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(Number 409)
Happy Samhain (A few comments about Samhain, what it means and what to do)
Once again the wheel turns and Samhain is upon us.
Samhain (pronounced sow-inn), also goes by the name Halloween. This
is our time of endings and our time of beginnings, so at Samhain, we
celebrate the New Year. This is a quieter time, a time when the
secret veil between worlds is thin and the spirits may pass more
easily.
While almost all Celtic based traditions recognize this Holiday as
the end of the "old" year, some groups do not celebrate the coming of
the "new year" until Yule. Some consider the time between Samhain and
Yule as a time which does not even exist on the Earthly plane.
The "time which is no time" was considered in the "old days"
to be
both very magickal and very dangerous. So even today, we celebrate
this Holiday with a mixture of joyous celebration and tingling
reverence.
The Samhain Holiday begins at sundown on October 31st. The nightide
was always a time to be wary of walking alone in the countryside. So
much more on this Night when the veils between the worlds of humans
and spirits was at its thinnest. Traditional lore speaks of the dead
returning to visit their kin and the doors to the Lands of the Sidhe
(pronounced "shee") or Faery Realm being opened.
"The Feast of the Dead" ("Fleadh nan Mairbh") is laid out by
many to
welcome these otherworldly visitors and gain their favor for the
coming year. Many folks leave milk and cakes ("Bannock Samhain" )
outside their door on Samhain Eve or set a place at their table for
their ancestors who may want to join in the celebrations with their
kin and family.
At Mabon, the God Lugh died in order for us to live through His
abundance. During the intervening time, He has gathered the spirits
of those that have died over the year and waits for this night so
that they may pass through the gate to the other side.
This is the time to revere our ancestors and to say farewell to those
that have passed this last year. It is also a time of divination.
The abundance of the fields now gives way to the power and strength
of the Horned God of the Hunt.
This begins a time of darkness. From now until Yule, the days grow
darker and colder. Winter storms begin to sweep down from the
north. This time is the barer of many destructive forces.
Yet at Samhain, we celebrate the passed year and the year to come.
We light bonfires and perform rituals to honor our deceased loved
ones. Many Halloween traditions stem from Samhain. The wearing of
scary costumes was originally used to scare away those souls that may
mean harm. Yet in spite of the costume, the spirits that know you
will still be able to find you and visit.
The jack-o-lantern was another means of scaring away hostile spirits,
the candle within a beckoning light to those that you wish to welcome.
Samhain is actually balanced by the corresponding seasonal day of
celebration called Beltain (or Bealtaine, Beltaine, etc) which
signals the start of summer, 6 months later
Both of these are fire festivals. The ancient Celts probably held
them exactly mid-way between an equinox (when day and night were
equal) and the following solstice (when the nighttime was shortest or
longest).
At Samhain (October 31), the Craft say farewell to the God. This is a
temporary farewell. He isn't wrapped in eternal darkness, but
readies to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule.
Samhain, also known as November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of
Apples, Hallows, All Hallows and Hallowe'en, once marked the time of
sacrifice. In some places this was the time when animals were
slaughtered to ensure food throughout the depths of Winter.
The God - identified with the animals - fell as well to ensure our
continuing existence.
Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year,
of coming to terms with the one phenomenon of life over which we have
no control - death.
The Craft feel that on this night the separation between the physical
and spiritual realities is thin. Witches remember their ancestors
and all those who have gone before.
A time when the veil between the present and the future was at its
most transparent. Rituals are performed to foretell future events,
through various methods of divination. The Celts believed that the
future could be predicted most effectively at this time.
A time when the herds of domesticated animals were brought down from
their summer pasture and culled for the winter. The Celts slaughtered
their weak animals that could not be expected to survive the winter.
They reduced the size of the herds to match the available food
supply.
A time of uninhibited feasting.
A time of increasing nervousness as the days continued to shorten and
as winter approached. There were often questions whether the food
would last until the next harvest.
So to just summarize once again....
This is a time when the veil between this world and the next was at
its thinnest. The Celts believed that upon death, everyone went to a
beautiful place free of hunger, pain and disease, called "Tir nan
Og", sometimes translated as "Summerland".
They had no concept of Heaven and Hell like that seen in
Christianity. Many believed that two separate and nearly identical
worlds existed. When a person died, they were transferred to
the "ghostworld"; when they were born, they were transferred from the
ghostworld to the mortal one
The pagan idea used to be that crucial joints between the seasons
opened cracks in the fabric of space-time, allowing contact between
the ghostworld and the mortal one. The Celts celebrated rituals at
this time to make contact with their ancestors who had died before
them
This contact was not made in an atmosphere of dread, fearing some
retribution from the dead. Rather it was done in a spirit of
expectation, in the hopes of obtaining guidance from those in the
next world. "The spirits of dead friends sought the warmth of the
Samhain fire and communion with their living kin."
A typical celebration of Samhain might involve:
Scheduling the celebration to a day near October 31.
Decorating our altars with autumn flowers, pine-cones, small
pumpkins, decorative gourds, etc.
Ritual purification of each participant; we also take a solitary
bath.
Casting (creating) a sacred circle within which our ceremonies are
conducted. The circle is sometimes marked with four candles of
various colors aligned at the four cardinal directions. The purpose
of the circle is to confine our powers within it. It is not created
to provide protection against demonic powers as some Cowans (non-
Wiccans) have suggested.
Performing rituals of divination to predict the future. This may
involve tarot cards, runes, I Ching, etc.
Performing rituals to contact loved ones who have died. There is a
recognition of our close ties with our ancestors and a recognition
that the veils between the worlds are thin at this time of year. We
do not perform séances, as do Spiritualists. We do not summon or
order back the dead. We do, however, believe that, if the dead
themselves wish it, they will return at the Sabbat to share in the
love and celebration of the occasion.
Consecrating and sharing cakes and wine, or perhaps muffins and cider
(or even a fine mead)
Banishing (or closing or grounding) the circle.
Merry Meet and a Wonderous Samhain to one and all
Blessed Be
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