the secret to successful tablet – too fierce a boiling will make toffee and too
long a boiling will make fudge.)

1. Put sugar, butter, water and milk into a big, heavy pan over a
low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved – don’t allow the
mixture to boil.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture to the boil and
let it boil for 10 minutes. Don’t stir it when it is boiling.
3. After 10 minutes, add the condensed milk, stir it in. Then boil
for another 10 minutes.
4. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla essence.
5. Beat the mix for a minute.
6. Pour into a greased shallow tin and mark into square.
7. When cold and firm, cut, eat and enjoy!
 Make a
Skeleton Wreath
By Sally Echternach & Connall

You will need:

1 bag of skeleton bones (you can usually find these at Walmart, Walgreens, even the Dollar store)

Hot glue or Liquid Nails (do not use hot glue if your skeleton bones are styrofoam. You will need to find an adhesive made
for styrofoam)

Paint, plastic red jewels, glitter, or anything you want to use to brighten up the eye sockets (optional)

Twine or string

Lay all your bones out and experiment to find the best way to arrange your wreath. You will find that the bones all lay
better a certain way. As you will see our wreath isn't your typical “round” shape.

After you figure out how your skeleton wreath will look, take it apart and start to put it back together gluing each piece
together as you go.

When you are finished gluing, depending on

the type of glue you used, you may have to
allow it to dry overnight or if you used hot glue
like us, you can begin tying the joints together.
For us it made it look more authentic and
stabilized the joints.

Last, you add the twine to hang your wreath.

You may have to play with the wrapping of the
twine to get the skeleton to hang just right.

Voila! You have a fun and freaky skeleton

wreath! Happy Samhain!!
Original art by Ashley G. Cook agcook.deviantart.com/gallery/ Coloring Page rendering by Nathalie Dussault
 REMEMBERING THE ANCESTORS:
LEAH BECOMES THE TEACHER

by Raven Moonshadow

Scraps of fabric, fake fur, and even some random glitter covered the floor. To the untrained eye, the area looks like a
crafting experiment gone bad. Leah took one look around the room and knew this mess was a result of her two
brothers, Calvin & Alexander, making their costumes for Halloween trick-or-treating. As she stood there in the middle of
the mess, an all too familiar voice piped up from behind her.

“Ya know, mom is gonna be so mad at you when she sees THIS disaster. I can’t wait to tell her!” Kat’s voice was so loud
behind Leah that she nearly jumped to the ceiling. As much as Leah loved her older sister, some days she swore Kat’s
voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

“You really think this was me?” Leah asked her sister as she spun around to look at Kat. Leah couldn’t help but notice
Kat’s smug expression and laughing eyes. “Look again, sis. This doesn’t look like any mess I’ve made in the last few
years.”

As if to answer the question sitting on the tip of Kat’s tongue, two small, impish figures came dashing down the hallway
laughing, growling, and making really odd monster noises. They ran passed both girls without so much as even noticing
them standing there. Kat stood there, mouth hanging wide open. Leah stood next to her looking quite satisfied with
herself.

“Told you it wasn’t me,” Leah spouted off as she smiled and wrinkled up her nose in the direction of Kat. And with that,
Leah went about searching for her own “supplies.”

Kat simply watched her sister in disgust as Leah flitted about here and there, looking through this, sorting through that.

“There’s more to this holiday than just getting candy, you know! You guys are all ridiculous,” Kat yelled towards Leah as
she stomped off to her own room, leaving Leah doing whatever it was that she was doing. Leah glanced back and shook
her head at her older sister. If Kat was any indication as to what happens when you become a teenager, Leah didn’t
want it. Shaking off her sister’s rude, and odd teenager-ish behavior, Leah went back to her business.

Construction paper, glitter, glue sticks, scissors, a silver marker, poster board, and several family albums; Leah surveyed
her pile of goods and was satisfied with what she had. Now she needed to get to work. Her only problem was finding a
place to work where she wouldn’t be bothered and that was relatively quiet. Living in a house with five other siblings
made the quiet part a little difficult. Leah thought about just going to her bedroom and closing the door, but that would
make Kat suspicious and Marie, Leah’s younger sister, was sure to come in and ask 500 questions, or at least 3.

