Tips & Tricks to Survive the Broom Closet: Those who hide their true magickal identities from friends & family are known as dwellers in "the broom closet". Many who work with magick and witchcraft feel the need to constantly hide their practices, of...
Possibly the biggest festival of the Witches' year, Samhain is a time to remember those who have passed on, celebrate the Summers end and prepare for Winter months ahead. The Sun God and earth fall into slumber, as the nights lengthen and winter begins.
Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.
Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on November 7th), and Martinmas (celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.
It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands.
The Christian religion has adopted this day as All Saints Day, or All Hallows Day, celebrating the eve as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. The superstition and misconception linked to this celebration by the early church, led people to take some unusual precautions to protect themselves. They adopted the tradition of dressing in frightening costumes or disguises, and displaying scary looking Jack-O-Lanterns to help protect them from spirits they considered to be evil. In the British Isles, the young people would disguise themselves with hideous masks and walk through the village, lighting their way with lanterns made from carved turnips.
All Souls Night, Feast of the Dead, Festival of Remembrance, Feast of Apples, New Year...
Samhain is one of the major festivals of the Wheel of the Year, for many Pagans the most important festival of all. It is the third and final harvest festival of nuts and berries and a fire festival. All the harvest is in, all is complete, it is the end of the cycle of birth and growth, it is the point of death. The seeds of the harvest have fallen deep into the dark earth, they are unseen, dormant, and thus apparently lifeless.
The God, as Sun King is sacrificed back to the land with the seed until the Winter Solstice, and the Goddess, now as Crone, mourns Him until His rebirth at Yule. He travels the Underworld learning its wisdom. This is the time of the descent into darkness, of pre-conception, out of which new life, new ideas, will eventually emerge.
Traditionally the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest now. Boundaries dissolve and all is laid bare. It is time to honour and offer hospitality to, our ancestors.
At Samhain the dark half of the year commences. It is a truly magical time. Death is always followed by rebirth and while this is the end of the old year, it is the beginning of the new year. For the Celts the day did not begin at dawn, it began at sunset, it began with darkness. Light is always born out of darkness, they are inseparable, interdependent, and necessary. Darkness is fertile with 'all potential'. With the beginning of this dark phase comes the opportunity to rest and reflect on the past and to dream of new beginnings. The seed now hidden in the earth will germinate in its season. Look for the seeds in yourself!
Set up a Samhain altar Include a cauldron; apples, nuts and berries; black candles to honour the passage to the Summerland and the ancestors; photographs of deceased family and friends. Decorate your altar with anything that is black for death and endings; orange for the vitality of life within death; purple for wisdom, insight and inspiration.
Honouring The Ancestors Honouring your ancestors is a very special thing to do at this time and can be done in many simple ways. > Think about all those departed souls from your life, both family and friends, children may wish to remember pets even - place photographs of them on your altar. Offer them your hospitality, welcome their presence into your home. > At your Samhain feast, consider laying an extra place for them to join you at the table - cook and eat their favourite dishes, talk about them - remember them, bring them closer.
Self reflection Meditate in front of your Samhain altar and think about all that you've gone through in the past year. Ask yourself: > How have you grown? > What skills have you learnt? > Who have you met? > What have you let go of? > What do you need to let go of? > What do you need to bring into your life in this new year?
Carve pumpkins - a new tradition popularised by America, the British originally used turnips.
Make a broom/besom - brooms are great for sweeping out old energy to make way for the new year.
Try some Samhain tarot spreads - I will post some Sabbat spreads in the future.
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