Samhain, Shadowfest, All Souls, All hallows Eve, Halloween ...

come into my parlour said the spider to the fly....

Come

Wel.come

Draw back the veil

And step inside

Where are you?

behind a waterfall?

in
a confession box?

A secret cupboard?
or all of these...

behind
your own mind's eye?


come come what are you afraid of?

Shadows on the wall?



 

"this house is full of sounds

the loudest is your heart pounding in the night

the softest is the sound of terror..."

(view the video that this text was stolen from?
not enough?)

come come
the real trick or treat
is..
a retreat
a journey inwards
a marking of time.
look back, look forwards

Come

light one black and one white candle


why?

this is a time when the veils are thinnest
a rite of passage
a notch in the wheel of time
when the godess becomes crone

a time for reflection
and 'seeing'
to honor and commune with our ancestors
to stop and take assessment of where you are and how your life is going...

 
(Spinning Another Thread - stolen from Dryad)

first some history......early this morning
Khanti Ngakpa Yeshe whispered this into my ear..

"Halloween is a very sacred and spiritual time. The word Halloween
is actually derived from the words Hallow and Eve. Hallow in fact
means holy, sacred, or greatly honoured.

It is a time of year when the veils between our world and the
spirit world are thinnest. People who have died in the previous 12
months are said to be able to travel easily to the afterlife if
they havn't made it there already.

It's also a time where people who have died previously may come
back for a visit.

Our modern version of Halloween is derived mainly from the old
Celtic traditions. Samhain is the name for this holiday which is
the new year of the Celtic calendar and the beginning of Winter.

Interestingly enough though, in Central America a similar holiday
is celebrated. The ancient Mayan's and Aztec's have long celebrated
the 'Day of the Dead' on Nov 1st and 2nd. To them it is also a time
when our world and the spirit world are closely connected.

The Central Americans celebrate by visiting graveyards, dancing,
and paying respect to their deceased friends and relatives. They
also offer up food & candy to the spirits, and decorate their homes
with skulls, skeletons, marigolds, and candles."

and so...
sent me spinning down labyrinths of time.
Now you being here
can come too...

Come, the veils are thin
at this time of the year
step inside
but
first choose your veil












which veil you choose may depend on
which season you're visiting


Once you have your veil
come

Celebrate the wild hunt with the horned god

Who is the horned god?
 

The Horned God is the primal, active force within all things, a wild man unfettered by civilization and driven by primal instincts. He is the Lord of the Forest and of animals. He is both hunter and hunted - he who slays so others can live, and he who dies to nourish others in the natural cycle. He rules the season of winter, when the earth is dead and primitive people had to survive by hunting instead of gathering or farming. He represents male sexuality, as the phallic nature of his horns suggest, virility, and strength. He is Lord of the Underworld, as indicated in the Legend of the Descent of the Goddess. He is also sometimes connected with the mythological Wild Hunt.

wicca.timerift.net/horned.shtml

 

Charge of the Horned God   "I am the fire within your heart...the yearning of your soul, I am the Hunter of knowledge, and the Seeker of the Holy quest. I who stand in the darkness of light, I am He whom you have called Death. I am the Consort and Mate of Her we adore, call forth to thee. Heed my call beloved ones, come unto me and learn the secrets of death and peace. I am the corn at harvest, and the fruit on the trees. I am He who leads you home. Scourge and Flame, Blade and Blood, these are mine and gifts to thee. Call upon me in the forest wild, and on hilltop bare, and seek me in the darkness bright. I who have been called: Pan, Herne, Osiris and Hades, Speak to thee in my search. Come dance and sing, come live and smile, for behold: this is my worship. You are my children, and I am thy Father. On swift night wings, it is I who lay you at the Mother's feet to be reborn and to return again. Thou who thinks to seek me, know that I am the untamed wind, the fury of storm, and passion in your soul. Seek me with pride and humility, but seek me best with love and strength. For this is my path, and I love not the weak and fearful. Hear my call on long winter nights, and we shall stand together guarding Her Earth as She sleeps."

 From:www.coven-of-cythrawl.com/charges_of_the_gods.htm

And now this is also
a time for croning
when the Godess takes on her role as the Crone or Wise One
and so we look for wisdom and guidance


Light a black candle
for the past year 
think about your life in the past year.
Give thanks
for all the successes and the good things. 
what have you learnt
from failures, challenges and problems?
 What do you need to dismiss
write these on pieces of paper,
think about them
then burn them
in the fire.
Remember
all those who have passed, 
friends, family, loved animals....

next

Light the white candle

for the new year 
think about what you want
to achieve or happen.

Choose a divination tool perhaps



 runes


 
throwing the bones





 

 
skrying


Tasseography

reading eyes

 
dream interpretation

or for some of us
in this season in more ways than one
how about
DIY?

a croning ceremony?


