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SAMHAIN-OCTOBER 31 (SOW-EN)

A white lace of frost webs the sidewalk kaleidoscope of leaves.
Hillsides are ablaze with flame-colored trees, fields lie fallow and
dark, and cornstalks dry to the color of bone in the low golden sun.
The sky promises rain tonight and winds rise to torture the clouds.
Fog swirls down the darkened street, shrouding the candlelit grin of
a glowing jack-o-lantern, and the veil between the land of the living
and land of the dead grows as thin and insubstantial as the mist.

It is Samhain (pronounced sow-en), known also as All Hallow's Eve or
Halloween. This is the third harvest festival of the year, a time to
honor our departed loved ones and the night when, in legend, the
spirits of the dead returning to the Underworld to await his rebirth
at Yule; the Goddess is the Crone, mourning her lost love, leaving
the world for a time in darkness.

In ancient times, people slaughtered cattle at Samhain, leaving the
breeding stock alive for the following spring, each year wondering if
there would be food enough to survive the coming winter. They
celebrated despite the fear-balefires burned on every hillside, great
feasts were held, and places were set at the table for the spirits
who walked the Earth. For the Celts, this was New Years Eve; in some
traditions, Samhain marked a "time out of time," the ending of the
old year, the new year not beginning until the Sun's rebirth at Yule.

Samhain is considered the oldest and most sacred of the the Sabbats;
opposite Beltane on the Wheel of the Year, these two high holy days
honor death and life in their unending spiral. Symbols of this
Sabbath include the cauldron, which represents the womb of the
Goddess, brooms, masks, skeletons, pomegranates, and of course, jack-
o-lanterns. The colors of Samhain are late autumn rusts, scarlets,
browns, and golds, as well as black for the protection and the orange
for the power of fire.

Customs of this Sabbat are ancient and include the "Dumb Supper,"
setting a place for the silent souls of departed loved ones at your
table and lighting their way to your hearth with carved pumpkins and
candlelight.

Make masks to wear and to decorate your doorway. Masks were used to
confuse or frighten away unwanted spirits in times past; today, make
them gaudy and glittery, using fabric, feathers, beads, and trinkets
to honor the many faces of the Goddess and the God.

Carve a grinning jack-o-lantern and place it on the front porch or
walkway to welcome friendly souls and protect your home from
mischievous ones, as our ancestors did long ago.

All forms of divination are paramount on Samhain Eve. Dark mirrors
for scrying ("seeing" psychically or mentally), Tarot cards, runes,
or pendulums are all perfect tools for utilizing the heightened
spiritual energies at this Sabbat. More playful means of divining
are derived from Victorian Samhain celebrations. For example, to
discover the identity of your true love, peel an apple in one long
strip, let it fall to the ground, and read the initials in the bends
and curves; or put acorns in front of a fire, name each, and wait to
see which one pops first.

Leave your favorite candy out for all the visiting "spirits" as
people left food and wine on the stoop for the faerie folk and the
wondering souls on Samhain of old.

Contemplate the coming winter, and use this time out of time to let
die old ways of thinking, outworn beliefs, and negative patterns.
Meditate, rest, and incorporate relaxation techniques over the next
weeks to deepen your own rebirth at Yule, as the Wheel comes round
full circle once again.

In a Witch's year, holidays are rhythmic, magical, sublime. They
make sense, and the spirit finds you. Winter seems far less daunting
when you celebrate the return of light in the heart of the darkness.
And the dog days of summer seem tamer when you realize that the Sun's
mighty force wanes a little more with the passing of each day. On
the Wheel of the Year, every Earth change is a celebration, and every
celebration is an opportunity to strengthen your connection to
yourself, your people, your planet, and you God/Goddess.

No Problem! biggrin

Samhain Lore (October 31st)

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.

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. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.

This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.

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 (that is celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.

Symbolism of Samhain:
Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through Death.

Symbols of Samhain:
Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms.

Herbs of Samhain:
Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.

Foods of Samhain:
Turnips, Apples, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Beef, Pork, Poultry.

Incense of Samhain:
Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg.

Colors of Samhain:
Black, Orange, White, Silver, Gold.

Stones of Samhain:
All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian.



This is from my BOS, which i have collected over the years, i believe you can find simerlir ones on the internet, A friend of mine made a celtic site for studie so i gave him my own notes on festivals of wicca which i will all post up