Samhain

Samhain(October 31st)

�� Samhain has many meanings, it marks the end of the third and final harvest, a day to remember the dead and to commune with them, and a celebration of the eternal cycle of life, reincarnation.

�� Samhain's name has two possible sources.� One is from the Aryan God of Death, Samana.� The other is from the Irish Gaelic "Samahraidhreadh", which means literally "the summer's end".� Too the Celts, Samhain marked the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic New Year.� Celts chose this day, rather than Yule, like most Western Pagans, because of the position of the sun.� It was at its lowest point on the horizon as measured by the ancient standing stones of Britain and Ireland.

�� European tradition says that Samhain is the night that the God dies, being mourned deeply by the Crone Goddess, which lasts for six weeks.� It is interesting to note that the popular representation of her as the old Halloween Hag stirring her cauldron comes from a Celtic belief in which the souls of the dead would return to her cauldron of life, death, and rebirth to await reincarnation.

�� Most modern societies have made the Crone Goddess an object of fear and even revulsion.� This image has unfortunately been spurred on by Christian Theological idealism.� Our Pagan ancestors and present day brothers and sisters revere her as a woman of great power with vast knowledge associated with her great age and life long practice of her varied skills.� She, being the destroyer, healer, grandmother, and the eternal womb of rebirth.� In Wiccan ritual, the cauldron symbolizes the cosmic womb in which all things are conceived.

�� The cauldron became popular as a ritual tool because of its commonality.� It was part of everyday household use (i.e. cooking and cleaning), there fore could not be used as evidence in the witchcraft trials, popular during this time.� This era is often referred to as "The Burning Times".

�� In present day, Samhain is popularized and referred to as Halloween, a contraction of the words "Hallowed Evening".� To this day, in Celtic regions, much of the original form exists, much to the dismay of the Church who has tried to turn it into a time of feasting and prayer for their saints.� They started by renaming the time as "Michaelmas", for St. Michael but the old, true tradition seemed to powerful for a lone Saint to combat so they renamed it again to "Eve of All Saints" or "All Hallows Eve", which precedes All Saints Day, which is still one of the holiest days observed in Catholicism.� But even this could not put down Samhain lore and practice within popular culture.� Finally the Church felt forced to pace the "evil" label of Samhain being a night boiling with evil spirits.� The church decreed that these creatures were dispelled only at the dawn on All Saint?s Day to the ringing of the church bells.� In the 1940 Disney animated classic "Fantasia" a sequence set to the music of "A Night on Bald Mountain", clearly illustrated the Church's position.� These actions led to many Christians fearing this night and unleashed in the minds of these people the idea that evil surrounded Samhain, leading to all manner of mayhem and violence which was blamed on the Sabbat.� The same practice is used and studied by psychologists and psychiatrists to this day.� I guess one of the best examples of what the church did was what is seen in victims of spousal abuse.� The abuser uses and assault of putdowns, words expressing worthlessness, and pointing out that they (the victim) could not make it alone.� Over a period of time the victim begins to believe what is being said and incorporates it into their personality.� The church kept telling people the night was evil; the people incorporated this into their personalities and thereby reacted with violence in response to the beginning of the Samhain Sabbat.� In truth, Samhain is not, never was, associated with evil.� It is a time for us to reaffirm our belief in the oneness of all spirits and our firm belief that physical death is not the final act.� Death is part of the symbolism of this Sabbat, but it also celebrates the victory of life over death.

�� The idea that evil spirits walk the earth at Samhain is a misinterpretation of the Pagan belief that the veil of consciousness which separates the land of the living from the Land of the Dead is at its thinnest on this night.� Some Pagans believe it is made by the God's passing through it into the Land of the Dead, and that he will, for the sake of his people, attempt to hold back any spirits crossing into the physical plane whose intent it is to make trouble.� In nearly all Western Pagan traditions, deceased ancestors and other friendly spirits are invited to join the Sabbat festivities to be reunited with loved ones.� These spirits are asked to help in divinations and ritual as well.