Leah gazed out of the window to the backyard and saw the Willow tree. It’s branches hung low with leaves in hues of
orange, red and gold. It was then that she realized that under the Willow tree was the most perfect place for her to
work. Gathering up all of her goodies, she walked outside and over to the tree.
The Autumn air was crisp and fresh, but still warm enough that she could work outside without feeling a chill. As Leah
laid out all of her supplies, she was amazed at how big the Willow tree actually was; the trunk much thicker around than
she’d paid attention to before and the branches were so long that they touched the ground. The branches hanging so
low created the perfect privacy wall, Leah thought. And so, she set off to work.

Meanwhile, back inside Calvin and Alexander had convinced their older sister Marie to come help them finish off their
costume, and they would help her with hers. Soon, the crafting room not only had scraps of what they had been working
on all over the floor, but it looked like there had been an all out war between fairies and animals. Scraps of material,
fake fur, tulle, and glitter in so many colors covered the floor worse than before. In fact, there was so much glitter that
the room literally looked like the glitter bomb to top all glitter bombs had exploded and wiped out everything. In the
middle of it all stood Calvin, Alexander & Marie full of smiles, giggles and, generally, feeling very happy with the
accomplishments. For the three of them, there was no better feeling than having completed their own costumes.

Kat came down the hallway, took a glance in the direction of three of her siblings, then rolled her eyes and kept right on
walking. The three looked at each other and then broke out into hysterics; the seriousness of their oldest sister soon to
be forgotten. Well, it was forgotten until they heard their mother walk in. Hurriedly they cleaned up so they could show
off their costumes to their mom without worrying that Kat would drag her off to go see the mess they left. Once clean
(with a vacuum even. Who’d have known even THEY could be so responsible?), Calvin, Alexander & Marie ran off to
show their mother their costumes. Once they had found her, and their sister Kat along with her, they were squeals of
excitement and non-stop chatter.

“We did them ourselves!”

“Aren’t they awesome?”

“Halloween is going to be the BEST night ever!!!!”

Their mother praised them all for being so creative in their creations. In the midst of their excitement, and all of the hugs
they were giving their mom, Kat interrupted in her usual teenager manner.

“Ahem,” she said. “If you three are done, mom and I have actual IMPORTANT work to do to get ready for Samhain. So
scoot.” Kat impatiently pointed Calvin, Marie & Alexander in the direction of the door.

The three decided they would head out back to play around some more before changing. It was,
after all, a fantastic fall day and they weren’t going to spend it cooped up inside. As they
were running around, playing in the leaves and chasing each other, Marie heard a strange noise
over by the Willow tree. She went towards the tree and noticed there seemed to be something
moving just beyond the branches. She signaled to Calvin & Alexander to head over towards the
tree with her. The three crept up to the tree and then burst through the cascading branches.
Leah startled and screamed loudly.

“By the Gods! What are you three doing? You three scared the heck out of me,” Leah
exclaimed.

“What are we doing? We just finished our costumes for Halloween night,” Marie told
her sister. “Aren’t they awesome?”

“Yeah, aren’t they awesome?” the two boys asked in unison.

“So, what are you doing, sis? You should be working on your
costume,” Alexander told Leah.
“I’ll get to it later. Right now, this is more important,” Leah responded. “Samhain will be here sooner than we realize.”

“Yeah, candy! Lots and lots of candy,” Calvin whooped.

“I don’t mean candy, silly. There’s something much more important going on,” Leah told her siblings.

All three siblings - Marie, Calvin & Alexander, looked at Leah as if to ask what she meant. Calvin couldn’t believe there
was anything more important than candy at this time of year anyway. So they sat down on the ground with Leah to
figure out why she had gotten so serious all of a sudden, like Kat.

“So right now, we’re in the middle of Fall, right? Everything is slowing down, leaves are falling from the trees, and all of
the animals are scurrying around to stock up for Winter, but there’s more to this time of year than just those things;
even more than dressing up for Halloween and going door-to-door for candy. The Veil between the worlds is thinning. It
will be at its thinnest on Samhain night. This is a time when we notice a lot more spiritual activity than usual; more
ghosts visiting and such. Well, this is also a time to remember our Ancestors, our family members that have died and
passed through the Veil before us. This is when we honor them, remember them, and celebrate life. It’s a good time to
communicate with them too. This is also the Witch’s New Year, so there are a lot of things to celebrate.”

