Samhain (SAH-win) which is the second oldest unbroken holiday in the European world (May Day is the oldest). It is approximately 6000 years old and literally means the end of summer. It is a time when the veil between worlds was believed to be thin. It is a time of communication between the living and those that have crossed over for Pagans aren’t afraid of death but believe it to be a natural part of life. Without it there would be no change or growth so death is one of the gifts of the Goddess. An apt quote is ‘Death is only the Beginning�?

Samhain is also New Year’s Day which may seem odd that it happens at a time when the days are cold and short but death and birth are two sides of the same coin and while this is a time we think about death, it is also a time of new beginnings.

At Samhain we call the Goddess the Crone. The Crone teaches us wisdom. She is the one who helps us let go so that we can change and grow. When we let go, we make room for something new.

An idea for a Spell to Let go is�?

Create an altar with black cloth (the color of the universe, the all, the nothing from which all something comes), and spread on that some fallen leaves to represent the discarded past along with a list of your psychic debris written on notepaper or the leaves. Light a black candle (to represent the void and to repel negativity) and light an incense. I use a lot of rosemary since it works as a good all purpose incense when I’m in a pinch. Then just pray something like�?BR>
I have come a long way this year, Goddess, but I am carrying burdens I don't want to bear anymore. I want to step out from underneath and be free, sending them back into spiral where all things come from and to where all things go. Here, on this night, I offer to you my resentments against�? my anger towards�?, my fear of�?, etc. and I ask that these energies be absorbed back into the universe, the circle, the center. I am transformed as they are transformed. Guide me as I step away from the shadows that cling, so I can walk free in the beams of light.

Burn your list in the candle flame and imagine all those unwanted feelings, hurts, etc. that are of no more use to you evaporating into the smoke and say something like�?BR>
I am cleansed. I am free. I am light. Thank you Goddess for answering the call of one of your children. I honor you and I thank you.

Then gather all the things that were part of your meditation and cast them into a living body of water. Then walk away but do not look back and do not let your thoughts go back to the ritual. Move forward, onward, upward.

It’s a simple spell but one with a core theme repeated on this night �?letting go. This is a night to let go of all those things that are no longer doing anything for you �?resentments, unforgiveness, anger, hatred, dislike, distrust, etc. This is the last night of the year, tomorrow you begin a new year �?a new circle �?with new possibilities, opportunities, etc.

For your altar you can put symbols of the season such as leaves, pumpkins, pomegranates, gourds, pictures of those that have passed, items that remind us of those that have passed. This is a time of reflection, introspection and of letting go.

Samhain has a long history and is known by the name All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween. The third harvest festival, Samhain is considered the oldest and most sacred of Sabbats. It is opposite Beltane on the Wheel of the Year. Beltane and Samhain are considered high holy days as they celebrate life and death respectively in the unending spiral. Symbols include the cauldron which represents the womb, brooms, masks, skeletons, pomegranates, and of course jack-o-lanterns. Traditional colors are rusts, scarlets, browns, golds and black for protection, and orange for the power of fire.

In ancient times, people slaughtered their cattle at this time leaving the breeding stock alive for the following spring and the rest was for food to help them survive the winter. Balefires burned in remembrance of the sun and to celebrate despite fears of not having enough food for the entire winter, great feasts were held and the dead were honored. In the wheel of the year, the God has returned to the underworld and the Goddess is the Crone who mourns her lost love. In mythology this is the time that Persephone returns to the side of her husband and lover Hades �?Demeter mourns the separation from her daughter and thus sends the Earth into darkness under a blanket of snow. Popular mythos is Cerridwen’s Cauldron of Transformation; Feeding the Morrigan; Sniggling the Cailleach; Festival of the Dark Goddess.

The story of the Jack-O-Lantern is actually folklore. Jack was a farmer who had a reputation for being a drunkard and a trickster and one day, he had an encounter with the Devil. According to legend, he tricked the devil into climbing a tree to pick some fruit but Jack placed a cross on the lower bark that kept the demon from leaving the tree. He did take off the cross but not until the devil swore he wouldn’t take his soul in hell. When Jack did die, Heaven didn’t want him because of his transgressions so Jack had nowhere to go but Hell. But the devil insisted a deal was a deal but took pit and tossed out a burned ember to Jack. He happened to have a turnip in his pocket and he placed the coal in the big root to make the first Jack-O-Lantern. Ever after, on the night, when the dead may walk among the living, people light his way as he wanders the world. Sometimes he is called Jack O�?the Shadows, or Death itself.

The thought of spirits roaming freely with the living made some people nervous so to discourage and frighten any bad spirits away, villages would dress in ghoulish costumes and engage in noisy activity throughout the night. But disbelief in the bad spirits grew and the practice of dressing up became more fun than self-preservation. Back in the day, the Celts would extinguish all fires to make their homes seem cold and dark and undesirable to the spirits. Then they would re-light all their fires from a common source.

Trick or treating is thought to have begun with the early Christians through a centuries old European custom called “souling.�?On or around November 1 (All Saints Day �?a Christian Holiday created to compete with Samhain in earlier days) Christians would walk from village to village. They would ask for soul cakes (or small square pieces of bread with currants). In exchange, they would then say a prayer for the donor's dead relatives. Apparently, in the 9th century, people believed that the dead stayed in limbo for a while, so a prayer, even from a stranger, might help the soul pass into heaven.

