Join us to hear tales told by Storyteller Tracy Chipman around the fire in the middle of the stones of the Stargazer Circle, under the Full Moon, on the threshold of Samhain. A very auspicious and atmospheric time and place! Set aside this time and gather around to hear sacred stories tuned to this season, remembering the ancestors, welcoming in the harvest and ushering in the dark half of the year.

Samhain is an ancient Celtic tradition celebrating the end of the old year – the sowing, growing and harvesting is complete, and the new year opens into the dreamtime of winter.  It is also believed that during the threshold of Samhain the boundaries between the physical world and the spirit world dissolve to some degree, allowing (often unexpected) interactions between humans and the denizens of realms beyond our own. Samhain energies offer deeper connections, inviting us to step forward into a new season and a new relationship with our selves and all beings – both visible and invisible – that inhabit our lives. We are kin.

Stories and the art of storytelling transcend time and space; they are set deep in our bones. Our stories, both ancient and new, are transformational and absolutely essential to all life on this planet. They offer a way for us to develop the skills to listen more deeply, share more authentically, imagine more vividly – far beyond the programming of colonization, and ultimately, to find our way back to awe, reverence and wonderment. 

We need the evocative truths of old myth and folklore to weave in, with, and through the fabric of our world, our communities, and our own stories, to help us re-align with and remember that we are part of a much larger whole. There is always time for and always a need for stories to be told. Come. Listen. Find some threads of story that align with your own and weave them into your life under the Full Moon with us at Kinstone. It will be awe-some and wonder-full!

Date: Saturday, October 28, Full Hunter’s Moon
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm  – PLEASE arrive at least 10 to 20 minutes early to get settled!
Location: Kinstone, S3439 Cole Bluff Lane, Fountain City, WI 54629 – the plan is to gather around the fire in the Stargazer Circle; however, if rain, snow or wind keep us from that, we will meet around a smaller fire in the protection of the Porch on the Education Building or inside the Education Building if storming.

COST:  Regular rate – $40/person / Early Bird rate – $30 by October 14, 2023
Pre-registration is required! Seats are limited so get your ticket early! Important: once purchased, there are No Refunds.

IMPORTANT: This event will be held rain or shine! If weather is inclement we will meet around a small fire on the Porch and also open the Kinstone Education Center for comfort. No refunds!

What to bring:

• Bring your own chair, cushion, or mat for sitting on if you desire
• Masks are welcome (disguise yourself so the spirits that roam across “the veil” do not recognize you and take you off to the Otherworld!)
• Bring an insulated mug with a hot beverage or for partaking in provided tea / hot cocoa
• Dress very warmly! Layers, wool socks, boots, mittens, hats, scarves! 
• Bring a blanket or shawl to keep you extra warm if needed
• Bring a flashlight

Note: Tracy’s book is available at the Kinstone Gift Shop – pick up a copy while you are here!

About Tracy Chipman

Tracy Chipman is a storyteller, somatics/yoga instructor, mentor and writer. She is a Wisconsin native who has traveled far and wide, and now resides in northern Wisconsin, occupying the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe peoples. She has been a storyteller for more than 27 years. In March 2023 Tracy published her first book, Borealis Mundi – Resting in Place, Loss & Grace. Tracy weaves the ancient art of oral storytelling with writing and somatic practices to create unforgettable experiences inviting us towards more embodied experiences with the living, animate world. Visit her website, tracychipman.net, to learn more about her work.

“I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and that you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.” ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Read on to find out more about Samhain!

Samhain is a festival originating from ancient Celtic spiritual traditions. It is the time between the old Celtic year and the new Celtic year.  It is usually celebrated for 3 days and 3 nights around All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween, Oct 31), All Saints Day (Nov1) and All Soul’s Day (Nov 2). It is also called the Feast of the Dead. Since this short time period does not seem to fall into either the old or the new Celtic calendar year, it has been called “no-time”.  Some consider the time between Samhain and the start of the new year as a time which does not even exist on the Earthly plane. The “time which is no time” was considered to be both very magical and very dangerous. This was the time to bring home the harvest and usher in the “dark half of the year.” It was a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld was thought to be so thin that the dead could return to sit at the hearths of the living, and some of the living – especially poets and storytellers – were able to enter the Otherworld as well.

Other Interesting Tidbits about Samhain:

• Samhain is one of the four quarterly fire festivals on the ancient Celtic calendar. The others are Imbolc, Beltain, and Lughnasadh – these are also called cross-quarter days as they take place at the midpoint between Equinoxes and Solstices. Samhain takes place at the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice.
• In ancient times, loved ones who had recently died were remembered and their spirits invited to join the living in the celebratory feast. It was also a time at which those born during the past year were formally welcomed into the community. A community fire was lit and participants took a flame or coal from the communal bonfire back to their home to re-light their own hearth which had gone cold while they were out harvesting. People prepared offerings for the ancestors and for any fairies or other beings of the Otherworld. They would dress in disguise as animals or monsters to no otherworldly being would kidnap them. This is a major source of our modern day Halloween traditions.
• In the Middle Ages bonfires were lit to protect families and farms from fairies and witches and carved turnips with a glowing coal were made and called jack-o-lanterns! A supper was prepared and enjoyed after inviting ancestors to join the meal giving families a chance to interact with the spirits of the dead and update them on the past year’s news until after the meal was over when the spirits left.
• Trick-or-treating is said to come from ancient Irish and Scottish practices in the nights leading up to Samhain. In Ireland, “mumming” was the practice of putting on costumes, going door-to-door and singing songs to the dead. Cakes were given as payment. Pranks also became popular and were typically blames on the fairies.

On this day we will rejoice as we gather to hear stories to celebrate the season. Join us!