Leah held up her poster board as she had almost finished it, so she could explain what she was doing.

“Mom has the tree picture frame, right? You know the one that sits on her remembrance altar with the pictures that
hang down from the branches and has pictures of Mom Mom & Pop Pop? Well, I wanted to do something similar, so I
made an Ancestor Tree. I went through old photo albums and grabbed out pictures of family members that have died
and attached the pictures to the tree. It’s just like a family tree only without anyone who is still living on it. And before
you tell me it sounds morbid, I think it’s perfectly wonderful and I’m going to ask mom if we can incorporate it into our
Samhain celebrations.”

Leah stopped talking, as she was a bit exhausted. She honestly thought her brothers and sister had paid more attention
to the Sabbats just like she did. While she sat there, Alexander, Calvin & Marie checked out Leah’s Ancestor Tree.
Everyone was really quiet for a minute. Alexander was the first to speak.

“Leah, I think this is really cool. I guess I never really thought about the meaning of Samhain before. I mean, I know we
always have these amazing ceremonies and celebrations, and such, but the candy and party aspect is always so much
fun I just never concentrated on anything else. Now that I think about it, what a really neat way for us to honor our
family.”

“This is cool, Leah,” agreed Calvin.

“Thanks, sis. I like this! We should keep it for each year and add to it,” Marie added.

Leah was beaming. She, for once, got to be the teacher instead of just the student. She thought about going inside and
bragging about it to their older sister, Kat, but decided she was happy with the satisfaction of knowing that she was able
to help someone understand the Sabbat of Samhain and she didn’t have to be a mean teenager to do it either!

Just then, a gust of wind hit and everything Leah had brought outside was starting to shuffle in the breeze. The four
children gathered everything up and headed back to the house. Leah couldn’t wait to show her mom the Ancestor Tree
she had made, and then she wanted to get working on her costume. She may love the celebration of Samhain, but she is
still a kid so she wasn’t going to miss out on an opportunity to get to go trick-or-treating and get some candy too.
 Ancestor Tree
Tree Craft
- by Raven Moonshadow

Let's make Leah's Ancestor Tree! Here is a list of the

materials you will need for this project:

⁃ poster board
⁃ black construction paper (a few sheets)
⁃ scissors
⁃ white crayon (for tracing on black construction
paper)
⁃ pictures of loved ones (pets too) that have died (get your parents' permission)
⁃ your two hands (you need to trace them!)
⁃ glue or a glue stick
⁃ a purple marker

STEP 1: Use the white crayon and trace your hands onto the black construction paper and then cut them out.
These will be your branches. You may want to make more than two handprint cut outs depending upon the
number of pictures you will be using and how big you want the top of your tree to be. Set the handprints
aside.

STEP 2: Cut out the attached tree trunk pattern and trace it onto another piece of black construction paper
using the white crayon. Then cut out the tree trunk from the black construction paper. Now set the tree trunk
aside.

STEP 3: With a parent's permission (and supervision) use small pictures or cut out pictures of loved ones in
your family, including your pets, that have died. Once you have them cut out, set the pictures aside.

STEP 4: Lay out the poster board and glue the tree trunk in the middle of the poster board along the bottom
edge. Arrange and glue the hands to the top of the tree trunk. Once the hands are on, beginning gluing the
pictures to the branches of the Ancestor Tree. The pictures will become the "leaves."

STEP 5: Using the purple marker, write the following in an empty space of the poster board on either side of
the tree:

Across the Veil of time & space,

I will always hold you in a special place.
In my heart you'll always stay,
The memories of you will never fade.
So Mote It Be

** Raven's note to Parents: Use this activity as a talking point for discussing family ancestry, the Circle of Life,
what the phrase "the thinning of the Veil" means, and even memories/stories you may have of family
members whom have died that your child may have never met. This is a great learning/teaching tool for all of
those things and more. Of course, the Ancestor Tree can be added to as the years pass.
Tree trunk pattern: to cut out and trace onto black construction paper.
Original art by Anna Karuna www.karunaarts.com Coloring page rendering by Nathalie Dussault
 By Wendy Fischer

Clove
Clove makes memories stronger and protects from negative energies. It's used in
pumpkin pie and warm apple cider, both wonderful scents of fall and Samhain. It
energies are energizing, warming and comforting. Use caution with pure clove oil as it is
highly irritating to the skin.

