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Wheel of The Year
Samhain
Samhain
Samhain (pronounced, depending on the dialect, ‘SOW in’ [in Ireland], or ‘SOW-een’ [in Wales], or ‘SAV-en’ [in Scotland]), also known as Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, Hallowmas, Day of the Dead, Third Harvest, Hallowstide and as the Welsh call it, ‘spirit night’. Samhain is also the Celtic New Year and many modern Pagans celebrate it as such. We celebrate Samhain on October 31 but it actually occurs when the Sun is at 15 degrees Scorpio, and this year this will occur on November 7th. It is a Cross Quarter day, a Greater Sabbat, the beginning of winter and a Fire Festival.
Samhain means “End of Summer” in Gaelic and is Beltanes dark twin, opposite it on the Wheel of the Year. On Samhain, the veil between the worlds is said to be the thinnest allowing the souls of those departed to cross over and visit us. This also allows us to better communicate with them and makes Samhain a time of great power for contact with the Spirit world and for divination of all types, especially scrying. It is a time to ponder death on all levels as well as a time to remember and honor deceased family, friends and heros and honor our ancestors. It is the end of one cycle and the beginning of another and we therefore give up the past and look to the future.
Samhain is also the death festival, marking the descent of winter and the start of the dark half of the year. Darkness is beginning to increase as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer. The leaves are falling from the trees in drifts, and life is drawn away from the surface, and descends deep within the earth. Life is now in the roots and bulbs of plants, which rest over the winter. As the earth prepares for sleep and draws its energy inwards, we too draw our energy within and prepare for the winter. The Earth Mother is becoming cold and barren, and we see Her as the Crone, the Wise One, the Dark Mother while the Horned God who was Lord of Life and the Wild Greenwood is now seen as God of the Underworld and Lord of the Wild Hunt.
So how is it that we start the year with a festival revolving around death? To put it simply death is necessary for rebirth, and within the continuous cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth the two frequently happen simultaneously.
Samhain is a somber time of remembrance, a time of coming to terms with death, to remember, honor and to say goodbye to loved ones who have crossed over to the Summerland, especially if their deaths have occurred within the last year. It is a time of letting go of the grief and pain associated with death in order to begin the year without past burdens. This is the day when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the spirits, is at its thinnest. We call upon the spirits our dead ancestors and contact their ancient wisdom. We set places for them at our tables, and invite them to feast with us, remember their gifts to us and celebrate their lives.
Samhain is also a time for introspection, transformation and inner work, a time of reflection. We should look back over the last year and contemplate what we have learned, sort out unfinished business and make plans for the upcoming year. Samhain is also the time to face our shadow, the dark side of ourselves.
Because it is a time of transformation Samhain is also a good time for banishing, especially for banishing weaknesses or other undesired qualities within us.
The dark half of the year begins at this Sabbat and it marks the end of the harvest season. It is also a harvest of blood as the cattle that were not strong enough to survive the coming harshness of winter were slaughtered to provide sustenance for us through the long cold months to come