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Samhain - Halloween and All Saint's Day
By Druid Gene
May you be blessed beyond your wildest dreams, as we enter the high holy
days of the Keltic New Year - Samhain. Samhain (today's Halloween and All
Saints Day) is Irish Gaelic for "summer's end." Samhain marks the end of the
summer cycle; Beltaine being on the other end of the cycle of existence.
This time of festival foretells of the land going to sleep for the long winter.
This is a time of "time which is no time". A time of doorways long unused
and mostly forgotten opening. A time of disappearing barriers between our
multidimensional existences. A special time. A time for experiencing. A time
to be wary. A time to remember the spirit of the child within. A time to be
wary, but never to be fearful, just wary of those things that can go bump in
the night; some of those spirits know our names. But it is especially a
special time to expand our experiences and looking forward to a new
beginning with a New year.
The standard Irish pronunciation is "sow-in" with the "ow" like in "cow",
because "mh" in the middle of an Irish word is a "w" sound. Other
pronunciations that follow with the many Gaelic dialects include "sow-een"
"shahvin" "sowin" (with "ow" like in "glow"). The Scots Gaelic spelling is
"Samhuin" or "Samhuinn." There is no linguistic foundation for saying this
word "samhane" (SAM-HAYNE) the way it might look if it were English. When in
doubt, you might just say "Hallows" or even "Hallowe'en" (The evening before
Hallows).
This is the beginning of winter, and the end of the old year. It is the end
of the old cycle of and the beginning of the next. The crops are all in and
the livestock are being moved inside, or to their winter pasturage. People
are being moved in to their winter quarters, and social bonds of kinship are
retied. Supplies are being readied for the long dark months to come. It is a
time for remembering, and for looking ahead. Beginning of the dark part of
winter, and acknowledgement of the necessity for the "darker aspects" of the
world.
This time of endings and beginnings represents a point outside of time. Be
cautious because this is the period when the natural order of the universe
dissolves back into primordial chaos (chaos not necessarily being a bad
thing) , as the world and dimensions prepare for the re-establishment of a
new order. Thus, Samhain is a time when one can view any point in time.
This is a time of great energy, when momentous events can take place. For
some Celtic peoples, this is the big annual ritual, the time of renewing
land tenures, and setting laws. (Of course, there were a number of Celtic
peoples for whom the Big Annual Holiday wasn't Samain, but rather Cet-Samain
(Beltaine), for instance. Samhain was relatively unimportant to the British
Celts).
Basically, the day before Samhain is the last day of the old year and the
day after Samhain is the first day of the new year. Being between the years,
it is a period of "no time", or "outside time", and it is considered a very
magical time, when the dead walk among the living and the veils between
past, present and future may be lifted in prophecy and divination.
There are many important events that occur on this day in legend. It was on
a Samhain that the Nemedians captured the terrible Tower of Glass built by
the evil Formorians; that The Dagda mated with the Morrigan; that the Tuatha
De Danann were defeated by the Formorians once and for all; that Pwyll won
his wife Rhiannon from Gwawl; and that many other events of a dramatic or
prophetic nature in Celtic myth happened. Many of these events had to do
with the temporary victory of the forces of darkness over those of light,
signaling the beginning of the cold and dark half of the year.
It is a time for drinking and feasting (Heck, any day is good for me, ex.
North Dakota Statehood day works for me).It is a time to to pause in
rememberance for the past year; hold memorials for the Dead, especially
relations and ancestors. It is a day of the connection of the spiritual
world with the real world, sacred to the Spirits of the Dead.
It is believed by many that it is on this day that the Otherworld of the
Gods/The Summerland is made visible to humankind. Some people believe that
the gods may play tricks on their mortal worshipers at this time (while
others believe that they do so the whole year long...). As the transition
between the years occurs, the Otherworld comes close to the real world, the
shields between them are lowered, and the spirits of the dead, all those
ancestors as yet disincarnate may visit, mingle with the living, as the
souls of those who had died during the year traveled to the Otherworld, and
souls, some trapped in the bodies of animals are released to their new
incarnations.
