Unveiling

"The secret to all this is... Not to be afraid of fear."

(React; Respond), Nothing More

Hallowed be thy name

Halloween sees roots in many cultures and the one I initially learned of it from is Catholicism. In my early school years, I read that circa 730, Pope Gregory III transferred All Saints Day from May 13th to November 1st to coincide with the foundation of a chapel to which he was dedicating to all the saints in heaven. Since evening vigils before major liturgical events are common, All Hallow's Eve was born on the night of October 31st. November 2nd was later deemed All Soul's day, and together they created the triduum of Allhallowtide: a time to remember the dead as they are and forever shall be- hallowed, that is, holy.

When we discuss the dead, we see it envelopes more than our physical bodies. We feel deaths of belief systems when we overcome subconscious thought patterns. We experience the void after disjoining from a lover. We hear voices when we are children. We feel the mass of our past lives. We lose ideas, ambitions, projects, affinities, compatibility, capability, monopoly, the list goes on. We are all in the process of becoming new and for that to happen something else must die. We must let go to receive and for that reason we must have kinship with our dead, and see it as it is: holy, untainted by perception, and viewed with life.

Perhaps this is why we leap at the opportunity to display skeletons and spider webs, bloody guts and severed heads; we are not afraid to bring to life to that which we are "supposed" to fear. Perhaps this is why FKJ announces he "will die with a smile", and why Donna Missal divulges,

"Just kill me a little bit

Tighten your grip 'round my neck

Show me the after life

Like drowning in paradise

It feels like real love"

Perhaps people are seeing death in new light. Maybe it's from the red moon?

Whatever it is, don't be afraid to let yourself feel... whatever it is you need to feel this Halloween. Allow transcendence and use it to enhance vulnerability. Death should not hollow you; it should inspire you because it invites you to ask yourself,

"Do you know who you are? When you look at life and you talk about yours, do you feel proud? Are you leaving a mark, or scared to make a bad impression, so you just go hide in the dark?"

Only, NF & Sasha Sloan

Perhaps the illusions will fall with the veil and you'll see why there's nothing to fear this Halloween. Listen to Legend's When the World Ended and wonder how a song with such a title can feel so uplifting. Then take in Ashe deliver World on Fire and feel driven toward a brand new lifestyle. Go ahead and murder your mind, feel the fire in your soul, let love light your road and show you what cloaks itself. Then after all that go watch The Haunted Mansion (2003).

I hope your Halloween is as lively as this scene.

Unveiling

1. (React; Respond), Nothing More
2. Sick, Donna Missal
3. Intro, alt-J
4. Arsonist's Lullabye, Hozier
5. Die with a smile, FKJ
6. Roll the Bones, Shakey Graves
7. Wait, Billy Lemos, Still Woozy & Blake Saint David
8. Only, NF & Sasha Sloan
9. Die for You, The Weeknd
10. The Wilhelm Scream, James Blake
11. When the World Ended, Tim Legend
12. Every Single Night, Fiona Apple
13. Flickers, Son Lux
14. Murder to the Mind, Tash Sultana
15. World on Fire (feat. Ashe), Louis The Child
16. Past Lives, BØRNS
17. Red Moon, Whitney
18. (Accept; Disconnect), Nothing More