This is an interesting holiday and many have different reactions to halloween. Ill use the term halloween in more of the 'traditional' sense. What kids know of it, beyond this or that religion, or culture, and all that. Basically, veil is basically 'gone' for a day. So the spirits slip on in. So kids dress up so they can blend in with the ghouls, ghosts, goblins. Kinda like how we walk around in the CR, with our little persona mask, not really telling if we're warriors, sorcerers, witches. Stuff that might get christian protests out our door or burned at some stake.
(esp chicks with green skin)!
But little kids dress up, have fun. Pick a character. Might be a cute princess or a vampire, Jason or Freddy, or some creepy thing. And then go out, try to scare each other, get candy. Its one of those holidays kids look forward to. And sure, as parents then theres the other thing - we just want to keep them safe. So we go with them, or if they're old enough they go in a large group and keep around familiar surroundings. Then when they come home, check the candy good. We also have to school them on things bit by bit. Not all people are nice, thus we check the candy, make sure. We of course remember all the horror stories about razor blades in apples and stuff like that, or poisoning candy, so we be on the safe side, cause we deal in reality - one which kids when little are fairly exempt to - that there are dangers out there so we have to keep them safe from such things.
And those things too, one of the main things which can stuff our inner child is being 'safe.' Fears can get embedded in various ways. And 'death,' as this holiday is also really about the theme of death - it can manifest too. Like with my kids, when pets die, it can be traumatic.
I remember I did have a black cat, it was actually my first cat that "I" had picked. Some kids were bringing around kittens trying to find them homes. So I saw a black cat with my mom, at the door, and I said "Thats my Sweet Pea." I guess my mom thought it was cute, so she kept it, and that was its name. So it was actually around Halloween when Sweet Pea disappeared. I got told that sometimes black cats disappeared around that holiday, you know, like assholes use them in rituals and stuff. Or could be just stupid kids who might hurt them cause its a 'black cat on halloween.' Of course, its an unknown thing, what happened. But he did disappear.
But our inner child sneaks on out of us. The one kitty we kept, the gray one, Ive been calling shanti or bodhisattva LOL. My daughter calls it 'pee wee.' Anyway, just the other day, I accidentally called it "Sweet Pea." I stopped myself. "Whoa - how did I do that? Accidentally call her that?" Shes not even a black cat. But strangely, my inner child showed up, and they can sneak up on us from within the unconscious self, cause we all have one, and we stuffed it along the way as we became adults. So when it sneaks out, as stalkers, we have to catch it. As dreamers, we have to pay attention in dreaming, or go 'find it.' But be alert for those odd reflections - cause its there in all of us.
The inner child - the only one who truly abandons it is 'us.' Its not parents, or other people - but us, and thats why it sneaks up. Yes, when acknowledged, and given its due upon integration - then it can become a power. "Seeing each day new." Cause technically, we're not dead yet. And also, it has its own connection to spirit which is really able to see better than at times, we can. Like my own kiddo, can scry clouds and fire with ease. I still do it as well - and when I do, its the same deal - its the 'divine child within' doing it. Im typically at my personal best when I operate that way. Because if I discern too hard, then I can block those spirit messages, which are really, my own connection to my own unique 'other side,' ie 'thats just cloud made of air, and water, and condensation.' Inner child says 'thats a tiger an a butterfly,' and there may be relevance for 'seeing' the tiger and butterfly. So we must pay attention to it.
The other thing is - all the stuffings of the inner child, 'fear' and emotion and so forth ' when the inner child is denied this is where we can be childish. Throw tantrums, and stomp feet. By acknowledging we have one, we'll actually do it less. Just like little kids who want attention and will cry, stomp feet, if you go 'whats wrong?' then you'll get an answer. Then course, theres the benefits of it - cause children can 'see' things adults cannot see. They lack the judgment adults develop. And somewhere before 'fear' was installed, or 'magic' was stuffed away as fictitious and illusion - still they had a better view of the world. You know, in awe of some cricket crawling on the ground, or spider on a leaf. "Look! Look!" *point point* They see things that, adults dont pay attention too. And ask a lot of questions too.
In halloween then, somewhere its a good time to balance as well - somewhere, the inner child took a little death, but really that death was more of a stuffing 'somewhere' in mind. We stopped trick or treating cause we got 'too old for it.' Costume parties might be where you dress up to go get drunk with friends lol. But still, there's memories which do exist - good ones, and we have to keep them too.
So maybe this year, everyone go get a bunch of candy and watch some scary movie. And find a way to have fun on the holiday.