On this date, the dead often return to those places that they knew in life.
Some people view this as the gates of the Abyss, or of Hell, being unlocked
allowing the ghosts, fairies, and demons spirits from below to roam free. It
can be a time that is fraught with danger, charged with fear, and full of
supernatural episodes. It can be a dangerous time to be out in the evening
because the dead come out of their graves after dark to dance with the
fairies on the hills. So a word of warning - be careful out there, and who
you dance with on a night like tonight.
At this time in mythic Erie, Blodeuedd leads her husband Llew Llaw Gyffes to
his death at the hands of his evil twin, the Dark Lord of Winter. Llew's
spirit leaves in the form of an Eagle.
Conversely, there are those who feel that the properly prepared can journey
in relative safety to the 'other side', and return having contacted the
spirits of the wise departed. To be alone and unprepared at this dangerous
time is to risk exposing, and perhaps losing, your soul to the Otherworld.
Some people believe that sacrifices and propitiations of animals, fruits,
and vegetables, are required to prevail over the perils of the season, and
to placate the gods, and the spirits of the night. Sacrifices of babies is
strongly discouraged though; it was never a part of the Druid way; just a
Hollywood add-on.
Coincidentally, there are numerous beliefs about the dressing up like the
spirits of the night and/or extorting such offerings from the locals; aka
Trick-or-Treating today. Holy cakes/triangular bannocks are eaten as
soul-mass cakes. In old England cakes were made for the wandering souls, and
people went "a' soulin'" for these "soul cakes." Gangs of "boys", led by
horn-blowers, visit all the homes in the region, and in a good humored
fashion, extorted money or white bread from the households visited. The
horns were blown to warn the householders to get inside.
Some traditions claim that it's best to disguise oneself, and throw parties
where everyone is in costume and the spirits can mingle with the living and
the dead. These are in some cultures, a time when the rigidly structured
order is relaxed a bit and chaos is allowed to reign, with people doing
things they would not normally do, like playing pranks, or in pretending to
be other people. People began dressing like the horrors and fears of the
night, mumming for food and drink. The antics of these Mummers challenging,
mocking, teasing, and appeasing the night-dark elements of soul, and on this
night of reversible possibilities, inverted roles, and transcendency, and
reaffirming death and its place as a part of life.
It is important to note that the Festivals of Death serve an important
function with regards to keeping people "in balance" with the
"supernatural", their own feelings of mortality, and allow them to
experience a certain catharsis. The "Memento Mori", or rememberance of
Death, the reminder that we are all going to die, and to face our fears of
the unknown is in many ways, the most important aspect of this holiday.
Another is that you can look at this depressing crap and get over it BEFORE
being sealed up in your house for the winter.
Lanterns made from gourds, pumpkins or turnips, and lit by candles
("jack-o-lanterns") have a number of reputed meanings, including that they
are intended to light the way for passing spirits, to confuse them into
thinking that they are still in the land of the dead, that represented the
heads of the children of the house and are placed outside to protect them
from the spirits of evil and faeries like some vegetable "Portrait of Dorian
Grey", or with the frightening face driving away those who might otherwise
lead them astray. They may also render this protective service over the
whole household.
These lanterns carved out of pumpkins and turnips were used to provide light
on a night when huge bonfires were lit, and all households let their fires
go out so they could be rekindled from this new fire; this was believed to
be good luck for all households. The name "Jack-O-Lantern" means "Jack of
the Lantern, " and comes from an old Irish tale. Jack was a man who could
enter neither heaven nor hell and was condemned to wander through the night
with only a candle in a turnip for light. Or so goes the legend...
But such folk names were commonly given to nature spirits, like the "Jack in
the Green, " or to plants believed to possess magical properties, like "John
O' Dreams, " or "Jack in the Pulpit." Irish fairy lore is full of such
references. Since candles placed in hollowed-out pumpkins or turnips
(commonly grown for food and abundant at this time of year) would produce
flickering flames, especially on cold nights in October, this phenomenon may
have led to the association of spirits with the lanterns; and this in turn
may have led to the tradition of carving scary faces on them. It is an old
legend that candle flames which flicker on Samhain night are being touched
by the spirits of dead ancestors, or "ghosts."
