[ These passages were taken from Earth Medicine ]
At the west we arrive at another pivotal point in the yearly cycle which was considered both as an ending and as a beginning. The ancient Celts regarded it as the time when one year ended and another began and marked it with a festival called Samhain (some say it is pronounced ‘Sowen’) on 31 October. Because it was regarded as the point where winter started, it was looked upon as a doorway between the ‘seen’ world of matter and the ‘unseen’ world of the spirit and as a time when power natural forces were at work. In popular mythology and it superstition it became associated with ghosts and ghols and it degenerated into Hallow’een, which has obscured its original importance: The Festival of Remembrance.
23 October – 22 November – Animal Totem: The Snake
A pivotal point of the entire yearly cycle is located in this period. Anciently it was recognized as the time when the year ended and a new yearly cycle began. This ‘twilight’ period had significance in another way among ancient peoples for it was seen, too, as the space between two realms—between the visible world of physical manifestation and the unseen realm of the spirit.
It was celebrated as a festival among pagan peoples on the eve of 1 November. The ancient Celts called it Samhain, which meant ‘Summers’ End’, but the celebrations continued merrily throughout the first week of November. Blazing ritual bonfires symbolized the burning of all the worries and problems accrued during the past year and these were the true origin of Bonfire Night in Britain on 5 November and had far greater significance than the memorial of Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. It was a time for getting rid of weaknesses and the things which had served their purpose but were no longer relevant—of shedding what had gone before so that renewal became possible and effective. The fires were also used to cook the meat of animals which could not be kept over Winter. The result of the years’ work was seen.
Just as twilight is an ‘in-between’ period separating daytime from night, and autumn comes in between summer and winter, so Samhain was looked upon as a time when the visible and invisible realms ‘overlapped’. So it was a time to remember those who had died and had departed the Earth life, and when the movement of the Earth tides had brought the physical and the spiritual closer together, and when this closeness to departed loved ones could be more keenly felt.
The Christian Church attempted to kill off the old festival by making 1 November All Saints Day, Samhain Even on 31 October becoming All Souls Day, All Hallows Eve or Hallowe’en. The original festival was denigrated by associating it with demons and witches, and ghosts and goblins. In modern times, Hallowe’en has become popularized, particularly in the United States, as a time for rather weird fun, for dressing up in costumes and masks, and of pumpkin and turnip lanterns, and an occasion for ‘trick or treat’ suggesting the trickness of little ‘demons’ and the need to placate them, all of which is a distortion of the true significance of this ancient festival.
23 October – 22 November – Animal Totem: The Snake
A pivotal point of the entire yearly cycle is located in this period. Anciently it was recognized as the time when the year ended and a new yearly cycle began. This ‘twilight’ period had significance in another way among ancient peoples for it was seen, too, as the space between two realms—between the visible world of physical manifestation and the unseen realm of the spirit.
It was celebrated as a festival among pagan peoples on the eve of 1 November. The ancient Celts called it Samhain, which meant ‘Summers’ End’, but the celebrations continued merrily throughout the first week of November. Blazing ritual bonfires symbolized the burning of all the worries and problems accrued during the past year and these were the true origin of Bonfire Night in Britain on 5 November and had far greater significance than the memorial of Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. It was a time for getting rid of weaknesses and the things which had served their purpose but were no longer relevant—of shedding what had gone before so that renewal became possible and effective. The fires were also used to cook the meat of animals which could not be kept over Winter. The result of the years’ work was seen.
Just as twilight is an ‘in-between’ period separating daytime from night, and autumn comes in between summer and winter, so Samhain was looked upon as a time when the visible and invisible realms ‘overlapped’. So it was a time to remember those who had died and had departed the Earth life, and when the movement of the Earth tides had brought the physical and the spiritual closer together, and when this closeness to departed loved ones could be more keenly felt.
The Christian Church attempted to kill off the old festival by making 1 November All Saints Day, Samhain Even on 31 October becoming All Souls Day, All Hallows Eve or Hallowe’en. The original festival was denigrated by associating it with demons and witches, and ghosts and goblins. In modern times, Hallowe’en has become popularized, particularly in the United States, as a time for rather weird fun, for dressing up in costumes and masks, and of pumpkin and turnip lanterns, and an occasion for ‘trick or treat’ suggesting the trickness of little ‘demons’ and the need to placate them, all of which is a distortion of the true significance of this ancient festival.