Jet
Jet is formed of fossilized wood and is millions of years old. It is a stone of protection and absorbs
negative energies allowing people who wear it to feel more up lifted and positive. Jet helps you to
feel brave and able to face your fears. It becomes electrically charged when rubbed (don't worry, it
won't shock you) making it a very magical stone. Jet makes plants flourish so be sure to wear one
while you garden! Choose your Jet carefully for it can be confused with black glass.

Stone Cleansing & Blessing Ritual

You can use the Sun or the Moon - whichever you feel more comfortable with and depending on the stone you’re
cleansing and blessing. First, rinse your stones in a mild salt water bath. Then, set them on a window sill or outside
in a nice grassy space and recite the spell. Leave them sit and bathe in the light for a few hours and they're good to
go!

In this Sun/Moon
and with its light
I cleanse these stones
clean and bright.

In this Sun/Moon
and with its light
I charge these stones
with all its might.

As I will, so mote it be
Blessings times three.
Elsie & Pooka’s good friend, Miss Epstein, is the village librarian. Every once in a while, she comes
across a book she thinks they’ll especially enjoy. When that happens, they like telling their friends about
the book too!

Pagan Bed Time Stories: How Maui Slowed the Sun

By Lahela MP Nihpali

I found this story of Maui taming the Sun God La well written and
understandable even for younger children.

I was concerned with Maui beating the legs of La but I see in the back there is a
discussion topic for this, which is a wonderful opening to the discussion of
bullying and violence.

I love that there are spaces on each page for the children to draw their own pictures as well as pictures for
them to color. Having all of the activities in the back of the book is also fantastic! I find myself wishing Lahela
would have included pronunciations to the Hawaiian words as I'm not sure I'm saying them correctly.

I highly recommend this book to any family interested in learning about the Gods and Goddesses and Lore of
different cultures! Great job Lahela, I'm looking forward to reading (and playing in) more of your books!

This book is available on Amazon.com

 Letters to Pooka
By Wendy Fischer & Pooka

Dear Pooka,
Some people say that a black cat means bad luck, I don't believe it but what should I
tell them?
Love, Samantha

Dear Samantha,
It makes Elsie and I sad to hear that people think that but....
The pilgrims that came to our land so long ago were very devoted to
their religion and very fearful of their devil. They were very suspicious people and viewed black cats as companions
to witches, who were considered to be bad people then. This is how the nasty rumor of black cats being bad luck
started.
In many other parts of the world, though, black cats are considered to be good luck. For example, the Scottish
believe that the arrival of a black cat to their home will bring them prosperity. People of Great Britain and Ireland
consider black cats to be good luck also.
Many sailors choose black cats as a “ships cat” for good luck and their wives chose black cats for their house cats
because they believed that the cat's spirit would protect their husband while he was at sea. I'm glad I'm not a
“ship's cat” - I'd get sea sick!
Black cats are favored in Egypt also and the Goddess Bast is an Egyptian Cat Goddess! I like her a lot!
Samantha, I hope I've given you a lot of good information to tell people!
Meowy Samhain! Pooka

Dear Pooka,
We have a very special cat named Pluie. She is a very nice cat. She is very special because she loves always to sit on
Daddy's lap. I love her. She is very smart, and always hungry. She always goes to cool places in hot weather, and
warm places in cool weather. She is very good at hunting; she always stalks the table during meals! Pluie and I love
your magazine.
Love, Benjamin (age 8)

Dear Benjamin,
Pluie sounds very smart – After all, she picked YOU to live with! I would love to hunt under the dinner table with
her sometime. Elsie and I are glad you like our magazine and we love you too! Take good care of Pluie!
Many happy purrs to both of you, Pooka
 Samhain
Bubble Message
Ritual
By Sally Echternach

On Samhain, the invisible veil that separates our world from the world Beyond gets much thinner. That’s why we
often feel the presence of spirits and it’s easier to communicate with them on this night.

Here is a ritual that you can do on Samhain to send a message of love to someone who’s crossed over to the Other
Side of the veil. (Note: Instructions for Glow in the Dark Circle Potion and Magick Message Bubble Potion are included below.)

Gather any photos and mementos of the person (or animal!) that you want to send a message to along with your
potions and any other items you want with you in your circle… incense or some flowers for example. Paint a circle,
clockwise, on the ground around yourself and the items you’ve gathered using the Circle Potion.