Purportedly, elements of the Celtic festival for the dead were incorporated
into the Christian holiday of All Hallows' Eve, the night preceding All
Saints' (Hallows') Day (or the Christian remembrance of Saints past and
present, and the dead). "Halloween" is often considered to now be little
more than a children's holiday, though children's pranks replaced witches'
tricks in the 19th century. The Church had a habit of incorporating those
traditions and holidays that it couldn't completely wipe out; a kind of "if
you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and then change 'em" philosophy.
In addition to its agriculture significance, the ancient Celts also saw
Samhain as a very spiritual time. Because October 31 lies exactly between
the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, it is theorized that ancient
peoples, with their reliance on astrology, thought it was a very potent time
for magic and communion with spirits. The "veil between the worlds" of the
living and the dead was said to be at its thinnest on this day; so the dead
were invited to return to feast with their loved ones; welcomed in from the
cold, much as the animals were brought inside. Ancient customs range from
placing food out for dead ancestors, to performing rituals for communicating
with those who had passed over.
Until recent times in some parts of Europe, it was believed that on this
night evil witches, warlocks, and other spirits of Evil and Bane flew
abroad; and huge bonfires were built to ward off these things, as well as in
honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from
the living. n some places, bonfires were lit upon hilltops, either to drive
away the spirits, or to guide them home.
Bonfires are also burned as a thanksgiving to the sun at the end of the
Harvest, or to honor the descending sun. These are called Tlaghtgha (Tinegin
or Needfires), and are produced by a wheel (spun clockwise) and a spindle
with tow. The wheel is a solar symbol.
Since this is a time "between time", this is also considered by many to be
the best time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death.
As this is a night, existing outside of time, it is superior for viewing any
other point in time. There are a number of forms of divination traditional
for this time, many of which are intended for young people to try and see
who their future mates will be.
Being the New Year as well, it is a time for banishing what ails you and
making resolutions for your betterment. In some places, this is the date to
celebrate the union of the Sky God with the Earth Goddess.
Divination of the future was also commonly practiced at this
magically-potent time; since it was also the Celtic New Year, people focused
on their desires for the coming year. Certain traditions, such as bobbing
for apples, roasting nuts in the fire, and baking cakes which contained
tokens of luck, are actually ancient methods of telling fortunes.
For some people, this is a festival honoring the Horned God Cernunnos, and
the Goddess Morrigan. This is also considered by many to be the night the
Horned God emerges to lead the Great Hunt (although it is unlikely that this
is the reason that the full moon that occurs during this time is called a
"hunter's moon").
For some, the goddess goes to sleep at this time, to be awakened at Beltane
(Spring Equinox). In some forms of Wicca, the Goddess is dominant through
the light half of the year, and the God through the dark half, and it is
upon this night that the Lady Summer recedes to the shadows and Lord Winter
steps forward. For others, Winter is the season is the season of the Crone,
the ancient Wise Woman, the destructive aspect of the Goddess, and the
Horned One, the Sun Lord in his waning, introspective aspect as lord of
death.
Wheel turning is often forbidden at Samhain [n.b. The wheel turning
prohibition is intended to mean that ALL work stops. No spinning, making
pottery, and so forth. It could be argued that circle dances are also
prohibited at this time. The basis of this is several very old (and mostly
lost) local traditions in Britain]
So if thee be Druid priest or priestess, witch or warlock, pagan or
christian, I wish thee well as you celebrate the true end of the year and
the beginning of the new. Comtemplate your mortality if you must, but
remember it is the journey that is important, not the distination. Besides,
the ancient ones knew that we exist in cycles, and as the old ends, there is
a pause for honoring and remembering, then a new cycle begins. Laugh, love
and share from the heart.
Happy New Year and bless all us beautiful spirits!!!!
-Druid Gene-
now back to Ireland