October – Descending Moon. The October Descending Full Moon is so named due to its affiliation with the descent into the Underworld and the thinnest veil of liminality. This month is the third and final harvest. With new beginnings come new changes and as we harvest the last part of the year and prepare for the upcoming spinning of the Wheel of the Year into new energies and new blessings to come. The Goddess of the Descending Moon is Sheol, the Goddess of the Gateway. She is celebrated through transformation as the moon heralds the traditional Witch’s New Year, heralds the upcoming Witch’s New Year of Elohian Wicca, and the final harvest on October 31st, the Sabbat Samhain. She takes our old energies and transmutes them into a fresh Fool’s journey. Rituals this month should deal with banishing bad habits and purification of one’s life and house.
Sheol is a Goddess of the Hebraic and Judaic myths. Her role in mythology has been equated to an underworld Goddess similar to Ereshkigal of the Sumerian mythologies and like Hades of Greek mythology. She is the Goddess of the Gateway, Queen of Shadows, and her duty is to take the ferried souls from Azrael, the Angel of Death, that crossed the river of Eden into Paradise and welcome their souls to Summerland. Sheol was the original term used for the Judaic underworld meaning grave and still darkness where it was believed that was where the human soul, both righteous and unrighteous, returned. Later in mythology, Sheol was replaced by Hell and Heaven where judgement and punishment decided what type of afterlife you existed in. Reclaiming the power of the Goddess that ruled over the underworld reclaims the title of Sheol as a Goddess much like other mythology as opposed to the monotheistic derivation proposed in Hebrew mythos as well as reclaiming the underworld renamed hell and marked by fire, brimstone, and eternal damnation. Sheol is not the Queen of Hell but rather the Queen of Summerland and your Gateway to Paradise. Referred to as the Ruach Elohim and Ruach Ha-Kodesh, she was the one that breathed the breath of life into Adam upon his creation providing the spark of creation. She is the Spirit of Mercies that moved upon the face of the deep, and with their embrace, creation sprang forth.
Correspondences:
Goddess: Sheol
Colors: Black, Orange, Deep Purple
Element: Air
Herbs: Mullein, Coltsfoot, and Damiana
Oils: Dragon’s Blood, Myrrh, Patchouli, Clove and Sage
Trees: Cypress, Yew
Flowers/Plants: Calendula, Cosmos
Stone: Opal, Obsidian, Black Tourmaline
Psalm to Sheol
Sheol, Goddess of Paradise Abode from which the river of Eden did spring She that holds counsel as Death's womb Capturing the essence of final breath Goddess of mysteries Beyond the veil of living She that dust returns unto Sheol, Goddess of the Gateway The portal between the living and spirit Transcend upon my flesh And allow me communion Through the veil of death and transformation Sheol, Goddess of Spreading Winter The shadow that stretches across the valley Lulling the fields into slumber Resting the beating heart of the earth She who receives the soul from the ferryman And sends Azrael to collect upon abated slumber Sheol, Goddess of Grand Repose Bestow your grace and caring hand Wrap me in layers of the abyss Of your primordial tomb So I may ascend in divine rapture To await spiritual rebirth Through Eden's primordial womb