Full Circle: Honoring the Turning of Our World—Samhain / Dia de Los Muertos

Greetings, everyone!

I'm inviting you to the first session of our yearlong practice, celebrating each major holiday of the wheel of the year. Please be welcomed to attend any of these nine sessions (all nine listed below), or to become part of the core group who commits to the whole year, building a community together, growing in our connection to each other and to the unseen world.

This first session is to honor the "cross-quarter" day or midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. This is known in many ways, both present and past, such as Samhain and el dia de los muertos. This holy day marks the beginning of winter, and in many traditions, the beginning of the new year, so both loss and hope hold sway.

I have scheduled three hours for us to ensure we have enough time for writing our personal stories or reflections (and possibly reading our work) and for creating community and ceremony or ritual together in small, sweet ways. I will share a bit about my own sense of this sacred day, though please know now that I am not planning to "teach," per se, but to share what I believe and what I know, and to provide time for everyone to add more of this to the mix. I'm hoping we'll all leave filled with a sense of connection to ourselves, to the community, to the natural world and to the world of spirit.

Be sure to read all the details below with care, and please be welcomed to send me a private message through Meetup if you have any questions or concerns.

Happy fall!
Riba

What to "bring"

1. An actual photograph or a picture in your mind or a clear feeling inside yourself of a being or a place or something else you have grieved the loss of.
2. An item for the communal (Zoom!) altar, something you might be able to describe your connection to in a sentence or two.
3. Something soothing, be it a cup of hot tea or comfort food or a warm blanket or something else.
4. A notebook and pen or pencil (I want to encourage everyone to write by hand if this is physically possible for you!), and anything else you'd like to have near you during our time together, like maybe a candle or a stone or ???

What to KNOW

1. I'm asking for $29 per three-hour session or $229 for all nine, so you can enter either amount at the link below. If you are not able to pay the fee(s), please send me a private message through Meetup, and we'll go from there. (I don't want to turn anyone away for lack of funds, so I'll trust we can work something out.) And please feel free to offer a bit extra (above either amount) if you'd like to offer dana or generosity for those who may need it. Thank you!
   paypal.me/RibaTaylor
2. I ask that everyone please plan to have your camera turned on (!!) for this gathering. It's the only way I feel comfortable leading this kind of intimate work. I know this may be problematic for some, so I wanted everyone to know in advance. (Blurred backgrounds, placing yourself before a blank wall or finding a good spot outdoors are hopefully viable options to comfortably have your video on.)
3. We'll be meeting on Zoom, and I'll send the link near to the event date to everyone who's registered.
4. Please DO NOT RSVP HERE until AFTER you've registered. Thanks very much.

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Full Circle
Sundays
9:30am to 12:30pm Pacific Time
November 2, 2025
December 21, 2025 (solstice)
February 1, 2026
March 22, 2026 (equinox)
May 3, 2026
June 21, 2026 (solstice)
August 2, 2026
September 20, 2026 (equinox)
November 1, 2026

We will be marking together the two solstices and the two equinoxes and the "cross-quarter" days that fall halfway between each of these. We'll do some spontaneous writing and reading together and a bit of ritual or ceremony to honor these days, weaving the alchemy of writing in community with the magic of these holy days. (Note, only some of our dates align exactly with the actual holidays, but I believe our time together will be infused with the energy of these special turnings of the year.)

P.S. I owe my inspiration for these sessions to Becca Klaver! I caught the last session of her Writing the Wheel of the Year, and it was so valuable to me. I was hooked. And I've always wanted to be in community for these holidays. Thank you so much, Becca, for the idea and for your incredible sweetness and support for me to take this and run with it.