�� Though evil is in no way associated with Samhain, our Pagan ancestors did know that evil existed.� In some cultures it was a common practice to carve faces in vegetables to be placed in windows or at the perimeter of ritual circles for protection.� These were the fore-runners of our present day jack-o?-lanterns.� These are probably relics of even earlier traditions of placing candles in windows to guide spirits along their way.� In Ireland this tradition is still observed and if you've noticed these electric candles displayed in your or your neighbors homes during Christmas, you would be surprised to know that this decoration also falls from the same tradition.� Food was also left out for these visiting spirits.� This custom later evolved into what we now call "Trick or Treat".

�� It is important to know that even though Samhain is an observance of the uncomfortable subject of death, it is also a time of harmless pranks, lavish feasting, circle games, and merry making which could teasingly be blamed on nearby spirits.� The best known Pagan prankster is the "Lord of Misrule", a personification of the spirit of fun and hedonism, who would invade the circle creating havoc, reminding us that even in the "face of death", there is reason to rejoice.� In other traditions he is called "The Abbot of Unreason", "The King of Bean", "The Jester", and "The Master of Merry Disport".� In Norse tradition the god "Loki", would delight in playing tricks on humans, animals, spirits, and other deities.� In Rome, Samhain was a day when everything was turned upside down, Kings would become slaves and vice versa.� This was done to honor the Apple Goddess, Pamona.� Fires were lit at night to honor the next day's festival, "The Festival of Fortuna", the Goddess of Wealth and Luck.� Both Goddesses were thought to go the "The Land of the Dead" together, retrieving the spirits of the recently departed so that they could rejoin their families for the celebration.� In Mexico, they still have ties to their Pagan past.� Two days after Samhain they celebrate El Dia de Muerte (The Day of the Dead).� A time to honor the dead with drinking and feasting.� They also drink a toast to the personification of Death.� It was believed that his is the one day he took the "day-off".� Businesses and schools close, families prepared picnics and traveled to graveyards to rejoice with music and food with their departed relatives.

�� In Britain and Ireland, balefires were once lit on every hilltop.� These fires served the purpose of containing the energy of the dead god, lighting the dark night, warding off evil, ushering in the light of the New Year, purifying the ritual space or home, and being the focus of ritual.� In the British Isles, balefires are sill lit to honor the old ways.

�� In an old Celtic custom it was believed that you and your family would have good luck throughout the year if your first caller or visitor of the New Year was dark-skinned.� As part of the custom it was believed that evil spirits would see the dark presence and move on.� The fair skinned Celts believed that peoples of dark-skin were gifted with special powers.� For Pastorals, herd keepers, it was known that keeping feed for their entire herd for the winter was impossible.� Samhain was the time in which they would select breeding stock to keep through the winter.� The rest were then killed, their meat being preserved by being salted.� Crops too had to be all harvested by October 31st, anything not harvested was abandoned because it was believed that Pooka, a night-dwelling, shape shifting Hobgoblin would spend Samhain night destroying or contaminating whatever remained.� The Pooka?s favorite disguise was that of an ugly black horse.

�� Pets played a role, even in the earliest societies.� Pagans realized that they could form working relationships with their pets.� These animal partners are called Familiars and are deeply associated with witches, both in fact and fiction.� The most prevalent example was and is the black cat, seen in many shows and pictures with witches.� Familiars are not just pets.� They are highly psychic animals who have let it be known that they wish to help with your magick and ritual.� If you consider trying to find a Familiar, start with your own pet.� Let it know that it is welcome to join you in your magick rite or ritual.� Remember this relationship is based on love and trust.� Allow it to smell your oils and herbs, also let it get a close look at your ritual tools.� Its energies can never harm your working implements.� If your pet is interested, it'll find a way to let you know.

