Samhain, my favorite night of the year.
Let all who stand
within it be here of their own free will,
and accord in peace and love.
Samhain, pronounced Sah-ween, Sow-win,
or Sow-wan (your choice, there aren’t a lot of Ancient Celts around to ask!) had its
beginnings as pre-Christian festival of the dead. It was also the
beginning of the New Year, and so the wheel turns.
All Saints Day, otherwise known as All
Hallows (hallowed meaning sanctified or holy), gave rise to the night before being called All Hallows
Eve, which became Hallow Evening, which became Halloween. And so Samhain was
transformed into Halloween.
The modern day customs we carelessly practice
are not modern at all. The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from
door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period when it was
thought that the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies,
witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them.
As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like the very creatures they
feared, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice called
mumming, is now called trick-or-treating.
In this doorway we are neither in the past or the future, nor are we in our accustomed world, but are in the eternal present in the Summer Lands, lands of the Dead, the Realm of Ancestors, the Island of Avalon.
So, as you go innocently about on Halloween, best keep watch over your shoulder, and don’t be stingy with your gifts to the gods!
Facebook Gini Rifkin/author
But although we only play at wanting to see monster on Halloween, it is
best to remember that on this night, the veil between the worlds is thin, and spirits
are roaming in earnest. The gates between the worlds are open wide. And while
we seek the Ancient Ones, with open hearts and open hands to honor our beloved
dead and to receive the blessing of the universe, there are malevolent spirits
abroad as well. You stand at the doorway of the New Year in a place that is not
a place and a time that is not in time.
So, as you go innocently about on Halloween, best keep watch over your shoulder, and don’t be stingy with your gifts to the gods!
Happy Samhain. Happy New Year.
http://ginirifkin@blogspot.comFacebook Gini Rifkin/author
