As autumn proves and Robert Frost reminds us, “Nothing gold can stay.”
In October, the daylight fades, the fields empty and much of the Northern Hemisphere turns to full memento mori.
All this death is not without ceremony, found most notably in Halloween, a holiday whose origins date back to the Iron Age and a fire festival.
Samhain or Samhuinn, pronounced sow-wen, is the pagan precursor to Halloween, a holiday that honors the end of the harvest, the beginning of winter, and the start of the “dark half” of the Celtic calendar year.
The word Samhain translates to “summer’s end” and as witch Dacha Avelin eloquently describes it, “It is the threshold of the season of Death.”
Despite this, Samhain coincides with the sun’s journey through Scorpio, itself a threshold sign that rules the eighth house of sex, death and regeneration.
Samhain traditions
Sitting squarely between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, Samhain was observed as one of the four annual “fire festivals”.
In ancient tradition, while the last crops were gathered, hearth fires in individual homes were left to burn. After the harvest was complete, “celebrants joined Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and sparks.”
The original Samhain celebrations involved a bonfire with a take-home flame, a “this little light of mine” colored kind of atmosphere.
“The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and was used in conjunction with prayers…participants took a flame from the communal fire in their home to light the hearth.”
This torch provided warmth and protection for the home, a kind of “this little light of mine” colored atmosphere.
I can dig.
Obligatory inflection
Some sources claim that the OG Samhain celebrations were a bit tame, a few days full of excessive mead drinking and free feasting. A Taurus poem.
Attendance was compulsory and the punishment for abstention came in the form of death and sickness given by the gods of old.
Anyone who used a weapon or committed a crime during the Samhain festival faced a death sentence. Sharp chastisement for those who would harden the gentle.
Further, Samhain was held sacred and kept separate from violence; anyone who used weapons or committed a crime during the festival faced a death sentence. Sharp chastisement for those who would harden the gentle.
Hungry ghosts and animal hideouts
The ancient Celts believed that during this auspicious time of year, the proverbial veil that separates the living and the dead, the gods and the creatures, was most permeable.
The word “fire” comes from bonfire, the practice of offering animal bones to ceremonial flames.
Very heavy metal.
Food was left on doorsteps and forest edges to honor the dead, appease hungry spirits and protect the living, while crops and animals were offered as ritual burnt offerings.
Fun fact: the word “fire” comes from bonfire, the practice of offering animal bones to the flames. Very heavy metal.
Divination was thought to be aided by this thinning of the veil, and fortunes were cast by the light thrown from the high fires.
The well-known tradition of wearing Halloween costumes arose from these early revelers who disguised themselves in animal skins to trick the spirits who sought to harm them.
Christian propaganda campaign: Samhain becomes All Saints’ Day
As Christianity invaded Celtic communities, the form and function of Samhain changed.
The Church, recognizing that renaming was more effective than total eradication, gave new meanings to old practices and sacred places. In nature, Samhain became All Saints’ Day, when martyrs and saints were honored, rather than the free-range spirits of the dead.
This replacement was pseudo-quiet, as Saints often have an air of the supernatural about them – a veritable mixed bag of reborn virgins, necromancers, stigmatics, incorruptibles and dragon slayers.
What the pagans called magic, the Catholics called miracles, the same but different.
What the pagans called magic, the Catholics called miracles, the same but different. The night leading up to All Saints’ Day became known as All Hallows Eve, later Holy Night, and eventually, Halloween.
History of fraud or dealing
The Samhain tradition of leaving food for the spirits became the new practice of offering food and drink to the poor.
Post-Christian intervention, revelers would visit the homes of the wealthy and receive “soul cakes,” pastries given in exchange for a promise to pray for departed family members. This knock and promise of a pastry exchange became known as “spiriting,” planting the seeds for trick-or-treating.
In Scotland and Ireland, children avoided the promise of prayer and instead performed a “trick,” reciting a poem, singing a song for the dead, or otherwise performing for their “treatment,” which took the form of common fruits, nuts and seeds and spare change.
In the 19th century, Irish immigrants fleeing the certain death of the potato famine brought the practice of “cheating” to the strange shores of America.
The story of the jack-o-lantern
Carving scary faces into vegetables has its roots (pun intended) in Ireland and Scotland, where turnips served as early paintings.
Jack-o’-lanterns are associated with the Irish legend of Stingy Jack (a possible Twin), who cleverly tricked the Devil into captivity on several occasions.
Each time he trapped him, Jack traded the preservation of his mortal soul in exchange for the Dark Lord’s release. When he finally reached the end, Jack was banished from heaven for being a suspected fraud, and according to his bargain with Beelzebub, he could not be taken to hell.
Legend has it that the Devil sent Jack into the dark night of eternity with only a burning coal to light his way.
Jack placed the coal in the core of a carved turnip and has been roaming the earth with the ghostly lantern ever since.
The Irish called this creature “Jack of the Lantern” and eventually “Jack O’Lantern”. The people of Ireland and Scotland began making their own carved lanterns, placing them in windows and doorways to ward off Stingy Jack and any other marauding vampires who might come knocking.
How to celebrate Samhain
The growing popularity of Wicca and other forms of modern Paganism that began in the 1980s saw the revival of early Samhain traditions.
Wiccan celebrations of Samhain vary and include fire ceremonies, feasts, clothing, and rituals that honor the dead and honor the natural world.
Modern Samhain celebrations usually begin on the evening of October 31st and continue until November 1st.
Interested in celebrating Samhain? There are several ways to incorporate ancient and modern practices that honor the dead and transition from the season of plenty to the winter of scarcity.
Celebrations can be joyous while also maintaining an air of reverence for all that is lost as the night wears on. Some options to consider:
Build an altar
Samhain can be a time of great closure for them who have recently lost a loved one or increased communion time for those who wish to connect with the dead.
Altar offerings may include images, candles, items that remember or belonged to the deceased, bread, and clothing. This ancestral communication ritual it can be performed during Samhain celebrations or during the dark (new) moon.
For more information on dialogue with the dead, see our guide.
Light a fire
If space permits, light the fire outside. Consider a habit, personal obstacle or harmful narrative that you want to leave behind, commit it to paper and offer it to the flame. Look at that burning mother and imagine yourself free from her.
Prepare a Samhain celebration
Prepare a meal for those you love, emphasizing seasonal fruits and vegetables, foraged items, wild animals, and black bread. If you drink, pour cider or red wine. Eat by candlelight and consider that the life we live is as much a harvest as the harvest we gather.
Eat by candlelight and consider that the life we live is as much a harvest as the harvest we gather.
Reflect on how you’ve grown and what you’ve taken away in the past year. Offer gratitude for the company you have around you and stories about the departed who can no longer be invited to the table. When you are done with your meal, place the leftovers outside as an offering to the dead.
As we welcome winter, remember that death is necessary, new life is inevitable, and honoring what has been ensures the arrival of what is yet to come. Let your fires burn brightly.
Astrology 101: Your Guide to the Star
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and reports irreverently on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.
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