Originally published June 22, 2013 on the Bubblews website which no longer exists. I've update this articles and also give additions to this original article
Image~©Melanie Neer~Personal image of my "Samhain" altar
This is the third in a series of articles I'm writing about my past "paranormal" experiences. I invite you to read the first two of which I give a link at the end of this article.
As I previously explained in both prior articles, the mystical, metaphysical and paranormal realms were never strange to me as I grew up in such beliefs due to my way ahead. with it great grandmother. Whenever I had experienced my own paranormal occurrences to me they were normal; they never frightened nor scared me in the least. There was one experience however that was, well, a bit strange even to me. I have to confess I rarely talk about this incident since I can't help thinking that if I did, I could expect a truck with men in white coats coming after me and fitting me in a jacket….But here goes…going to reveal it now.
It was something that took place four years ago and on Halloween night…uh, perfect setting, no? What people don't realize about Halloween is that it's actually based on old Celtic pagan and wicca beliefs and is called Samhain. It is one of the known festivals celebrated by neo-pagans and wiccans of today and is considered our New Year. I say "our" since yes folks, I follow the pagan/wicca path myself.
With Samhain is the belief that the veil between worlds is the thinnest and that the spirits of the dead can visit the living. Such a concept is not only a belief among neo-pagans or wiccans but is also observed and celebrated in other cultures, particularly among people of Hispanic origins, especially in Mexico. In this case the day is known as El Dia De Los Muertos (Day Of The Dead), which by the way has its origins from pre-Columbian times. Many people may be familiar with how the image of the skull predominates El Dia De Los Muertos. Is it no wonder then with our "modern" Halloween that ghosts, ghouls, goblins and skeletons are associated with the holiday itself?
In either case, whether it's a celebration of Samhain, El Dia De Los Muertos or Halloween, it is by no means a "morbid" celebration, but a fond remembrance of those who passed on before us. Since I am of the pagan/wicca path, I too celebrate Halloween/Samhain in my own special way and have a special ritual that I do and have done so ever since I first started following the pagan/wiccan path some twelve years ago.
On this particular Halloween/Samhain in 2009, some nine years ago, I became very reflective, not so much with wanting to honor family members who had passed on, but for some reason I had become rather melancholy with my cats of my past who had left my life. So on Halloween night, I set up my altar that I have in my bedroom, which consists of three candles, my statue of the Ancient Egyptian feline goddess Bast (rather appropriate), my Egyptian type incense holder, and a variety of other items that had special meaning to me. I also decorated my altar with a bouquet of Chrysanthemums, and also with Halloween themed items, such as small pumpkins, fall leaves, and Halloween type candy. Then I went one step further, I opened up a can of cat food and placed it on a plate and placed the plate on my altar.
After my little ceremony, I left the bedroom with the incense still burning and the candles lit and went into the living room area and decided to get some work done in front of my computer. My computer desk is right next to my sofa and I noticed that both my cats that I had at that time, Pyewacket and Kissy were sound, sound asleep on the sofa; they were clearly in full view all the time that I was in front of the computer. At one point while sitting in front of the computer I remembered a book I had in my bedroom that I wanted and decided to get it. Once in the bedroom, I passed by my altar to retrieve the book. As I passed the altar again to go back into the living room, I looked down at the altar and that's when I noticed something. Something was missing. Can you guess? Yes, the plate of cat food was completely empty, not a morsel was on it. Since I can see the living room from my bedroom I still noticed both cats sound asleep, so there was no way either of them could have come into the bedroom and eaten the food.
Perhaps when I think of it, that experience really isn't so odd. I've talked with other pet owners who have had their own "encounters" of pets who had passed on and who have "visited" them; such as seeing a shadowy movement in their peripheral vision, hearing sounds, to even feeling the presence of a former pet hopping on their bed and snuggling up with them as they sleep.
There have been documented cases of people experiencing "encounters" with the spirits of pets, especially with cats. One such good read and of which I highly recommend is Dusty Rainbolt's "Ghost Cats: Human Encounters With Feline Spirits"
Have any of you experienced the presence of a former pet?
Update:
In this article I had mentioned about having two cats at that time, Pyewacket and Kissy. Sadly and very unexpectedly, Pyewacket passed on April 19, 2010. Then on September 1, 2015, my 15 year old Kissy passed on. Not long after Kissy passed on you might say I was given a "sign". I've read countless accounts that often when a "loved" one has passed on, be it a human or pet, they will give a "sign" and sometimes this can be in the form of a feather…yes a feather. Only a week had passed with Kissy's death and I was cleaning my floor, when I noticed something. Yes a small light grey bird's wing feather. The color of the feather was in itself very significant since my Kissy was a grey-stripped tiger cat. Also, there was no reasonable explanation how that feather could have gotten into my place as I have window screens on all my windows.
As you can and might guess, I continue my special "Samhain" ritual in remembrance of former cats that have passed on. I include the urns and a photo of both Pyewacket and Kissy on my altar. It's not unusual to observe something. I include a photo I had taken at one such ritual. See anything? One can clearly see a sort of purple mist in the photo that was by no means apparent by the naked eye, yet shows up in the photo. Coincidence?
To this day, not only I, but my present black cat Ouija "senses" a presence of former cats passed on, as there are times when Ouija stares and stares at one particular spot somewhere and there clearly is nothing that can be seen.
My first article about my "paranormal" experiences:
https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal.html
https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal.html
My second article about my "paranormal" experiences:
https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal_27.html
https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal_27.html
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