November 2 is the Day of the Dead. It takes the form of rituals practiced in many cultures and religions that often dedicate one or more public holidays to the commemoration of the deceased. It has been practiced in many cultures and religions for over 3,000 years. During this period, the cult of the dead is sometimes mythologized in some countries in joy, joy and celebration. This festival takes place 40 days after the autumn equinox. Is this a coincidence? Obviously not!
Beyond folklore and traditions, this unique festival of the year is linked to the celestial cycles and provides a teaching on the incarnation of the soul. This takes us back to ancient writings, to the primitive approach to the incarnation of the soul, and then especially to astrotheology and one of the 4 major celestial events of the year: the 2 solstices and the 2 equinoxes. Pagan, proto-religious societies practiced their folkloric celebrations during these 4 key moments of the year, through various traditions.
At the autumn equinox, which generally occurs between September 21 and 23: The nights become longer than the days. According to ancient approaches, the alternation of days and nights symbolized the balance between light and darkness, between the solar and luminous Spirit, and dark matter, between the world of the source above and the world of form below. During the autumn equinox, darkness takes precedence over light: the soul leaves the world of the Spirit and plunges into the darkness of matter.
The following 40 days refer us to a maturation to embody something new in matter. The 40-day period of Lent has two origins: the first comes from Egyptian gariculture, where the seed germinated after 40 days in the earth. The incubation period was later transformed into a spiritual allegory. The second is the 40-week period of pregnancy. What better symbol of incarnation than the average length of the fetal cycle?
The material being is born because the soul is incarnated in matter. The ancients established a separation between the spiritual world and the material world: incarnation in matter symbolized the death of the soul. Earthly birth therefore represents, according to these ancient approaches, the (temporary) death of the spiritual being. So 40 days after the equinox, the feast of the dead on November 2 celebrates the incarnation of souls.
But then who are these souls that are celebrated? It’s us! The feast of the dead celebrates incarnated souls, therefore spiritual beings who are dead because they live on earth. The cult of the dead is the representation of the reality of the incarnated soul, after its fall from the spiritual world and its deadly confinement in matter. This ancient feast shows us a timeless reality of the condition of souls.