THE MERRY SAMHAIN & HAPPY HALLOWEEN WRITING
31st October 2020
Samhain, I do consider it to be the Biggest Festival of the Pagan Year, of the Witches, Samhain is a time to remember those who have passed on, a Celebration of the end of Summer, Preparation & Blessings for the Winter approaching ahead.
Samhain a.k.a. Samhuin, Samain, Saman, Oidhche Shamhna, Hallowe'en, Halloween, Hallows, Hallowtide, Shadow Festival, Allantide, Third Harvest, Harvest Home, Geimredh, Day of the Dead (Feile na Marbh), Festival of the Dead, Spirit Night, Candle Night, November Eve, Nutcrack Night, Ancestor Night and Apple Festival.
SYMBOLS: Black Cats, Jack o 'Lantern, Bats, Ghosts, Scarecrows, Waning Moon.
Pagan GODDESSES: The Crone Aspect of the Goddess, Cerridwen, Hecate, Hel, Oya, Lilith, Kali, Ishtar, Arianrhod, Rhiannon, Tlazoteotl, Nephthys, Persephone, Beansidhe (Banshee), Inanna, Baba Yaga, Aset, Pomona & Cailleach Beara...
Pagan GODS: Osiris, the Horned God, Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, Anubis, Odin, Bran…
INCENSE: Sandalwood, Mastic resin, Benzoin, Wormwood
Cauldron, for transformation.
Divination tools: Tarot cards, Rune stones or cards, Scrying Mirrors, etc.
PLANT: Pumpkin, apple, grain, pomegranate, wormwood, acorn, oak leaf, root vegetables, rosemary…
ANIMAL: Bat, black cat, owl.
ALTAR DECORATIONS: Autumn leaves, Fall flowers, pomegranates, apples, pumpkins, ears of corn, corn dollies, nuts, seeds, acorns, chestnuts and Images of ancestors are all appropriate.
FOOD: Freshly roasted nuts, Nut breads, Apples, Pumpkin, Bacon, mind you that Red Foods were held to be sacred to the dead in Ancient times.
DRINK: Mead, mulled cider, mulled wine.
CELEBRATE: With Masks, with Costumes - with Trick-or-treating - With Rituals to honour the dead - attend the Witches' Ball.
The Earth Mother Goddess & the Sun Father God fall into Their Sacred Slumber, as the Nights grow longer, lengthening, and the Winter begins its long, long Arrival.
Many invented and widely spread Superstitions and Misconceptions linked to the Samhain a.k.a. Halloween Celebration of the Craft of the Wise, of Old Religion. And this misinformation/dis-information had been manufactured/created and spread by the Abrahamic New Religions such as Christianity.
And all of the "enforced by many years" bad press on Pagan Halloween, it had led the people to take unusual precautions in order to protect themselves.
People began to dress in frightfully terrifying costumes and/or, disguises, also, displaying scary looking Jack-O-Lanterns and all in order to help them to protect themselves from the so-called Spirits that they were told, taught and lied to, of course, by the Abrahamic New Religions, such as Halloween to be of (their men-made/invented mythological character) the devil, and to be bad and to be evil!
LOL
Apples, Pears, Pomegranates, Grains, Pumpkin-pie, Hazelnuts, Cakes, Corn, Cranberry Muffins & Breads in general,
Plus: Ale, Cider, Teas (chiefly, Mugwort) and Meats, but of course.
Calendula, Chrysanthemum, Wormwood, Thistle, Mint, Nutmeg & Sage
Heliotrope...
Aquamarine
SAMHAIN
Similar to Beltane opposite of it on the Pagan Wheel of the Ritual Occasions of the Year, Samhain is a night when the Goddess descends into Women.
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A formidable night for “Sex Magick” of all kinds, between lovers of course, the Great Rite.
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Samhain: (pronounced: SAːwɪn, and/or SOW:in) is the Beginning of the "Cold & Darker Half" of the Year.
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It is also a good time to banish bad luck and for Feasting in hopes of bringing a Blessed Winter, chiefly in the Waning Quarter of the Moon around the time of Samhain, whether during, or just before or yet just after.
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Samhain was and is still defined as one the best liminal times of year, a time when the Mighty Veils between the Seen and the Unseen become thin, a time when the boundaries between this World and the Otherworld become more easily be navigated through, to and from.
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Samhain is a very special time of year as time passed between one year and another, it belonged to neither, standing just beyond the confines of our common reality and world.
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Offerings to the Ancient Pagan Goddesses and Gods, offerings to the dear Fae (a.k.a. Elementals / Exus / Pomba-Giras ), were given at Samhain.
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Samhain is indeed the ancient Pagan Northern / Celtic Festival of the Dead and it was Christianized into All Saints & All Souls’ Day.
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31st of October came to be called All Hallows' Eve a.k.a. All Hallows' Even, later also known as our present day Halloween.
Pagans celebrate Samhain on 31st of October – 1st of November in the North, in the Northern Hemisphere…
And on 30th of April – 1st May in the South, in the Southern Hemisphere.
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The midpoint between the Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, and/or the Full Moon nearest to this point can also be the Coven’s Inner Circle Private Celebration of Samhain.
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This Alternative Date for Samhain: the 6th and/or, 7th of November a.k.a. Martinmas a.k.a. Old Hallows, is also used by Pagan Covens at times.
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Mind you, All Souls Day and All Saints Day used to be on very different dates, but strongly modified, moved and changed to the Samhain Time of the Year, in order to attempt to erase the Pre-Christian, the very ancient and dear Pagan Holiday.
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Thanks Goddess, they all crashed and burned, they all failed!
And Samhain survived and it is still here with us and for us all.
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THE DEAD
The thought that the souls of the dead, the souls of our ancestors coming to visit us for one night of the year, such has very ancient origins and indeed it is found in many different cultures all over the world.
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The souls could either bless or they could also curse, depending upon their own final exit status with their family.
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The Dead were honoured at Samhain.
The Beginning of the Northern / Celtic Winter’s long Arrival.
The Beginning and Ending of the Celtic Year, meaning Samhain is the Northern / Celtic New Year’s Day.
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For myself, to my Pagan Wiccan Magick Tradition, I do choose to celebrate its New Year Day Meaning.
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THE DEPARTED
Samhain is a good time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on to the Summerlands (Summer-lands a.k.a. the place/plan/realms which souls go after the parting of/with the elemental body…
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It is a time to pay respect to our Ancestors, to our Family members, Elders of the Faith, Friends, Pets and other loved ones who have gone before us, those who have passed away.
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The spirits of the dead are invited to attend the rites, celebrations & festivities.
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A Celebration of Darkness, which is balanced by its own opposite point of the Pagan Wheel Of Ritual Occasions of the Year, by the Spring Festival of Beltane, a Celebration of Light which Pagans / Wiccans celebrate Fertility, The Dark & The Light.
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MERRY SAMHAIN – HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Cheers,
SKY a.k.a. Padilla of Ashtoreth a.k.a. JD Aeon - JDAeon
Comment by Sky a.k.a. JD Aeon on October 31, 2020 at 4:28pm
Comment by MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA on October 26, 2020 at 4:17pm
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