�� Pumpkins, better yet jack-o'-lanterns, have become one of the most prevalent symbols of paganism.� As I explained earlier this practice dates back to at least two thousand years ago.� The first were made in Ireland and were carved on turnips, which later evolved into the jack-o'-lanterns of today.� The faces that were carved on these vegetables were not just chosen at random either.� The ancient Celts considered the head to be the most sacred part of the body.� In battle, Celtic warriors would take the heads of their dead enemy and mount them on poles.� These poles were then placed on the outskirts of villages or encampments to guard them.� The head was not just seen as the center of learning but the home of the soul as well.� The most famous head of protection was that of the Celtic God, Bran the Blessed, whose head was mounted on the mound where the Tower of London now sits.

�� Not all faces seen at Samhain belong to Jack-o'-lanterns.� Look at the varied costumes and masks you see during the season.� Masks are one of the oldest body adornments.� All body adornments once served ritual purpose.� Masks are the ancestors of our present day cosmetics.� They have been used ritually in all cultures of the world to invoke animal or totem energies, to aid sympathetic magick, to raise power, and to imitate the deities.� The first know mask dates back tot eh Paleolithic era, and is represented in a cave drawing found in southern France.� The tradition of using masks goes back so far, it is difficult to know what the original significance was.� Some scholars believe it was originally a form of sympathetic magick.� It is conceivable to believe that the earliest Samhain masks were of game animals, so that the hunters would be able to catch the desired game.

�� Another indisputable symbol of Samhain is the Witch's Besom, or broomstick.� Though it's not considered a tool of Paganism in the modern sense, it was often used in magickal practices of the middle ages.� Like the cauldron, the besom was an everyday household object and could not be used as evidence of witchcraft.� This elevated their importance as magickal tools, even taking the place of wands or staves.� They were considered objects of magickal protection, often being placed at the hearth to protect the home.� It's also used in concert with visualization, sweeping away negative energies from the home or ritual circle.� The besom is a phallic symbol and often is used in fertility rites.� At Halloween, we are bombarded with images of the demonized Crone Goddess riding her broom across the moon.� The idea that witches could fly may have been the result of a misunderstanding of astral projection.� An old untitled English nursery rhyme may once have shielded Samhain Pagan lore about the Crone Goddess from the witch hunters.� It went like this...

�� There was an old woman tossed up in a basket,

�� Seventeen times as high as the moon,

�� Where she was going I couldn't but ask it,

�� For in her hand she carried a broom...

�� As winter approached, our European ancestors sought to stockpile food.� In every culture in Western Europe, fresh meat was part of the Sabbat feast.� As I explained earlier these farmers would kill off parts of the flock and preserve the meat for winter.� In Germany, ritualized hunts were held in the weeks before Samhain to gather the meat they needed for winter and celebration.� They gave homage to the Horned God as Master of the Hunt, and rode in wild frenzies as they chased their prey.�

Pigs were a traditional part of the feast in my Pagan cultures, particularly in the Middle East where they were sacred to the Goddess.� It was in an effort to wipe Goddess worship that the Jews (and later the Muslims) forbade the consumption of pork.

�� In Ireland, potatoes that had been harvested between August and October were made into a Samhain dish called Colcannon, which is still served on All Saint's Day.� It was an old Irish tradition to hide objects within the dish which was, or had been, decreed by local custom.� These included:� a ring for a bride, a button for a bachelor, a thimble for a spinster, or a coin for wealth.

�� As I talked about earlier there were taboos pertaining to any crops left un-harvested after October 30th.� Other cultures too had taboos against this.� In Asia, it was though to hamper male virility if the last stalk was cut, while in Native American culture doing this was thought to kill the revered Corn Grandmother.� In Scotland they feared the wrath of the Cailleac Bhuer (the Cold or Blue Hag) who would bring death in the winter months.� In Saxony, the last stalks could be cut completely, but they had to be harvested by a young woman dressed as a bride.

