New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
| Today is the main day of the Japanese Bon Festival and is referred to as Hachigatsu Bon. The Bon Festival is a celebration of one's ancestors, and traditional celebratory activities include dancing and the visiting and cleaning of ancestors' graves. Tradition also holds that ancestors may visit the homes and altars of loved ones.
Let today serve as a reminder and opportunity for you to communicate with your ancestors. Gather a pen, paper, a fireproof bowl or cauldron, and a white candle with an appropriate holder. Light the candle, then sit down and pen a letter to a departed loved one. When you've finished writing, fold the letter in thirds, then write your loved one's name on the exterior. Now light the letter in the candle's flame and drop it into the cauldron as it changes form into smoke and sends your message into the ethers. So mote it be. |
