Coven of Cythrawl
samhain
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.
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.
Halloween. Sly does it. Tiptoe
catspaw. Slide and creep. But why? What for? How? Who? When! Where did it all
begin? "You don't know, do you?" asks Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud
climbing out under the pile of leaves under the Halloween Tree. "You don't
REALLY know!" --Ray Bradbury from "The Halloween Tree"
Samhain. All Hallows. All Hallow's
Eve. Hallow E'en. Halloween. The most magical night of the year. Exactly
opposite Beltane on the wheel of the year, Halloween is Beltane's dark twin. A
night of glowing jack-o-lanterns, bobbing for apples, tricks or treats, and
dressing in costume. A night of ghost stories and seances, tarot card readings
and scrying with mirrors. A night of power, when the veil that separates our
world from the Otherworld is at its thinnest. A "spirit night", as
they say in Wales.
All Hallow's Eve is the eve of All
Hallow's Day (November 1st). And for once, even popular tradition remembers that
the Eve is more important than the Day itself, the traditional celebration
focusing on October 31st, beginning at sundown. And this seems only fitting for
the great Celtic New Year's festival. Not that the holiday was Celtic only. In
fact, it is startling how many ancient and unconnected cultures (the Egyptians
and pre-Spanish Mexicans, for example) celebrated this as a festival of the
dead. But the majority of our modern traditions can be traced to the British
Isles.
The Celts called it Samhain, which
means "summer's end", according to their ancient two-fold division of
the year, when summer ran from Beltane to Samhain and winter ran from Samhain to
Beltane. (Some modern Covens echo this structure by letting the High Priest
"rule" the Coven beginning on Samhain, with rulership returned to the
High Priestess at Beltane.) According to the later four-fold division of the
year, Samhain is seen as "autumn's end" and the beginning of winter.
Samhain is pronounced (depending on where you're from) as "sow-in" (in
Ireland), or "sow-een" (in Wales), or "sav-en" (in
Scotland), or (inevitably) "sam-hane" (in the U.S., where we don't
speak Gaelic).
Not only is Samhain the end of
autumn; it is also, more importantly, the end of the old year and the beginning
of the new. Celtic New Year's Eve, when the new year begins with the onset of
the dark phase of the year, just as the new day begins at sundown. There are
many representations of Celtic gods with two faces, and it surely must have been
one of them who held sway over Samhain. Like his Greek counterpart Janus, he
would straddle the threshold, one face turned toward the past in commemoration
of those who died during the last year, and one face gazing hopefully toward the
future, mystic eyes attempting to pierce the veil and divine what the coming
year holds. These two themes, celebrating the dead and divining the future, are
inexorably intertwined in Samhain, as they are likely to be in any New Year's
celebration.
As a feast of the dead, it was
believed the dead could, if they wished, return to the land of the living for
this one night, to celebrate with their family, tribe, or clan. And so the great
burial mounds of Ireland (sidh mounds) were opened up, with lighted torches
lining the walls, so the dead could find their way. Extra places were set at the
table and food set out for any who had died that year. And there are many
stories that tell of Irish heroes making raids on the Underworld while the gates
of faery stood open, though all must return to their appointed places by
cock-crow.
As a feast of divination, this was
the night par excellence for peering into the future. The reason for this has to
do with the Celtic view of time. In a culture that uses a linear concept of
time, like our modern one, New Year's Eve is simply a milestone on a very long
road that stretches in a straight line from birth to death. Thus, the New Year's
festival is a part of time. The ancient Celtic view of time, however, is
cyclical. And in this framework, New Year's Eve represents a point outside of
time, when the natural order of the universe dissolves back into primordial
chaos, preparatory to re- establishing itself in a new order. Thus, Samhain is a
night that exists outside of time and hence it may be used to view any other
point in time. At no other holiday is a tarot card reading, crystal reading, or
tea-leaf reading so likely to succeed.
The Christian religion, with its
emphasis on the "historical" Christ and his act of redemption 2000
years ago, is forced into a linear view of time, where "seeing the
future" is an illogical proposition. In fact, from the Christian
perspective, any attempt to do so is seen as inherently evil. This did not keep
the medieval Church from co-opting Samhain's other motif, commemoration of the
dead. To the Church, however, it could never be a feast for all the dead, but
only the blessed dead, all those hallowed (made holy) by obedience to God -
thus, All Hallow's, or Hallowmas, later All Saints and All Souls.
There are so many types of
divination that are traditional to Hallowstide, it is possible to mention only a
few. Girls were told to place hazel nuts along the front of the firegrate, each
one to symbolize one of her suitors. She could then divine her future husband by
chanting,
"If you love me, pop and fly;
if you hate me, burn and die."
