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Samhain
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Samhain its the end of October now the nights are long and cold the leaves have turned and a goodly number have fallen and in most of the Northern Tier of the USA snow has started falling this is the time to prepare for the long cold winter ahead to put up the last of the food and gather your blankets and loved ones close about the fire against the Darkness' rule. Many countries and cultures have rituals for this day. In Mexico its known as "El Dia de los Muertos" or "The Day of the Dead Ones" where the Dead are remembered and their graves are visited and treats are left for wandering spirits. In pagan Ireland and England October 31 was "Sow'an" which got Anglicized to Samhain and later known under the Catholics as "The Witches Sabbath". The Harvest ended on this day in most of Europe anything left in the fields after this day was considered "blasted by the Fairies" and left to rot. As an aside in the Celtic lands the Fairies are still known by their ancient name "the Sidhe" (pronounced "Shee") and are considered to be Creatures of the fundamental Order of Creation wielding powers all out of proportion to their manifest size and most have a healthy appetite for Human flesh and blood. Pagan Europe saw October 31 as the day when the Lord of Darkness (night length) was "Crowned King" of the lands of the living. In parts of England this was seen as the Oak King (Goronwy) ascending the Throne of the upper world with his wife the Earth Goddess Bloduedd. in places like Greece and Rome this was the time when the of Demeter (or Ceres in Rome) Persephone departed the lands of the living to spend 6 months as the wife of the Dark Lord of Death Hades as consequence for eating 6 pomegranate seeds while Hades was courting her for Druids this night was the night when all the souls of the people who had died during the year were gathered before the God Samhain and for their<b> sins </font></b>turned to insects except for the intercessions of the Druid priests with sacrifices appeased the God Samhain and convinced him to let their souls go to their version of Heaven ---Tir na Nog (the Summerland or literally translated "the Land of Youth") October 31 is almost exactly 6 months around the calendar from Beltane (May 1) ---the day when Lugh (or LLew or Ra or Osiris....or any other representative of the "god" of increasing day length") is "crowned king" of the upper world and warmth, light, summer and life are on the increase in the lands of the living... now Death , cold, winter and Darkness are on the ascendant and one must take shelter. At this time it is customary to remember the Dead.... honor them and hope they are in a better place than you who are still in mortality The coming of the Christians changed things up a bit. The Catholics co opted this and many other holidays that had the movements of the sun and moon and the Seasons as their basis and wrote tales into their doctrines actions and qualities to attribute the actions of the heavens, the seasons and the sun and moon to their new Christ. The Catholics created a holiday to honor and "feast" their saints all at once it was called "all hallows day" and October 31 was relegated to "All Hallows Eve ...and over time the language evolved and changed it to it to "Hallows Even"........"Hallows E'en" ...and what we know today as "Halloween". the Christians have attempted to make Halloween a celebration of all things "evil" so that on this one night of the year people (especially ) could give homage to all things naughty ...dress up as witches skeletons mummies ...demons ...even the Devil himself and revel in the naughtiness of it and collect treats Halloween among the Pagans and Wiccans of today is a Celebration of the "death" of the sun and the ascension for a time of cold and Dark ... but also a recognition that all things that die are reborn if in different form---for instance the material that formed the corpse of your parent might be a part of a Tree and thus live on in that form even if the essence that was the spirit of your parent has returned to the Grand Wheel of Reincarnation to await its turn to be spun out again. We do believe in Reincarnation and Rebirth as well as Death .... Samhain...All Hallows Eve...is a celebration of death and a recognition that all things mortal will eventually go through that change called "Death" from which there is no coming back to report. It is a time to remember those who have crossed over that bridge into the unknown dimension that comes after Death. It is a time to pull your loved ones closer and be grateful for the presence of those you love who are alive and hope for those you loved in life who have passed on. Huddle under the blankets, husband your warmth and endure ...wait for the rebirth of the Light at Yule |
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