Halloween ~ Samhain Blessings!
Be well this night and be blessed!
The warmth of Summer is only a memory; the cold and dark of Winter approaches. We have reached the third and final harvest. A perfect time for celebration!
Halloween or Samhain may also be referred to as the Eve of all Hallows, Hallowmas, Day of the Dead, Feast of Spirits, Third Harvest, Samonios, All Souls' Day, All Saint's Eve, Martinmas, Celtic New Year, Samhuinn, Nos Galon Gaeof, Celtic Winter, Samana, Festival of Pamona, Vigil of Saman, Vigil of Todos, Santos, Westwind Sabbat, and The Witches New Year.
Samhain, meaning "Summer's End" in Gaelic, has several popular pronunciations. "So-en" is probably the most popular 'correct' choice. Others are "sew-en", "so-vain", "sav-een", "shav-nah", "sha-ma-ayn", "sahm-hayn". It is the New Years Eve of Celts and Druids and for many who call themselves "witch", including Wiccans. For some, the day marks the end of the rule of the Goddess and the beginning of the rule of the God.
Many Christians celebrate the day as the eve of All Saints' Day (All Hallows). "Halloween" is a contraction which comes from "All Hallows Eve" --> "Hallowe'en".
On Samhain night the veil between our world and the world of spirits is thought to be very thin. So, Samhain or the Eve of All Hallows is nearly universally viewed as a time for honoring the dead and, even, possibly seeing them. (Some people believed you could go to a graveyard and, at midnight, see the 'ghosts' of those destined to die in the coming year wandering about.) In the Celtic tradition it was believed that all who died had to wait until Sanhain before crossing over to the the world of the spirits. It is believed by some that the future can be more easily seen at this time.
The practice of carrying a lantern carved or masked to show a scary face to ward off bad spirits in such places as graveyards may be fairly old. However, since the pumpkin is strictly a new world plant, carving one to make a "Jack-O-Lantern" for Halloween is clearly an American invention. Most likely, the name comes from the moralistic tale of Jack, a clever scamp who, having tricked the devil into rejecting his soul, is welcome in neither Heaven nor Hell. So, he wanders endlessly carrying a hollowed out turnip (or pumpkin) as a lamp with a lump of Hell's coal lighting his path.
Going "Trick or Treating" for sweets on Halloween night is chiefly an American innovation, too. It combines European masquerades and the late medieval Christian practice of "souling," when poor folk would go door to door seeking food in return for prayers for the dead as well as much older pagan traditions.
Take care this night!
Activities .
Carve faces in apples and pumpkins
Make a Jack-O-Lantern
Cook up a Samhain pumkin pie
Honor the dead, remember those you loved who have passed on
Display a collection of photos etc of loved ones who are dead
Set a place at the table for the departed
Place a light in the window to guide the dead
Give food to travelers
Leave food outside as an offering to the dead
Wear costumes and Go trick or treating
Give out candy to trick or treaters
Watch scary movies
Have a bonfire
Burn a Wickerman
Mix up some hot mugwart tea
Scry by the fire, smoke, or your scrying mirror
Some clans do testing for psychic and magickal talents on this night.
One tradition is that burying apples in the hard-packed earth "feeds" the passed ones on their journey.
In Belgium an old custom was to prepare "Cakes for the Dead" small white cakes or cookies. A cake was eaten for each spirit honoured with the belief that the more cakes you ate, the more the dead would bless you.
It was also customary to light a fire on the household hearth which would burn continuously until the first day of the following spring. (In lots of places this made good sense because by All Hallow's Eve it was cold and people needed a fire anyway.) Huge bonfires were lit on the hilltops at sunset in honor of the old Gods and Goddesses and to guide the souls of the dead home to their kin.
Samhain is a fine time for getting rid of bad habits, too. Write down bad habits and weaknesses you wish to be rid of on a piece of parchment. Meditate upon how much better off you will be once rid of the weaknesses; then, burn the parchment.
Foods
Gingerbread, cakes for the dead, pumpkin pie and other pumpkin dishes, cranberry muffins and breads, apples, corn, beets, turnips, hazelnuts, cider, ale, herbal teas, and mulled wines are appropriate, as are meat dishes.
Herbs and Plants
Acorn, Oak, Apple, Arborvitae (Yellow Cedar), Corn Dittany of Crete Fumitory, Hazel, Mullein, Nightshade, Pumpkin, Sage, Turnip, Wormwood, Mugwort, Gourds, Sage, Allspice, Catnip, pomegranites.
Symbols
Jack-o'-Lantern, Pumpkins, Witch, Ghost, Balefire, Besom, Masks, Cauldron, Waning Moon.
Gemstones
All black gemstones, jet, obsidian, and onyx.
From ...
Citadel of the Dragons
Celtic Connection: Samhain
Neopagan: Halloween Origins
The White Goddess
Spring Wolf's Pagan Path
A Wiccan Garden
