Leaves have painted the trees with the colors of autumn and the touch of the wind has become a cold caress. As the month of October draws near an end in the Northern Hemisphere, those of us on a pagan path begin to look forward to Samhain. Called "sow-in" in Ireland, "sav-en" in Scotland, and "sow-een" in Wales, most of us in modern Western society first knew this Sabbat as Halloween. As pagans, we embrace both ancient traditions and a the culture of a technological world. So what does this ancient celebration mean to us? Where do we begin to unravel a holiday where the old and new are intricately woven together?
While Halloween has parallels in many cultures, our modern understanding of Samhain has its roots deep in the lore of the Celts. To many of the Celtic peoples, Samhain was known as "Summer's End," the last harvest, and a day removed from the regular flow of time. As the beginning of the Celtic New Year, this was a day when the physical and spirit realms intertwined, a condition that some believed extended until Yule (Winter Solstice) but which was especially prevalent on this date. In modern times, we celebrate this Sabbat on October 31, although the traditional astronomical date is closer to November 7 (15 degrees Scorpio), exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice.
The Old Traditions
Samhain was intimately connected to the lives and beliefs of the Celtic peoples. It was one of two days during the year when the hearth fire, the center of the Celtic home, was extinguished and rekindled. Divination and magick concerning the coming year were worked. It was a time of celebration and caution; festivities were held even as protective magick was carefully established to guard against the spirits that freely roamed the earth on this night.
As the last harvest, Samhain was a time of final preparation for the coming winter. In a display of sympathetic magick, a feast was held, that the meat that was shared would inspire fresh game to be likewise shared by the spirit world during the cold months ahead. The bones of the slaughtered cattle were cast upon a great fire (the word "bonfire" comes from the "bone fire" of each village) and each family would light their hearth fire from the common flame, bonding the village together.
Unlike the modern Christian world, the Celts did not see time as a linear line. To the Celtic peoples, time was a cycle and Samhain was a gap in the normal flow of time, allowing the veil between our world and the spirit realm to thin. During this time, the deceased could return to their earthly homes and they were warmly welcomed. Places were set at tables for the unseen guests; milk and cakes were left outside for departed ancestors. The Celts believed that their departed family and friends weren't the only spirits to roam the night. Travelers stayed to well-known paths, lest the fae lure them off course. Malevolent spirits were kept at bay with turnips carved with the images of guardian spirits and the vegetables were often hollowed and lit from within by candles.
Because Samhain, the new year, was a day outside of time, it was the perfect opportunity to use divination to peer into the coming year. People bobbed for apples with the belief that the first person to bite an apple would be the first to marry in the coming year. In Scottish tradition, people would place stones in the ashes of the hearth before going to bed; it was believed that anyone whose stone was disturbed during the night would die during the year ahead. Hazelnuts, symbols of wisdom, were used to foretell the future.
Samhain was a festive time. In some places, children would dress up as departed spirits; in others, adults would dress as the opposite gender, trying on a different role for the evening. In Scotland, revelers traveled from door to door, singing carols and being offered alcoholic beverages.
Modern Lore
In modern times, the traditions of Samhain have been replaced by the festivities of Halloween, but a close look will reveal the ancient undercurrents that still fill the night.
The common Halloween greeting, "Trick or Treat," didn't become popular in the United States until the 1930's. Trick-or-treating, a tradition where children dress up in costumes and go door to door where they are given candy and treats is considered to be a blend of several Celtic traditions, brought to the US by British immigrants. Both the costumes and the giving of treats come from a variety of sources. Candy is given where once alcohol was offered to carolers or where money was given to children and the poor who traveled door to door during other holiday celebrations. The costumes are considered to be a hold over from ancient times, when both children and adults would dress up.
The jack-o-lantern, a pumpkin carved with scary faces and illuminated from within by candlelight, replaced the carved turnips of long ago. Where once spirits filled the night, we find them in rented movies and Halloween thrillers. Much as the village gathered together to feast in times passed, we gather with friends to celebrate and feast on sweets. At many parties, we still bob for apples, although the significance has been long forgotten. And there is still a part of us, when we're alone on Halloween night, we find ourselves glancing over our shoulder, not quite sure that we're alone and that spirits don't creep through the dark.
The Old and the New
Many witches and pagans embrace both modern celebrations and ancient traditions. Some of us divide the evening into two portions; the first devoted to celebration and fun, while the second focuses on magick, divination, and our departed loved-ones. Others choose to celebrate the Sabbat on two nights, using October 31 as a time to celebrate the modern traditions and the astronomical date to follow the old ways.
There is no right or wrong way to celebrate Samhain. To pagans, this is often considered THE Sabbat, a magickal time unlike no other. While it is a time for fun and merry making, it is also a magickal time, a day outside of time, which only comes once a year. Consider reviving an old tradition this year, whether its drawing upon the connection with the spirit world to divine the coming year or remembering those that have passed from this life. Samhain is fun, but it is also a deeply spiritual time, and as witches it's appropriate for us to observe it as such.