Site icon Your Friendly Familiar

Samhain

Your Friendly Familiar

New Year Holiday of Magic & Mysticism

Each year from October 31 into November 1 is the Pagan or Celtic New Year!  For many Wiccans, Pagans, those who practice Witchcraft or other forms of magic, this may be one of the most important festivals of the year.  It’s called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in) and a “cross-quarter” holiday because it falls between the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) and the Winter Solstice (Yule).  Samhain goes by many names, including Halloween, All Hallows Eve, All Souls Night, Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, and Festival of Remembrance.  Samhain is a festival that recognizes the harvest and how the long, darker hours of the year’s winter is approaching, and it celebrates how the barrier between the physical and spirit worlds fade, which allows for easier interaction between residents of the two.  Since this is such a big holiday, there is a lot to cover.  So let’s have fun diving deep into this fun time of year that is so rich of history and full of magical qualities!

Table of Contents

    What is Samhain?

    This festival marks the final harvest of the year and asks to honor those who lived before us, to express appreciation for the gifts we’ve received this year, and to set goals/intentions and seek guidance for the upcoming new year.  For Wiccans, Samhain marks the time when the God, or the Sun King, is sacrificed and goes into the darkness of the Underworld.  In contrast, the Goddess reaches her ultimate strength in power as a pregnant Crone, who mourns the God’s passing.  But she shall give birth to the God in an act of rebirth during Yule.  As such, Samhain is considered the death part of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.  Historically speaking, the Celts believed that every year on Samhain night, the Lord of the Dead would collect the souls of all those who died in that year and guide them to Tír na nÓg, the Celtic Underworld.  Because they thought on Samhain the barrier between the spiritual and physical worlds has faded and this allows for easier connection and contact with the deceased, they celebrated by lighting lanterns and bonfires (like most festivals) to show heartbroken or lonely spirits of deceased loved ones to show them the path back home to visit with family/friends with a “dumb supper,” where celebrants ate their meal with a food offering for invited ancestors to join them.

    Samhain is also special because for many magic practitioners, it is one of the most powerful nights to practice their magic.  This is because on this night in particular, the traditional laws of time and space that separate the physical world and the spiritual world are weaker.  The veil that separates these two realms is thinner, which allows for magic practitioners to conduct magic involving the spiritual world (such as communicating with the dead) with an ease and ability that may be considered very difficult or even impossible normally.  Also, because this barrier between realms is weaker, many believe this is when spirits or other mystical creatures may wander the Earth.  Some say that since the “world of the gods” were now visible to people, it may lead to supernatural tricks, pranks, or trouble, which can be explained by the ghosts of the deceased or spirits from the Otherworld returning to the physical world.

    From Samhain to Halloween

    In the beginning, Ancient Celts celebrated Samhain over the course of a few days to recognize the harvest and citizens were required to participate in activities led by both the religious and government leaders.  In the Middle Ages, Samhain grew into larger festivals, including lighting bonfires, carving turnips into Jack-o-lanterns, and starting the tradition of the “dumb supper.”  From there, Christianity came into the picture and attempted to change Pagan holidays into Christian ones and, as a result, in the 9th Century, Pope Gregory declared All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2.  However, even with the Christianity push to change things, the Pagan elements of Samhain has still remained.  Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, takes place on October 31, which holds many of these traditional Pagan characteristics.  What we currently view as Halloween really took shape in the 1800s in the United States through Irish immigrants, who brought their traditions into the country.  Particularly, the practice of Trick-or-Treating is once said to come from Ancient Irish and Scottish practices of wearing costumes, going from door to door, singing songs of the deceased, and receiving cakes over the course of a few nights leading up to Samhain.  Also, the idea of Halloween tricks or pranks can be traced to Samhain, but in that case the tricks were blamed on fairies.

    Symbolism

    As with all of these holidays, Samhain is packed full of symbolism.  When one thinks of Halloween, oftentimes the images of pumpkins, witches, and black cats come to mind.  Those are all relevant!  There are also many other symbols that this very important holiday has connections with, such as marigold flowers, smoky quartz, and the general colors of black and orange.  Check out this quick chart below to see some more examples!  

    How to Celebrate

    Want to celebrate Samhain besides the usual trick-or-treating or carving Jack-o-lanterns?  Here are some fun ways you can!  Check them out and see if any seem interesting to try!  

    So what are your thoughts on Samhain?  Do you celebrate it or Halloween and, if so, what do you do?  Are there any Samhain activities that sound fun or interesting to you that you might try?  Is there a different yet similar holiday that celebrates the dead or ancestors from where you live?  Please share in the comments for I would love to learn from you!  My friends, I wish you Samhain Blessings!

    “I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” 

    – Og Mandino

    Exit mobile version