Samhain
Known to most as "Halloween: Samhain is the time that the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is the thinnest. In ancient times it was believed that this is the time that our ancestors would return to visit us, to give help and advice.
Samhain History
Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", andis the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It isone of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical intervalwhen the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones iseasy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. Itis a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father,symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving foodofferings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitionersstill carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide thespirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around thehearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits whowere lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out andcarved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The WeeFolke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw,or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in theensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo,and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Thenthey were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of theretrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were alsolit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvestedfields to protect and bless the land.Samhain is known by most folks as Halloween, but for Wiccans and Pagans it'sconsidered a Sabbat to honor the ancestors who came before us. It's a good time tocontact the spirit world with a seance, because it's the time when the veil between thisworld and the next is at its thinnest.Contrary to a popular Internet-based (and Chick Tract-encouraged) rumor, Samhain wasnot the name of some ancient Celtic god of death, or of anything else, for that matter.Religious scholars agree that the word Samhain (pronounced "sow-en") comes from theGaelic “Samhuin,” but they’re divided on whether it means the end or beginning of summer. After all, when summer is ending here on earth, it’s just beginning in the
Underworld. Samhain actually refers to the daylight portion of the holiday, on November 1st.Around the eighth century or so, the Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as AllSaints Day. This was actually a pretty smart move on their part – the local pagans werealready celebrating that day anyway, so it made sense to use it as a church holiday. AllSaints’ became the festival to honor any saint who didn’t already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said on All Saints’ was called Allhallowmas – the mass of allthose who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as All Hallows Eve,and eventually morphed into what we call Halloween.The pagan Samhain is not, and never was, associated with evil or negativity. It hasalways been a time to reaffirm our belief in the oneness of all spirits, and in our firmresolution that physical death is not the final act of existence. Though death is very mucha part of Samhain's symbolism, this Sabbat also celebrates the triumph of life over death.While it is true that Samhain is no more evil than any other holiday, it is also a fact thatevil does exist, and pagans have always been aware of this. Our ancestors sought to protect themselves on this night by carving faces in vegetables to place near windows or at the perimeters of their circle. These were the forerunners of our present day jack-o-lanterns. These carved pumpkin faces are probably relics of the even earlier custom of placing candles in windows to guide the earth-walking spirits along their way. Today itis still a custom in Ireland to place candles in the windows on Samhain night and to leave plates of food for the visiting spirits.There are two possible sources for the origin of the Samhain Sabbat's name. One isfrom the Aryan God of Death, Samana, and the other is from the Irish Gaelic word"samhraidhreadh", which literally means "the summer's end". Samhain marked the endof summer and the beginning of winter for the Celts, with the day after Samhain beingthe official date of the Celtic New Year. The reason the Celts chose this point in time astheir new year rather than Yule, when the rest of Western pagans celebrate it, was because the sun is at its lowest point on the horizon as measured by the ancient standingstones of Britain and Ireland.This is also a time for harmless pranks, lavish feasting, circle games, and merrymakingwhich can be teasingly blamed on nearby spirits ;) (ala Loki, Abbot, Lord of Misruleetc.)Samhain bonfires, called balefires in paganism, were once lighted on every hilltop inBritain and Ireland as soon as the sun set on October 30. The word "balefire" comesfrom the word "boon", which means "extra". The fires serve the purpose of containingthe energy of the dead god, lighting the dark night, warding off evil, ushering in the lightof the New Year, purifying the ritual space or home, and being the focus of ritual. Inmany parts of the British Isles these balefires are still lighted on Samhain to honor the oldways.
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