�� Baneful Fairies were believed to roam the earth on the night of October 31st.� Pagan Scots were known for offering good and drink to these faery folk to appease them during Samhain rituals.� A libation of milk poured over a stone was called "Leac na Gruagaich" which roughly translated means "Milk to the Hairy Ones".� In Ireland it was believed that fairy burghs were opened on Samhain Eve, which could result in careless humans being placed under a faery spell, never to be returned to the human realm.

�� The Norse invaders are thought to have introduced ideas of blood sacrifice into Celtic Samhain observances, a custom that really wasn't unfamiliar to the Celts because of similar Druidic practices.� Blood sacrifice was a logical addition because this Sabbat did mark the death of the god, whose sacrifice enabled the Goddess to start the year a new by giving him rebirth at Yule.� The blood sacrifice symbolized two things.� It represented the death of the god and it also offered a substitute for him in death so that he could more quickly be reborn.� Fortunately, the Wiccan Rede's rule of "Harm None" also applies to animals; we have happily evolved out of our need for blood sacrifice.� Today wine, poured onto Mother Earth, is a sufficient sacrifice in both Norse and Celtic traditions.

�� October brings the last of the apple harvest, the idea of wassailing, or toasting with drink, the apple trees was a Samhain ritual which was later moved to Yule, and then to Christmas through Roman and Nordic influence.� To wassail people, or apple trees, meant to drink to their health and well-being.� This was usually done by a group who had already imbibed in to much Samhain ale.� They would gather weapons, stones, and cider, then they went to find the largest apple tree.� The weapons were used to frighten away evil faeries; the cider was used to toast the tree.

�� Apples found their way into other cultural Samhain lore as well.� In Ireland it is traditional to take an apple and carve it in half.� You could then pour your illnesses or bad habits into it for burial.� This custom has evolved into present day New Years Resolutions.� Teutonic tradition held that apples were symbols of life and were buried to ensure the continuance of earthly life.� Bobbing for apples evolved from the idea of capturing the spirit of the dormant Goddess who will grieve for her consort until Yule.� Apples were sacred to her; to capture them in this manner ensured her continued presence and good will.� In Welsh tradition, apples represent the human soul as is evident by the name they gave to the land of the dead.� They called it "Avalon", which means "apple land".� Apples were often ritually buried in Wallows at Samhain to feed the dead souls in the under world who were waiting for rebirth in the coming year.� In English traditions, altars featured apples which were food for the visiting spirits.� A spirit eating the apples was though to be re-infused with life energy, which would aide in their eventual rebirth.� In England, Samhain was, and is, sometime referred to as both "The Feast of Apples" and "The Feast of the Dead".

�� Divination is the art of seeing into the future; tapping into psychic energy to scrye information about a person or situation.� Samhain has always been thought of as the best time for divination because of the closeness and the thinning barrier to the spiritual world.

�� Several Samhain divinations involved the use of apples.� Some of these include:� (1) Paring an apple, then letting it fall to the ground.� The pieces would then spell out the initials of a future mate.� (2) Hang an apple on a string, with a coin pushed deep inside of it.� Then try to bite out the coin without using your hands.� If you succeeded, it was thought that money problems would be taken care of for the year.� (3) Walking backwards into a dark room, looking in a mirror, while eating an apple was thought to let you see your future mate's face in the mirror.� Other cultures used other means for divinations.� The druids used hazelnuts for divination purposes.� To them, hazelnuts were sacred.� They would toss them into divination patters and then bury them to honor the old gods.� Druids also ate the nuts to induce mystic wisdom.� Since these were sacred, the Druids barred their use by common folk.� To divine with hazelnuts, draw a circle and take thirteen nuts, shake them in your cupped hands while concentrating on your question.� Gently toss the nuts in front of you.� If more nuts land in the circle than out, you have a right to be concerned about the question you asked.� Study the pattern in which they fell in the circle.� Look for patterns you recognize.� For instance, if the nuts line up pointing in a direction, it could be an indication of the direction you need to take the problem.� If they form a familiar object, use that information to apply to your question.� They might even fall in a shape that looks like a letter in the alphabet which could relate to your question (i.e. "N" for "no", "Y" for "yes"), or someone's initials.