 

( art by Helen Redman)

"Engaged in the process of Croning, we can act in ways that embody the changes we want to take place in the world, in our communities, families, relationships, and within ourselves. When we apply our wisdom to effect positive change, we improve our own lives and leave a legacy for future generations."

now

Put out the black candle
and say farewell to the old year
and goodbye to the sun as he goes to rest to be reborn again at Yule.

Let the white candle burn
whilst you eat and drink 
to ground yourself

try
 

POMEGRANATE PUNCH

CHICKEN STUFFED MELON WITH POMEGRANATE
with lime honey dressing

or

okay okay I couldn't resist...I think I was getting a little too serious
this is after all Halloween!
anyone for ....worms?
chocolate flavoured perhaps??


oh yes,

don't gobble up everything
leave a little outside
for 'libitation'

and when the party's done
close the gate
between the worlds



Putting the meaning back into Halloween

Text below and many ideas above from mysticfamiliar.com

Pronounced as 'Sow'ain', the most important festival in the witches year and marks the end and the begining of the wheel of the year, just the same as new years eve. Rituals begin after dark peaking at midnight and often go on into the next day, 1st of November, which is the new year.

Samhain is linked with the death process as the warm months die out and the cold winter months step in. In the past people often took stock of their supplies ready for winter, grain they had and animals they had. Where there were short supplies, animals which were thought unable to last the long winter months were slaughtered for meat and preserved. Farmers put their fields to rest for the winter and everything that was not needed was given back to Mother Earth to rot.

Samhain is also a time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is at its thinest, a time when the spirits of loved ones can return and so a special place is set at the table for any who so wish to join the feast. Traditionaly a candle to guide the spirits of loved ones home is lit in the window and also deters any unwanted spirits and is the origins of the pumpkin or jack-o-lantern. The spirit of the loved ones recently departed are then guided to the Summerlands which is where the spirit rest until it is time to move on. It is also a time when the spirits can talk through us more easily and all types of divination such as scrying, tarot, runes etc are used.

It is a time when witches celebrate the wild hunt and the Horned God gathers the lost souls who linger or are unwary. The Godess takes on her role as the Crone or Wise One and so we look for wisdom and guidence. A time to tie up loose ends, pay unpaid debts, finish arguments etc, a time to put everything to rest. Look at the changes in the weather, changes in nature and how things now begin to rest and die and decay to make way for new life and growth after the winter months.

Ideas for celebrations-:
Alters can be decorated with pomegranets, marigolds, chrysanthumums and jack-o-lanterns. A black and white candle can be placed there to mark the old and the new year and divination tools are a good idea.
Ask the four elements to be present with you-: Air (east), Fire (south), Water (west, Earth (north)
Visualise the Horned God as hunter and the Godess as Crone and ask them to join you.

Light the black candle that represents the past year and think about your life in the past year. Give thanks for all the successes and the good things. Concider the lessons you have learnt from failures and problems. If you have any bad issues or charecteristics you need to dismiss write these on pieces of paper, think about them and burn them in the cauldron. Remember all those who have passed, animals, friends and family.

Light the white candle to represent the new year and think about what you want to achieve or happen. ask the Lord and Lady to bless these endeavours. Now is a good time to use whichever divination tools you choose and any Magik you wish to conduct.
Put out the black candle and say farewell to the old year and goodbye to the sun as he goes to rest to be reborn again at Yule. Bid farewell to the elements and thank them in the order you invited them in and say thankyou and farewell to the Lord and Lady for their presence. Let the white candle burn whilst you eat and drink something to ground yourself, but leave some to put outside when you have finished, for libitation, lastly close the gate between the worlds.

What happened to Samhain and Halloween in the English colonies?
Kidnapped by protestants?

 

When I was a kid growing up in Apartheid South Africa we didn't have halloween. We celebrated Guy Fawkes instead!  We'd burn a Guy and had fireworks every 5 November.

I personally did have halloween though because every year my parents sent us  to a holiday camp run by an elderly American couple. There I learnt to love halloween and hate square dancing  with equal passion.

Looking back I find it bizaare that we ‘burnt a guy' or that this tradition lasted 400 years after his involvement in Gunpowder Plot (to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on the evening of 5 November 1605, when the Protestant James I of England (James VI of Scotland), his eldest sons, and the majority of the English Parliament were within its walls.

I love the famous British take on this: Fawkes was "the only man to ever enter parliament with honourable intentions".

I always loved Guy Fawkes but I held him, and the people who so relished his demise, personally responsible for the lack of Halloween in my neck of the woods...

and Switzerland? They do something similar in spring, they burn a snowman...