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 | Neopagan religions are modern faith traditions which are reconstructed,
in part, from the beliefs and practices of ancient aboriginal faiths, typically
from Europe. |
| Religious Satanism is a completely separate group of faith groups, with
an opposing code of ethics, concepts of deity, and ritual practices that are unrelated to
that of Neopagans. |
| Neither Satanists, nor Neopagans nor anyone else in North America engage in
religiously
motivated human sacrifice. Wiccans have been known to sacrifice a peach or apple, but
nothing higher on the evolutionary scale. |
| Samhain is neither a Celtic god of the dead, or the
major Sun god. The Celts may have had a deity or deity
by that name. However, he was an obscure character, and unrelated to death. In Gaelic, "sam" means summer; "fuin" means
"end." So, "Samhain" means "end of the warm season."
Another Celtic deity that is sometimes mentioned in Christian literature is the sun God "Muck-Olla". He didn't exist either in Celtic times. He seems to be a non-Druidic "boogey-man" from Yorkshire, England. Celtic sun Gods were named "Lugh", "Lleu" or "Llew." |
| Ancient Druids were not bloodthirsty killers of humans. All of the stories of human
sacrifices by Druids are traceable to a single passage in one of Julius
Caesar's books. And that passage is probably simply a centuries-old example of wartime
propaganda. |
| The ancient Celts did not carve pumpkins; none existed in Europe during Celtic times. |
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Celtic celebration of Samhain in ancient times:
Samhain is pronounced "sah-van", although many neo-Pagans pronounce it as "sow-in" (where "ow" rhymes with "cow"). Samhain is Irish Gaelic for the month of November. Samhuin is Scottish Gaelic for All Hallows, NOV-1.
A language expert has commented that the "mh" in Samhain and Samhuin "would originally have been pronounced like an "m" made without quite closing your mouth." At the present time, the original pronunciation is still heard. Some tighten it to a "v" sound (typical in the south) or loosen it to a "w" sound (typical in the west and, especially, the north). In "Samhain" the "w" pronunciation would be most common." 10
In ancient times, Samhain formed the dividing day between years. It was a time that was neither in this year or the next. Bonfires were lit - often on the tops of hills. Samhain was:
| Seen as the beginning of the cold season. It is balanced by the corresponding seasonal
day of celebration called Beltain (or Bealtaine, Beltaine, etc) which signals the
start of summer, 6 months later. Both of these are fire festivals. The ancient Celts
probably held them exactly mid-way between an equinox (when day and night were equal) and
the following solstice (when the nighttime was shortest or longest).
In ancient times, Samhain would probably have
been centered between the Fall equinox and the Winter solstice,
celebrated about NOV-5 to NOV-7. |
| A time when the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest. The Celts
believed that upon death, everyone went to a beautiful place free of hunger, pain and
disease. It was called "Tir nan Og", sometimes translated as "Summerland".
They had no concept of Heaven and Hell like that
seen in Christianity and Islam. Many believed that two separate and nearly
identical worlds existed. When a person died, they were transferred to the "ghostworld";
when they were born, they were transferred from the ghostworld to the mortal one. "The
pagan idea used to be that crucial joints between the seasons opened cracks in the fabric
of space-time, allowing contact between the ghostworld and the mortal one." 2
The Celts celebrated rituals at this time to make contact with their ancestors who had died before them. This contact was not at all made in an atmosphere of dread, fearing some retribution from the dead. Rather it was done in a spirit of expectation, in the hopes of obtaining guidance from those in the next world. "The spirits of dead friends sought the warmth of the Samhain fire and communion with their living kin." 3 |
| A time when the veil between the present and the future was at its most transparent.
Rituals were performed to foretell future events, through various methods of divination.
The Celts believed that the future could be predicted most effectively at this time. |
| A time when the herds of domesticated animals were brought down from their summer
pasture and culled for the winter. The Celts slaughtered their weak animals that could not
be expected to survive the winter. They reduced the size of the herds to match the
available food supply. |
| A time of uninhibited feasting. |
| A time of increasing nervousness as the days continued to shorten and as winter approached. There were often questions whether the food would last until the next harvest. |
Neopagan celebration of Samhain in modern times:
After the arrival of the Gregorian calendar, Pagans are believed to have moved Samhain back about a week to OCT-31.
Most modern day Wiccans and Druids have attempted to reconstruct as accurately as possible, Celtic beliefs, rituals, and other practices. A Wiccan, or other Neopagan, may celebrate the Sabbat alone, as a solitary practitioner. Or they might gather with others in a coven, which typically might include 6 or more adults. A typical celebration of Samhain might involve:
| Scheduling the celebration to a day near October 31. Wiccans often avoid Halloween,
because of the interruptions from "trick or treaters." |
| Decorating their altar with autumn flowers, pine-cones, small pumpkins, decorative
gourds, etc. |
| Ritual purification of each participant; they often take a solitary bath. |
| Casting (creating) a sacred circle within which their ceremonies are conducted. The
circle is usually marked with four candles of various colors aligned at the four cardinal
directions. The purpose of the circle is to confine the Wiccans' healing powers within it.
It is not created to provide protection against demonic powers as some Cowans
(non-Wiccans) have suggested. |
| Performing rituals of divination to predict the future. This may involve tarot cards,
runes, I Ching, etc. |
| Performing rituals to contact loved ones who have died. ''There
is a recognition of our close ties with our ancestors and a recognition
that the veils between the worlds are thin at this time of year."
9 They do not perform
séances, as do Spiritualists. They do not summon or order back the dead. "They do, however,
believe that, if the dead themselves wish it, they will return at the Sabbat to share in
the love and celebration of the occasion." 4 |
| Consecrating and sharing cakes and wine (or perhaps muffins and cider). |
| Banishing (or closing or grounding) the circle. |
In past years, because of the fear of attacks from misinformed Cowans, these rituals had been rarely performed in public. However, in recent years, an increasing number of Neopagans have been coming out of the (broom) closet and performing public rituals for all to enjoy.
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- Isaac Bonewits, "The Real Origins of Halloween, V. 1.3". See: http://www.neopagan.net/. A magnificent essay.
- B.G. Walker, "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets", Harper & Row (1983), Page 371-372
- Janet & Steward Farrar, "Eight Sabbats for Witches", Phoenix Publishing, Custer WA, Pages 121 to 136
- Raymond Buckland, "The Tree, The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft", Samuel Weiser, York Beach ME, (1974), Pages 59 to 61
- Cecylyina, "A Witch's Thoughts on Halloween". See: http://www.geocities.com/
- Kerr Cuhulain, "Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca", Horned Owl Publishing, Victoria BC, (1992)
- Jennifer Lynne Gilbert has an essay describing Samhain names, holiday foods, activities, etc. at: http://members.bellatlantic.net/
- Rowan Moonstone, "The Origins of Halloween" at: http://www.geocities.com/
- Statement by Cat Chapin-Bishop. Included in: Eric Goldscheider, "Air, spirit, fire, water, earth, nature, death, rebirth, Paganism: Living room altars, ancestral foods are key in pagan homes," Boston Globe, at: http://www.boston.com/
- Personal E-mail, 2006-FEB-23
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Home page > Christianity > Practices > Holy Days > Halloween > here |
Copyright 1997 to 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally published: 1997-OCT-13
Latest update: 2009-AUG-29
Author: B.A. Robinson
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