Several methods used the apple, that most popular of Halloween fruits. You
should slice an apple through the equator (to reveal the five-pointed star
within) and then eat it by candlelight before a mirror. Your future spouse will
then appear over your shoulder. Or, peel an apple, making sure the peeling comes
off in one long strand, reciting,
"I pare this apple round and round again;
My sweetheart's name to flourish on the plain:
I fling the unbroken paring o'er my head,
My sweetheart's letter on the ground to read."
Or, you might set a snail to crawl through the ashes of your hearth. The
considerate little creature will then spell out the initial letter as it moves.
Perhaps the most famous icon of
the holiday is the jack-o-lantern. Various authorities attribute it to either
Scottish or Irish origin. However, it seems clear that it was used as a lantern
by people who traveled the road this night, the scary face to frighten away
spirits or faeries who might otherwise lead one astray. Set on porches and in
windows, they cast the same spell of protection over the household. (The
American pumpkin seems to have forever superseded the European gourd as the
jack-o-lantern of choice.) Bobbing for apples may well represent the remnants of
a Pagan "baptism" rite called a "seining", according to some
writers. The water-filled tub is a latter-day Cauldron of Regeneration, into
which the novice's head is immersed. The fact that the participant in this folk
game was usually blindfolded with hands tied behind the back also puts one in
mind of a traditional Craft initiation ceremony.
The custom of dressing in costume
and "trick-or-treating" is of Celtic origin with survivals
particularly strong in Scotland. However, there are some important differences
from the modern version. In the first place, the custom was not relegated to
children, but was actively indulged in by adults as well. Also, the
"treat" which was required was often one of spirits (the liquid
variety). This has recently been revived by college students who go
"trick-or-drinking". And in ancient times, the roving bands would sing
seasonal carols from house to house, making the tradition very similar to
Yuletide wassailing. In fact, the custom known as "caroling", now
connected exclusively with mid-winter, was once practiced at all the major
holidays. Finally, in Scotland at least, the tradition of dressing in costume
consisted almost exclusively of cross-dressing (i.e., men dressing as women, and
women as men). It seems as though ancient societies provided an opportunity for
people to "try on" the role of the opposite gender for one night of
the year. (Although in Scotland, this is admittedly less dramatic - but more
confusing - since men were in the habit of wearing skirt-like kilts anyway. Oh
well...)
To Witches, Halloween is one of
the four High Holidays, or Greater Sabbats, or cross-quarter days. Because it is
the most important holiday of the year, it is sometimes called "THE Great
Sabbat." It is an ironic fact that the newer, self-created Covens tend to
use the older name of the holiday, Samhain, which they have discovered through
modern research. While the older hereditary and traditional Covens often use the
newer name, Halloween, which has been handed down through oral tradition within
their Coven. (This is often holds true for the names of the other holidays, as
well. One may often get an indication of a Coven's antiquity by noting what
names it uses for the holidays.)
With such an important holiday,
Witches often hold two distinct celebrations. First, a large Halloween party for
non-Craft friends, often held on the previous weekend. And second, a Coven
ritual held on Halloween night itself, late enough so as not to be interrupted
by trick-or-treaters. If the rituals are performed properly, there is often the
feeling of invisible friends taking part in the rites. Another date which may be
utilized in planning celebrations is the actual cross-quarter day, or Old
Halloween, or Halloween O.S. (Old Style). This occurs when the sun has reached
15 degrees Scorpio, an astrological "power point" symbolized by the
Eagle. This year (1988), the date is November 6th at 10:55 pm CST, with the
celebration beginning at sunset. Interestingly, this date (Old Halloween) was
also appropriated by the Church as the holiday of Martinmas.
Of all the Witchcraft holidays,
Halloween is the only one that still boasts anything near to popular
celebration. Even though it is typically relegated to children (and the
young-at-heart) and observed as an evening affair only, many of its traditions
are firmly rooted in Paganism. Interestingly, some schools have recently
attempted to abolish Halloween parties on the grounds that it violates the
separation of state and religion. Speaking as a Pagan, I would be saddened by
the success of this move, but as a supporter of the concept of religion-free
public education, I fear I must concede the point. Nonetheless, it seems only
right that there SHOULD be one night of the year when our minds are turned
toward thoughts of the supernatural. A night when both Pagans and non-Pagans may
ponder the mysteries of the Otherworld and its inhabitants. And if you are one
of them, may all your jack-o'lanterns burn bright on this All Hallow's Eve.
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