Say these words:

As I cast my circle round,

See my light on the ground.
On this special Samhain night,
My light will keep me safe and sound.

Think about the person (or animal) you want to send a message to. Picture how they looked and remember
everything you can about them. Concentrate on the message you want to send. (Keep it simple and short.) Then
dip the wand into your Magick Message Potion and, as you blow the bubbles, imagine your breath blowing the
message into them.
As the bubbles sail off into the night, say:

Goddess Danu, hear my plea

Take my message over air and sea.
Give my loved one this bubble I made
Tell them I love them for forever and a day.
Blessed Be.

Now carefully put your tools and mementos away, knowing that your loved one has heard your message.
 Lotions & Potions
By Sally & Connall Echternach

Magick Message Bubble

Potion

You will need some food coloring and a bottle of bubble

solution with bubble wand inside (found at any local
store). Also an empty jar or container (w/ lid) to hold
your mixture. Make sure the mouth of the container is
large enough to dip the wand inside.

Before you begin, sit and concentrate for a few moments on why you are making your Magick Message Potion
and what you will be using it for. When you are ready, pour your bubble solution into the container. Add a few
drops of coloring, whatever color reminds you of your loved one or even black, as Connall chose because to
him it represents Samhain.
Note: If you would like to turn your bubbles black, just mix a drop of red, one of blue, and one of green.
Gently mix it all together and tape or glue a label on the outside of the container – either your own or you can
cut out and use the one below:
 Glow in the Dark Circle
Potion
You will need:

1 Potion bottle/ jar with a cork or lid

Herbs for protection.
A pinch of salt
1 bottle of glow in the dark paint (found at any local craft
store)

After you gather your supplies, sit for a minute and

concentrate on what you will be using the potion for.
When you are ready, begin making your potion.
Remember, if you are gathering herbs from outside, to ask
the plant first and always leave something in return (Water is always a good idea)

1. Add water to your container

2. Add the salt and each of your herbs and stir three times
3. Add the glow in the dark paint, as much or as little as feels right to you.
4. Now put the lid on tightly, and shake,shake,shake! As you do, imagine the potion practically bursting
with protective energy.
5. Label the container and set it aside until you need it.
Little WitchCrafts
Spider n’ Web Decoration
by Rayne Storm

You’ll Need: (per web)

• 3 Interlocking Popsicle sticks

• Scissors and Tacky glue (or a PARENT with and using a low
temp. glue gun)
• Thin and Strong String (Thin Hemp Cord works well)
• Paint, glitter … things to decorate your web.

You’ll Need: (per spider)

• 1 fuzzy stick (and wire cutters so you don’t ruin your scissors)
• 1 matching Pom-pom ball
• 2 small wiggly / goggle eyes (can be omitted for smaller
children – instead use two dots of puffy fabric paint for eyes)

What to Do: (the web : see picture for help)

• Using your glue – glue your sticks together in the center –

fanned out and stacked on top each other. Allow to dry completely.
• Tie your string to the center / intersection of the popsicle
sticks – leave a long enough tail to tie off the end of your web later.
(No needs to cut your string yet… just wrap it around until these
directions tell you to cut it.) Wrap your string around and in
between each individual stick – making sure your sticks are secure.
• Now wrap your string at three points on the stick. Wrap
under to the front and back around crossing back over your string as
you head to the next stick to wrap again. As you come to the point
where you started from - jump to the next row and continue on.
• Once you have reached the end of the stick and circled all
the way around, cut off a section of string … with a long tail. Make a
 knot securing your web. Now, make a loop – to hang it from and knot it. Weave your string tail down
along the stick back to the center and knot it the tail you left when you started your web. (this is the
back side of your web)
• Paint and decorate your web. While it dries, you can make your spider.

What to Do: (the spider)

• Glue (or paint) on your eyes to your pom-pom. Set aside and allow to dry completely.
• Now, carefully cut your fuzzy stick into 8 equal parts. Put them in a bunch and twist them together
(about 2 times round) in the center. Now space out your eight legs.
• Glue your Pom-pom head/body to the legs. Allow to dry completely.
• Glue your Spider to your decorated and dried web in the center, at the intersection.
• Once dried, hang up on your Halloween tree or from suction cup hangers in your window.