�� Popular items used by modern Pagans for divination purposes are Tarot Cards, Palmistry (Palm Reading), Rune Stones, and the Ouiji Board.� Other methods used for divination are scrying and using a pendulum.� Scrying is gazing into an object; mirrors, crystals, or water, while focusing your mind on a question or issue.� One of the most recognized is the Crystal Ball.� The pendulum, a heavy object suspended by chain or string, whose movements provide answers to questions.� In medieval Germany, women used their wedding rings tied to a strand of their own hair.� Today though most pendulums are crystals suspended on a silver chain.� To use the pendulum, hold it over the center of the board.� The board will have the letters of the alphabet and the words "yes", "no", "go", and "stop" written on it.� While concentrating on your question or issue, observe the movement of the pendulum. Record your findings on a piece of paper or in your Book of Shadows.

�� Since there is more psychic energy associated with Samhain, this is an excellent time for meditation.� Meditation is the art of altering your consciousness by concentration on one object or thing to the exclusion of all else.� In Eastern traditions, meditation goes a step further and seeks to have you completely empty your mind.� Meditation is something we've all done before even without knowing it.� Sleeping.� Sleeping is a form of meditation.� If you were attached to an EEG (Electro Encephalogram) while reading a book, the cycles per second would show that you are in an alpha state, a state in which the mind is at its most active.� Meditation relaxes the mind, slowing the cycles per second, as well as relaxing the body and spirit.� Look at it this way, your mind is a highway and the AlphaState is rush hour.� Meditation disperses the congestion making it easier for you to get where you're going, whether that be divination or magickal working.

�� Because the veil between realms is at its thinnest during Samhain, spirit contact is also done.� The most common name for this is the "s�ance".� They have received bad press in the late 20th Century, mostly due to the entertainment industry and the religious movement, known as Spiritualism, which flourished in England and America from World War I to the Great Depression.� It started in 1848 by the exploitations of a girl, named Margaret Fox, by her fame seeking father.� She admitted to the parlor tricks used during the s�ances she conducted.

Hypnosis, at its infancy in the late 19th century, was also exploited as a means for spiritual contact.� Past life regression is also done during Samhain.� This trip to the Collective Unconsciousness to glimpse at a previous incarnation provided the clearest information when done at this Sabbat.� Oils and herbal teas are commonly used to open psychic centers to aid in the regression.� As for oils, the most popular is lilac, which is placed on the temples, palms, third eye (center of forehead), between the breasts, on the solar plexus, just below the navel, and on the souls of the feet.� If you've paid attention you will see that the oils are placed on the Chakra points on the body.

The most common herbal teas used either alone or blended are valerian, catnip, mugwart, sage, lemongrass, lemon balm, comfrey, jasmine, goldenseal, white oak bark, and orris root.

�� Astral projection is another ancient art associated with Samhain.� It has been described as sending out one's consciousness at will to a location away from the physical body.� Lucid or vivid dreams are sometimes synonymous with Astral Projection, but don't let the word "dream" confuse you.� Projections are real.� Don't think that because they take place in your mind that they are not.� After all, it is within your mind where magick takes place.� Projection takes some effort but there are herbal potions that can aide in the process.� Pagans once used dangerous concoctions mixed in lard to induce projection.� These were called "Flying Ointments" and were a guarded secret to those who discovered them.� Today "Flying Ointments" are still made, but without the baneful ingredients.� Some mix equal portions of mugwart, lavender, and sage in a base of unscented lotion.� You can forgo the ointment and drink a tea of valerian, catnip, and mugwart.� There are many ways to project yourself astrally; each person needs to find a way that best suits him or her.

�� With the death of the God, the Wheel of the Year turns again, bringing us to Yule and his rebirth.� In Paganism, death has never been seen as an end, but as a transition.� We, like our God, will be born anew as the Wheel of the Year turns on and on.

Blessed Be!!!