Samhain - The End and Beginning of a New Year
Northern Hemisphere: October 31st – Southern Hemisphere: May 1st
On Samhain, the Festival of the Return of Death, the gates of the worlds open and the Goddess transforms into the Old Wise One, the Lady of the Cauldron, and the God is the King of Death who guides the lost souls through the dark days of Winter . – Myth of the Wheel of the Year in Ancient Religion.
This is the most important of all the Festivals as, within the circle, Samhain (pronounced SOW IN) marks both the end and the beginning of a new year. That night, the veil between our world and the world of the dead becomes thinner, and it's an ideal time to communicate with those who have departed.
… And the year comes to an end! Our last groceries are harvested after the autumnal equinox, marking the beginning of the months when we will live with what we can store. The food provided by the Great Goddess must now feed her hungry children and nurture the God as he walks through the “other world”. The thunderbolt that struck the oak and fertilized the earth is the promise of the God's return through the one who was once his lover, but who will now be his mother: the Goddess. And so the cycle of life, death and rebirth balances the Wheel of the Year again.
The Wheel of the Year in Ancient Religion is actually a cycle that has no beginning or end, but Samhaim is traditionally considered the New Year in Ancient Religion, for its symbology of death and lifting of the veil between the worlds. , even Celtic myths revolve around what happens in nature. Winter, spring, summer and autumn actually represent birth, growth, decay and death, and the wheel turns continually.
Samhain, celebrated on October 31st in the Northern Hemisphere and May 1st in the Southern Hemisphere the New Year of Witches. This holy day is known by numerous names. For many, perhaps the best known is Halloween. For us Witches, it is the party in which we honor our ancestors and those who have already left for the Summer Country, for the “Other World”.
The Celtic "Other World", also known as the Abyss, is a place between the Worlds; a mixture of paradise and torments. It's the place where we all look for answers to our most intimate questions, where fantasy blends with reality and the conscious with the unconscious. The Abyss is where heroes are taken so they can confront their greatest enemies: their own ghosts. Only by overcoming these ghosts, which are nothing more than their fears, prejudices and anxieties, will they be able to return as true heroes.
It is the most important of all Festivals, as, within the circle, it marks both the end and the beginning of a new year. That night, the veil between our world and the world of the dead becomes thinner, making it an ideal time to communicate with those who have departed.
This is the symbology of the Holy Grail; an inner search for something that we wrongly want to materialize in this world. Only those knights who dare to cross the portals of the “Other World” and conquer themselves will be awarded the fullness of the Grail.
Samhain means "No Light", for that night the Horned God sacrifices himself to become the seed of his own rebirth in Yule. It is when the shepherds gather the cattle and the people gather at home, fleeing from the darkest time of winter.
God died and the world is plunged into darkness. The Goddess goes to the Shadow World in search of her beloved, who is waiting to be born. They love each other, and from that love the seed of light waits in the Mother's Womb, to be reborn at the coming Winter Solstice as the Child of Promise. The Wheel keeps turning forever. So, there is no reason for sadness, because those we lost in this life will be reborn, and one day, we will find ourselves again, in this infinite journey of evolution. The date marks the end of the Celtic Calendar.
The night of Samhain is in the exact middle between the year ahead and the year ahead, and is therefore a timeless date. It's the famous Halloween.
At sunset on the 31st of October, Samhain begins (in English it's pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin or SAM-hayne, and means “End of Summer ”) a very special celebration of the 3rd and last agricultural harvest. The winter-dominated half of the year and the Celtic New Year begin on this Sabbath.
Many cultures around the world celebrate their Day of the Dead on this date, but the pagan Samhain tradition has its origins in the Celts who once inhabited the British Isles. The North American culture knows it as "Halloween", the Night of the Witches, but it is much more than that: it is a magical moment when the laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, as the veil that separates is lifted. the worlds.
In pre-Christian Europe, this time of year marked the beginning of the cold and sparse months. The herds were taken to winter shelters, but some animals were slaughtered so that their meat would serve as food until the following spring. In addition to its agricultural importance, the Celts viewed Samhain as a very spiritual moment: midway through the period between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, ancient peoples attributed to it great powers of magic and communion with spirits. The “veil between the worlds” of the living and the dead was, at this point, as thin as possible, so it was an opportune time to invite the dead to return to their loved ones still alive. The meeting was celebrated with an abundant table, where there were plenty of chairs for the “invisible guests”, and rituals were performed to appease the spirits and communicate with the other world. Other practices that found Samhain a propitious time were divining and wishing for the New Year.
