Samhain

As the Northern Hemisphere is about to celebrate Samhain, I thought I'd share some information on it from my Book of Shadows :)

Celebrated on the last day of October in the Northern Hemisphere, and the first day of May in the Southern Hemisphere, Samhain stands halfway between the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) and the Winter Solstice (Yule). It is sometimes seen as the beginning of Winter, but it's also the Festival of the Dead, when we remember and honour the ancestors. It is a magickal time when the veil between the worlds of the dead and the living is thin, and in Wicca/Witchcraft we celebrate death as a part of life, and to give positive value to the idea of going into the dark.

Our Celtic ancestors saw Samhain as a key point of the year's turning, a chance to begin anew with the surplus from Summer burned on a "balefire," our peace made with the dead and preparations made for the Winter. Our ancestors may well have seen this as a key departure point from the old cycle into the new. This is why many pagans today refer to this festival as the Celtc New Year. Although Samhain is literally "first frost," and thus the first of the Winter festivals, it also marks preparation for change.

CELEBRATNG THE CRONE GODDESS

The season is associated with ghosts, spirits and the dead walking. It is the season of the Hag or "Calliach" (Scottish Gaelic meaning: "old woman"), the crone aspect of the Goddess, who midwives us, with great compassion, from life to death. She is Rhiannon, goddess of transition, Cerridwen, goddess of the cauldron of transformation, and Hecate, weaver of wisdom and guardian at the crossroads. The Crone goddess is celebrated to some extent in the plastic masks and costumes that children wear at Halloween.

Nowadays, witches celebrate by holding a ritual in which we name, honour, remember and speak with the dead. Beginning with those who have died in the last year, we move on to family and friends and then commemorate all our ancestors. Then, out of grief, we bring back joy and name the newborn babies of the last year, the new friends and opportunities we have met. Samhain serves as a reminder that life contains death but it also contains the mystery of rebirth and the movement of the cycle ever onwards.

At Samhain, the Wicca say farewell to the God. This is a temporary farewell. He isn't wrapped in eternal darkness, but readies to be reborn of the Goddess at Yule.

Samhain, also known as November Eve, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, Hallows and All Hallows, once marked the time of sacrifice. In some places this was the time when animals were slaughtered to ensure food throughout the depths of Winter. The God, identified with the animals, fell as well to endure our continuing existence.

Samhain is a time of reflection, of looking back over the last year, of coming to terms with the one phenomenon of life over which we have no control - death. The Wicca feel that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is thin. Wiccans remember their ancestors and all those who have gone before. After Samhain, Wiccans celebrate Yule, and so the Wheel of the Year is complete.