Samhain Information

for Planning your Day & Night

The Festival of Samhain is more commonly known to us as Halloween. It originated in the Celtic lands of Northern Europe many centuries before the birth of Christ.

It was one of the two major seasonal events celebrated by the Celtic people, the other being it's sister holiday of Beltane which took place in May.

As a winter festival, Samhain marked the day when the herds were returned to shelter after a summer of grazing in the pastures. The winter climate came early to Northen Europe, usually in early November and lasted for almost six months.

To the Celts, the first day of winter was considered the beginning of the new year, therefore Samhain was actually the Celtic New Year.

It was referred to as "Time Which Is No Time" and was considered to be a very magickal but also very dangerous period. The Feast of the Dead was laid out to welcome the returning souls to our world and to hopefully gain their favor for the coming year.

Families set out food and wine so the spirits of their ancestors could refresh themselves after their long journey from the netherworld. Sweets were also set out in the hopes of appeasing any wandering spirits that may be lurking near the homes of the townspeople.

Because the weaker of the returning animals were slaughtered for the great feast, Samhain was known as the festival of meat. It was for this same reason that the Full Moon in October was often referred to as the Blood Moon.

Only the most fit of the returning herds survived and were kept alive through the winter months to be returned to their grazing lands at the Spring festival of Beltane.

In order to protect themselves from mischievous spirits, the Celts dressed up in frightening disguises in the hopes that these ghosts would mistake them for one of their own and pass by without incident.

It was also common for costumed Celts to parade about making loud noises in order to drive the unwelcomed spirits to the edge of town.

As the Wheel of the Year points to Samhain, the Goddess is now in her Crone aspect, while the God gives up his life to the land and passes into the Underworld. There he will stay until he is reborn once again at Yule.

With him the God gathers up all who have died over the past year so they can accompany him on his journey into the Shadowlands. As with the Festival of Beltane, bonfires played a great part in the the Samhain celebrations.

The Samhain bonfires were prepared during the day and lit high upon hilltops later in the evening. The huge fires were thought to consume all the miseries of the past year thus making it possible for the people to make a fresh start in the upcoming year.

They were also used to secure Sol's promise not to disappear all together during the cold months ahead, as the Celts hoped that the flames would reach the tired sun and rejuvinate him.

Apples and nuts were roasted in the sacred fire as part of the holiday activities. The bonfires were also used for divination.

Marked stones were thrown into the flames, but if in the morning the stone could not be found it was predicted that the owner would shortly after die. Horses were sacred to the sun god, and many of them were thrown into the great fires as sacrifices to Baal.

Druid priests predicted the future by reading the entrails and movements of the dying animals. There have been stories told of criminals being placed inside of wicker cages shaped like animals and burnt alive in the fires.

These tales are often said to be based on the misconceptions of Julius Caesar and have been disputed through the years.

Samhain Correspondences

Samhain

celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced "sow" (rhymes with ‘now�? "en" (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) - "mh" in the middle is a "w" sound - Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) - Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) - Apr 30-May 1 (South Hemisphere)

AKA:

The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Hallowe’en, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead(Mexican), Witches�?New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All Souls, Nos Galen-gae-of Night of the Winter Calends (Welsh), La Houney or Hollantide Day, Sauin or Souney ( Manx), oidhche na h-aimiléise-the night of mischief or confusion(Ireland), Oidhche Shamna (Scotland)

Animals/Mythical beings:

bats, cats, dogs, pooka, goblin,medusa, beansidhe, harpies

Gemstones:

black stones, jet, obsidian, onyx, carnelian

Incense/Oil:

frankincense, basil, yarrow, lilac, camphor, clove, wood rose, wormwood, myrrh, patchouli, apple, heliotrope, mint, nutmeg, sage, ylang-ylang

Colors/Candles:

black (ward off negativity), orange (good luck), indigo, homemade apple or mint scented herbal candles to light jack-o-lanterns or for altar candles

Tools/Symbols/Decorations:

black altar cloth, Halloween items, jack o�?lanterns, oak leaves, acorns, straw, balefire, besom, black cat, black crescent moon, cauldron, divination tools, grain, magic mirror, mask, bare branches, animal bones, hazelwood, pictures of ancestors

Goddesses:

The Crone, Hecate(Greek), Cerridwen(Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod(Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Al-Ilat(persian), Bast (Egyptian), Persephone(Greek), Hel(Norse), Kali(Hindu), all Death & Otherworld Goddesses

Gods:

Horned Hunter(European), Cernnunos(Greco-Celtic), Osiris(Egyptian), Hades(Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis(Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), Sacrificial/Dying/Aging Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods

Essence:

magick, plenty; knowledge, the night, death & rebirth, success, protection; rest, new beginning; ancestors; lifting of the veil, mundane laws in abeyance, return, change

Dynamics/Meaning:

death & transformation, Wiccan new year,wisdom of the Crone, end of summer, honoring, thinning of the veil between worlds, death of the year, time outside of time, night of the Wild Hunt, begin new projects, end old projects

Purpose:

honoring the dead, especially departed ancestors, knowing we will not be forgotten; clear knowledge of our path; guidance, protection, celebrating reincarnation

Rituals/Magicks:

foreseeing future, honoring/consulting ancestors, releasing the old, power, understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination, dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall

Customs:

ancestor altar, costumes, divination, carving jack o�?lanterns, spirit plate, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts, fairs, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apple games, tricks, washing clothes

Foods:

apple, pumpkin pie, pomegranate, pumpkin, squash, hazelnuts, corn, cranberry muffins, bread, ale, cider and herbal tea

Herbs:

allspice, broom, comfry, dandelion, deadly nightshade, mugwort, catnip, dittany of Crete, ferns, flax, fumitory, mandrake, mullein, dragon’s blood, sage, straw, thistles, oak(leaf), wormwood (burn to protect from roving spirits)

Element/Gender:

water/male

Threshold:

midnight