There are countless traditions associated with Samhain, which are still practiced today:
– Offering food on altars or steps, to feed the dead who roam among us that night.
– Light candles in the windows to help guide the spirits home of the ancestors.
– Light bonfires that will contain the energy of the dead God, light the darkness of the night, ward off evil, receive the light of the New Year and purify the ritual space or home.
– Bury apples by the roadside to give some comfort to spirits who are lost or who have no descendants to look after them.
- Empty and carve pumpkins, giving them a cheerful face of protective spirits to watch over the living tonight of magic and chaos.
– Do not travel tonight; dress in white, with disguises or clothes of the opposite sex, to deceive the little spirits that are on the loose to play pranks. Winter (Yule). This perpetual cycle is essential to the regeneration of the land after the harvests, and of the human being, who has a good opportunity here to meditate on himself, transforming the old ego (the “dying sun”) into a new ego that already incorporates the experiences lived in the last year and abandon old paradigms that are no longer useful for the evolution of the soul.
This is the time to reflect on your own mortality. Enjoy!
This festival, Samhain, is called the Samonios in Gaul. According to some authors, a large part of the tradition of Halloween, All Saints' Day and the Day of the Dead can be associated with Samhaim. Samhaim was the time when it was believed that the souls of the dead returned home to visit relatives, and to fetch food and bask in the hearth fire, it was the time when tribes paid tribute if they had been conquered by another. people. It was also the time when the Sídhe allowed the other world to be foreseen. The magical fog that made people invisible, dispersed on Samhain and the elves could be seen by humans. The boundary between the Otherworld and the real world disappeared. One of Coligny's Celtic lunar calendar dates can be associated with Samhain.
This is the first and last celebration of the year in the Ancient Religion as that is when the year ends and begins.
This is also one of the eight most relevant sabbaths, as it is the night when primordial chaos returns to the beginning of New year is therefore the night when the world of the living mixes with that of the dead.
The Celts did not believe in demons, but certain magical entities were considered hostile to humans, their animals and crops. In this way, many people played pranks on their neighbors, from exchanging cattle for humanoid figures in places to frighten, which became very famous Jack o’Lantern or the famous illuminated pumpkin on Halloween.
Some Covens celebrate Samhain on the exact date when that year the sun is at fifteen degrees from the astrological house of Scorpio, to the detriment of the traditional date.
The word Samhain means end of summer and is derived from two words “samh”,summer, e “fuin”, end. The month of November is called in Irish “La Samnha”.
The power of magic can be felt in the air that night. The Otherworld blends in with ours as the sunlight dims and twilight arrives. The spirits of those who have already departed for the other plane are most accessible during the night of Samhain.
Samhain takes place at the height of Autumn. It is the time of year when the cold grows and death roams the Earth. The sun is fading faster and faster, the shadow is growing and the leaves on the trees are falling, in preparation for the coming winter. This is the last harvest, the time when the ancient peoples of Europe sacrificed their cattle and preserved their meat for the winter, as these animals could not survive on a large scale at this time of year due to the coming cold. Only a small part, the most virile and strong, was kept for the following year.
On Samhain, the God finally dies, but his soul lives in the unborn child, the spark of life in the Goddess' womb. This symbolizes the death of plants and hibernation of animals, the God then becoming the Lord of Death and Shadows.
According to the ancient Celts, there were only two divisions of the year that ran from Beltane to Samhain ( Summer) and from Samhain to Beltane (Winter).
Samhain is one of the four great Sabbaths and is often considered the Great Sabbath.
Samhain is a time for reflection, in which we look back on the magical year that has passed and set the goals for our life in the coming year.
In Ancient Religion they use this period to reflect on the meaning and importance of death bearing in mind that it is not an end, but a natural step in the birth-death-rebirth cycle.
In a magical sense, Samhain is a time for the Witches (them) rest and re-evaluate your life and goals. Now is when we want to rid ourselves of any negativity or opposition that may surround our achievements or hinder future progress. Mabon was the fulfillment of our wishes, and now we need to stabilize and protect what we've gained. This is very important as it is impossible to concentrate, let alone put energy into new goals if what we have is not safe.
Candlemas, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain are Great Sabbaths, while the Solstices and Equinoxes are small Sabbaths.
Ritual dedicated to the ancestors, to Morrighan, Dagda and Manannán Mac Lir. Nthe Northern Hemisphere is celebrated on October 31st.
