This is the big one!
Samhain (pronounced; Sow-win) is also known as All
Hallows Eve, Halloween, and Festival of the Death just to name a few.
Samhain is regarded as a major Sabbath. Samhain is the time when the God returns to
the Underworld until he is reborn at Yule. It is not quite winter but the days are
getting shorter and cooler, since Mabon (Autumn Equinox). Most of the leaves have
changed colour and have fallen from the trees. This was the time that our Ancestors would
finish any harvests left and store their food for the winter months. Samhain is also the time of the Crone, the keeper of the secrets and wisdom of life and death. During now and Yule the Goddess returns to
the Underworld with the God returning the earth to Winter.
Samhain is also the time we remember and honour our loved ones that have passed over. This is the time when the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest. It is said that the veil is made thin as the God crosses over to the Underworld. This is the when our ancestors would invite loved ones to cross over and join in the celebrations. It was also believed that this was the time to reaffirm karmic ties with loved ones you wish to join in the next life. The Celts have a beautiful belief of an Anam-cara, which basically means soul friend. It is believed that we each have one true love that in each life we seek out the spirit of our Anam-cara.
It is not certain exactly where the name Samhain
originated from; it has been traced back to a couple of possibilities. One of these comes from the Celtic
Tradition. There is an Irish Gaelic word
Samhridreadh that means Summers end. Samhain was celebrated by the Celts as the
end of summer and the following day was the beginning of winter. This was because in the UK the sun was at its
lowest point on the horizon. Many sacred stones still mark the journey of the sun
scattered across the UK. This is
when the Celts celebrated their New Year, unlike many other cultures that
celebrate it at Yule.
Many of the myths associated with
Samhain have the similar theme, that is the time when the Sun/God dies and
returns to the Underworld. The Goddess
who is in her Crone phase mourns his passing by traveling to the Underworld
with him.
The Goddess in her Crone form is the
image taken and distorted into the evil witch in the fairy tales told to our children for many
generations to help further help in the effort to abolish the Old
Religion. It is sad that the once
revered Crone Goddess has been turned into such an ugly and feared image for
many. This image has been carried over
to the modern celebration of Halloween.
Our ancestors used to cherish the Crones of
their community for they were women of great knowledge and wisdom accumulated
through her many great years from the Crones before her. The Crone was well practiced at many of the
skills needed for the community's survival.
Her knowledge of herbs used for healing and the precious gift of
delivering the children to continue the next generation were just some of the
wonderful roles the Crone played in the Old World.
Unfortunately, because of these gifts the Crone
possessed led to the persecution of many of our ancestors by the patriarchal
crusades of the Church. Samhain was such
an important time for our ancestors the church found it hard to wipe out the
celebrations of the Sabbath. One of the
ways the church tried to convert the "pagans"
(originally pagan meant town folk rather than the corrupted definition of devil
worshiper) was to re-name the Old Religions Sabbaths in the hope that
the people would begin worshiping their God and Saints of these days rather
than the old deities. The Church first
called Samhain, Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael. Although the ancient traditions of Samhain
were so sacred to the people one Saint was not enough to convert the
masses. So, the Church re-named it again
calling Eve of All Saints or All Hallows Eve, the day before one of the
churches most popular days, All Saints Day. Despite the churches efforts to abolish
Samhain the people continued to celebrate the traditions of the Old Ways.
The Church then decided that the only way to
convert the people was to create evil stories about Samhain. Samhain became a
night where evil spirits would appear and create havoc through the villages
with the aid of witches. The Church
warned people not leave the safety of their homes on this night for if they did
they would fall prey to the evil spirits.
The Church proclaimed that it was not until the dawn of All Saints Day
when the Church bells would chime and drive the evil spirits back to hell, that
it was safe to leave their homes.
The fear of these so-called evil spirits eventually took hold of
converted Christian's minds that the Old Ways were replaced. Also, the fear of death took over anyone who
wished to maintain the Old Ways. In the
Churches efforts to take over anyone who did not take up the ways of the church
were tortured and killed.
These evil stories were the
beginnings of the modern day Halloween, which is so far removed from the
original celebrations of Samhain. One
thing that we must remember though is that there can be evil present on this
evening, with the veil at its thinnest there is the possibility of something
undesirable crossing over. Our ancestors were well aware of this and would protect
themselves and their loved ones from these entities. One of the ways this was done was to carve
faces into vegetables to place in windows, pace around their circle or carry
with them. This is where the concept of
Jack-o-lanterns from modern Halloween celebrations originated.
Many of our Ancestors left candles in windows and
offerings of food for the spirits for their journey back to the
Underworld. Simple gestures like these
are quite appropriate ways for us today to honour this wonderful time of
year. Also, as with New Years Celebrations,
this is a time take time to look at what you have achieved over the last year
and decide what you can do to improve the year to come.
It is
the time for our New Year’s Manifestations!
Which is wonderful timing with last night’s
New Moon in Taurus.
I also feel it is worth mentioning
that in Australia and New Zealand we have ANZAC Day (Australian New Zealand
Army Corp.) on April 25th which is the day we honour and remember those who
died defending the freedoms we enjoy today.
You can honour and celebrate Samhain in many
ways. If you have like-minded friends,
this is a great time to get together and
celebrate.
If not you can write your own special ritual to honour this Sacred Day. I have
experienced many different Samhain celebrations and rituals now and each one
has been unique and wonderful, this is
my favorite Sabbath.
I have focused on the Celtic Traditions for this
Sabbath, as this is what I believe this day represents. There are many Myths from all over the world,
which has similarities, have some fun looking into the different ways cultures
around the world honour this time of year.
Learning about and gaining an understanding of
other cultures and ways of life helps in understanding ourselves.
Symbols for Samhain:
- Apples or
Pomegranates (Pomegranates are said to be the fruit of the
underworld) when cut to expose the seeds in their
star formation.
- As the Goddess is in
her Crone Aspect you can either call on all the
Goddess in general or choose a Goddess whom you
feel drawn too. Some
Crone Goddess's include; Morrigian, Cerridwen or my
personal favorite
for Samhain Hecate.
- There are also many Gods to choose from, I tend
to call on Hades at
this time but there are many others.
- This is a good time
of the year to pull out the cauldron.
The
cauldron is said to represent the belly of the
Goddess, which holds
the wisdom of birth, life, death and rebirth. It is also believed,
that it is the belly of the Universe where souls go
to wait for
Reincarnation.
- This is also a good time for Divination.
So think about including a
read of some sort in your ritual, whether it is
Tarot, Runes, I-Ching
whatever you feel most comfortable with. If you haven't tried
Divination, this could be a good time to have a go.
- Red and Black Candles
- Red Flowers,
Torch Lilies are said to represent rebirth.
- Black Altar Cloth
- Black Pen and Paper, to write down your "New Years Manifestations!"
- Balefires (Bonfires) were traditionally lit to help
the departed souls on their
journey. If you are able to have a fire circle is a wonderful way
to celebrate this Sabbath.
With the list above, you should be able to come up
with a ritual that is appropriate for you.
With everything we do remember that the Magick comes from within and it is your
intention that will create your desired outcome.
Samhain is a great time to get together with
like-minded others and celebrate, even if you do have a ritual remember to have
fun too. Your
imagination is limitless so use it to create a memorable evening for all.
©Ange Foster
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