Nowadays, when children who go trick or treating on this night they represent the future and when you offer them something sweet, you in turn sweeten the future. But this night is for the elderly for they represent the year and it is this night they should be remembered with a card, dinner, a call, whatever with the premise that to appease the past is also good luck for the future. According to Celtic legend, the four great grandmothers of Halloween hold the great treasures. The cauldron of rebirth stands for pleasure, the stone of destiny stands for power, the sorceress�?spear stands for courage and the invincible sword stands for knowledge.

Like almost everyone in North America, we celebrate Halloween with the candies, the costumes and the parties but we also have a special feast on All Hallow’s Eve with a full dinner, a prayer, and an extra place setting at the table for those that are no longer here. As we eat, we place a portion of food on the extra plate which I carry to the edge of the woods after supper with a blessing of thanks and a silent prayer to those that are gone. Also, the weekend prior to Samhain we have a family pumpkin carving contest that gets rather messy and sticky but results in much delight as we put four pumpkins around the house in celebration of the Halloween to come. As we carve the pumpkins I tell the kids how the tradition originated from carving turnips in ancient times to ward of spirits. I also go over some of the mythology and folklore surrounding the holiday. We roast the seeds for snacks and put the extra ‘stuff�?out for the night creatures to eat. Another tradition is to leave a white candle and a saucer of milk on the windowsill for those wandering souls who may come by.

You can also make a chain of apples to symbolize the Isle of Apples for your altar. Cut construction paper in half lengthwise and fold each half accordion style into four sections. Then draw or trace an apple on the top of the folded of one accordion piece with the sides of the apple touching the folded edges of paper. Cut through all the layers except the fold on each side and then open to reveal the chain. Repeat on the other and connect with tape. You can make this chain as long as you wish. Then with gel pens or glitter or a fancy pen write the names of those that have gone on each apple and hang across you altar. As you look at the chain you can imagine that each have eaten an apple on the Shining Isle to become something new.

Because my kids are young, and I am private about my beliefs, I incorporate stories, history, concepts of Samhain into these regular traditions to broaden their scope of beliefs and understanding. Then once they are out trick or treating, I have time to have a private celebration honoring the night. Celebrating Samhain has evolved quite naturally and progressively gets bigger each year with my growth. That’s understandable. Your celebration can be as simple or as complex as you feel you need to connect to the basic undercurrents that are at work on this night.

A lovely invocation for Samhain is�?

Forests misty, dark and deep
The door between the worlds release
Loved ones, family, favored pets
To join me in this evening’s fest.
The birth of new, the death of old
I will this cycle to unfold.
Each leaf that drifts upon the ground
Will bury all that is unsound
And in its place will rise anew
The gift of love the whole year through.
With harvest gold and autumn sun
I reap the best that I have done.
And as the days grow shorter still
With longer nights and winter’s chill
I’ll work to build a better place
For every soul and human race.
Wild autumn winds and crone’s dark voice
Speak to me of wisdom’s choice
Let me hear your words of fate
So I know which part to take!
Those of you who went before
Speak to me from crossroad’s door
Whisper words of love and care
Let me know that you are there.
-Ravenwolf

A big part of Samhain is divination. On this night when two worlds brush side by side, many will cast cards, do mirror or cauldron scrying, pendulums or any manner of divination as they ponder where they have been, where they are and where they want to go. Playful divination from Victorian times was to peel an apple in one long strip and let it fall to the ground then read the initials in the bends and curves to discover the identity of your true love. Or you could put acorns in front of the fire and name each one �?then wait to see which one pops first.

So, magickal ideas for ritual?

Carve a pumpkin and then empower it to repel negativity.

Create a shrine for your ancestors.

Make a family tree and then remember those that are no longer here but make up the roots of your tree.

Pick a form of divination for that night and pose a question �?if nothing else ask what the new year holds.

Make a family photo album or even a poster and then create a ritual for family harmony before putting it in your room.

A farewell ceremony to a loved one you lost during the year.

If you are casting a circle put pumpkins in your quarters or even brooms. My all around year ones I use tea lights in sea shells to mark out my circle.

An idea for an altar is using hay bales to represent the harvest or a really big pumpkin that you top with a single candle to represent your altar.

Visit the cemetery and place flowers on the final resting places of those that have gone before.

Also, don’t forget that Samhain is a fire festival. It signals personal closure and happens in the sign of Scorpio which is a mutable water sign. This sign has the ability to rebuild what is needed, throw out what is not. Ruled by Pluto the modern sign and Mars the classical one, you can accomplish a lot during this time period (I’m not learned in astrology, I just dabble) but my references made mention of it so I thought I would pass it on.

Most of all, have fun! Far too often we're so busy trying to grow spiritually that we forget we're living in the earthly plain and that life is meant to be celebrated, appreciated and lived. Having fun is a gift to yourself and a way of honoring the Goddess showing your appreciation for this gift of life.

Go out and get dressed up and delight the kids at school as a life sized witch, goblin or ghoul. Create a haunted house that kids will be talking about for years to come. Hunt up local ghost stories and tales and create your own Ghostwalk in your neighborhood to the delight and terror of adults and kids alike. If all the kids are grown or there's adults, create a murder mystery game night and have all the adults dress up and play the game of whodunit (this was a huge hit and a highlight in our crowd before we had kids). Let your imagination soar and run with it.

Have fun!