In ancient Ireland, at Samhain every year a new sacred fire was lit, with which all the other fires in the village were lit to burn throughout the winter, in order to carry light through the dark time of the year.</p >
The celebration of the Celtic New Year is a mysterious moment that belongs neither to the past, nor to the present, nor to this world nor to the other. It is time for the opening of the gates between the worlds and the veil that hides them becomes thinner. Ideal time to access the Other World.
Samhain also marks the beginning of a new period and a new beginning in our lives. Honor the memory of the ancients by preparing foods of your choice and telling their stories to their descendants. At nightfall, light candles in the front windows of your house, as a sign of respect and reverence for ancestors of blood, land and tradition. all your frustrations and anxieties from the past year. This festival is synonymous with stillness, introspection and renewal – represented by the sacred union of Morrighan and Dagda.
Celebrate and experience all phases of life, as the Wheel turns the same for everyone, even for those who are not connected to it. . The eternal cycle of transformations…
Where the end represents the beginning, blessed by Heaven, Earth and Sea!
Before the ritual
TYPICAL SAMHAIN HERBS – HALLOWEEN
Apples, Verbena, Pumpkins, Sage, Straw, Chrysanthemum, Wormwood, Pear, Hazelnut, Pomegranate, Grains, Chestnuts and Corn.
TYPICAL SAMHAIN FOODS – HALLOWEEN
Beetroot, Turnips, Corn, Chestnuts, Ginger, Cider, Mulled Wine and pumpkin dishes and meat dishes.
Suggestion for ritual:
Suggestion for celebrating Samhain
Correspondences:
– Correlation: celebration of the Celtic New Year, end and beginning of cycle and day of the dead.
– Symbols: black and orange, apples, pomegranates, pumpkin, walnuts and hazelnuts.
– Incense: myrrh, sage, oak or cedar.
– Food: cider, red wine, black tea, breads and fruit cakes.
Shadow Queen
In the endless cycle of the silver tree,
From infinite joy to sad remembrance
Magic harp that strums the sonata.
In a past and past time
Walks along the road of life,</ p>Emerald green, ancestors from the past.
Turns the Wheel without stopping
And celebrates the darkness of Samhain,
Towards a new awakening.
Where night at last surpasses day,
Hail, Queen of Shadows,
Lady of the beginning, middle and end!
(Taken from the book: Brumas do Tempo (portuguese version))
CELEBRATING SAMHAIN
Place apples, pomegranates, pumpkins, and other late-autumn fruits on the altar. Autumn flowers such as Honeysuckle and Chrysanthemums are also indicated. Write on a piece of paper an aspect of your life you want to get rid of, a negative feeling or bad habit, illness. The cauldron must be present on the altar. A small plate with the symbol of the eight-rimmed wheel should also be present.
Sit in silence and think of the friends and loved ones who are no longer with us. Do not freak out. Know that they left for better things. Keep firmly in mind that the physical plane is not absolute reality, and the soul never dies. Prepare the altar, light the candles and incense create the circle. Invoke the Goddess and God. Lift one of the pomegranates and with your freshly washed white-handled knife, pierce the rind of the fruit. Remove several seeds and place them on the plate with the drawing of the wheel.lift your staff, turn to the altar and say;
“On this night of Samhain I mark your passage, O king Sun across the sunset to the Land of Youth.
I also point out the passage of all those who have already departed, And those who will go later.
O Gracious Goddess, Eternal Mother, who gives birth to the fallen, Teach me to know that in times of greatest darkness The most intense light arises.”
Taste the pomegranate seeds; break them with your teeth and savor their bittersweet taste. Look at the eight-ring symbol on the plate; the wheel of the year the cycle of seasons the end and beginning of all creation. Light a fire inside the cauldron, a candle will do. Sit down in front of it, holding the paper, watching its flames and say:
“O Saber Moon, Goddess of the starry night, I created this fire inside your cauldron to transform what has been tormenting me.
May the energies reverse: From darkness, light! From the bad to the good! From death, birth!”
Set the paper on fire with the flames from the cauldron and throw it inside. As it burns, know that evil diminishes, shrinks, and finally abandons it as it is consumed by universal fires. If you want, you can use methods to guess the future and see the past. Try to go back to past lives if you want. But leave the dead alone. Honor them with your memories but don't call them to you. Release any aches and feelings of loss you may feel in the cauldron's flames. Magic works, if necessary, can follow.
Celebrate the Simple feast. The circle is broken.