| The Lore and Stories of Samhain |
The main qualities of Samhain, polar opposite of Beltane, it's dark twin:
Death - it is the time for the God to be sacrificed, as animals and food are, to ensure our survival. As the wheat is cut down, so too is our Lord offered up to the scythe of the Crone. We mourn with the Goddess, who has lost her lover, but are comforted that he will be reborn as her son at Beltane. We also mourn those we have lost. And we too are comforted in the knowledge that they will be reborn
The Thinning of the Veil - Some people chose to contact the dead with seances at this time, but I prefer to let the dead rest.
End of the Harvest - The last of the harvest festivals. The Druids once believed that evil spirits would poison everything not harvested by Samhain, and would not eat anything left out in the feilds after Samhain.
The Crone - The death crone, the wise crone, the woman who has put her children into their graves, the dark crone, the keeper of mysteries and powerful magicks
New Years - Happy New Years! Much of the European ancient world thought of this as the end of one cycle and the beginning of another |
Symbols of Samhain -
Acorns - During the Burning Times, Witches gave out acorns as a way to find other hiding Witches.
Jack O Lanterns - A modern tradition many neo pagans have created is to have a jack o lantern in each directional corner of their circle. In ancient times turnips, and later pumpkins were used as lanterns, so the wind couldn't blow them out, with carvings to let the light out.
The Story of Jack O Lantern - Bastardization of the name Jack of the Lantern, an Irish man doomed to wonder the night sky for all time with only a carved out turnip (the original Jack O Lanterns) to see by.
Apples - Food of the Dead, when split in half the seeds make a star shape, or pentagram, the apple itself means love and death. Seeds in large quantites are poison if eaten.
Candles - Fire, a light in the darkness, fire:the spark of life at this time of death, When put in windows, or when Jack o Lanterns are put in windows they serve as a guide for the dead on their journey |
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