SAMHAINpronounced (Sow-en)
- otherwise known as 'Summers End', and the Witch's New Year.
Samhain, later called Hallowmas,
or All Hallows Eve was the Celtic New Year;
and is the 3rd Harvest and final festival on the Wheel of the Year.* All that is left unharvested in the feilds, or in the hearts & lives of men-is said to belong to the Crone after this night.
To the Celts who celebrated Samhain in the past,as well as to the modern day Witches, Pagans, & Druids who keep the ancient traditions today-the agricultural & physical cycles of the Heavens & Earth, mark the changing of the seasons as well as theways in which we honor our Deities.*This season of Autumn,corresponds to the death of the year, the physical death of the life cycle, as well as the mythological life celebrated on May 1st, as Beltane.*The Light Half of the Year is marked astronomically,by the rising of the Pleiades at Gamain;as is the Dark Half by its setting at Samhain.
Often called Spirit Night -Samhain begins at sunset on October 31st; and continues for 3 days to a week-it is at this time,
when the veils between the Worlds of Man & Spirit are at their thinnest
- that the souls of the newly departed,
make their final trip to the Otherworld, accompanied by the Goddess.
The people of the Earth have traditionally used this night
to honor & communicate with the souls of their ancestors leaving offerings of favorite foods amongst photographs, beloved trinkets, and seasonal flowers.
* Along with the harvest of the land, any animals, not fit to last the cold; would be slaughtered off and preserved. Anything left over brought to the Hallowmas feast. *
Gatherings of Family thru the coming dark monthsspent confined and alone until the Spring.*It was a time to rejoice & revel in the high points of the year, and to heal after it's losses.
*Divinations out into the town singing seasonal songs begging for Soul Cakes in exchange for prayers for their dead.*Mummers danced & played whether hearth fire, candle flame, bon-or 'Need Fire';as well as the Element of Water;as found in rituals such as bobbing for apples, floating nuts in bowls and ink scrying.
*As we Pagans and Witches integrate the traditions of Samhain into our modern day Halloween celebrations-we trace the footprints of our spirtual ancestry, while creating new legends of our own.
~DANAE
Origin: witchcraftforall.blogspot.com
