SAMHAIN
( pronounced sow'in )
Also called Hallowmas, Halloween
or All Hallow's Eve.
major Sabbat
One of the 4 great fire festivals
31st
October
to 1st November
On this night needfires ( fires ignited by rubbing two wooden sticks together, usually by Druids ) were lit on the hills and knolls throughout Celtic Europe. ( Willow and Elder are never burned )
At the major fire festivals, home fires were extinguished and relit with brands from the needfire. Celebrants danced around the needfire and/or jumped over it for good luck and health. Food & drink were left out for needy fae all year long, but especially this night since the fae were considered mischievous and liable to play tricks on people they don't like. People used to go door to door begging for treats and playing tricks on those withholding treats on this night, mimicking the fae. Apple bobbing was popular to find out who would be the first to wed during the new year. Divination was especially practiced on this night. Most of these practices continue today.
This is the festival of the
dead. It is now that the veil between dimensions is thin and
the doors between the worlds
are open. Conversing with the departed has the best chance of success tonight.
This is the night for scrying and illusion.
Jack O'Lanterns are lit to
keep away unwanted spirits and fond tales of ancestors
are told around the campfires
to keep the departed alive in the hearts of the living.
For Wiccans, it is New Year's
Eve. Tomorrow starts the Wiccan New Year.
This is the time of year beginning the long Winter sleep. The last of the harvest festivals, when herds are culled and anything now left in the fields is considered to be unfit for human consumption. Candles and robes are black to denote the absence of the summer sun and the waning of the light. Fall colors and incense are also used. Meditation is on death for the body and reincarnation for the spirit. There is no such thing as death for the spirit, only change.
Time directly before Samhain is to clean out your closets and prepare for the new year's time coming. The harvest is in and put up for the next year's feasting.
The hard work of Summer is done; The Winter's rest is begun.
