More than just a party or an excuse to pig out on pumpkin lattes and candy,
the Samhain festival is a time to honor our beloved dead. We remember our
friends and family who dwell on the other side of the veil, and we give
thanks to the animals, plants and Spirits of Nature that have nourished and
sustained us all year. The Celtic New Year, Samhain marks the ending of our
last journey around the Sun, and the beginning of the next cycle. As we go
gently into the dark of the year, we pay attention to dreams and begin to
visualize our ambitions for the coming spring.
A traditional Irish Method to Time your Samhain (Halloween) Rite
Modern merry makers and Pagan practitioners these days generally observe
Halloween on the night of October 31. Some will time the festival to the
exact midpoint between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice, while still others
observe the date of “Old Halloween” which is the night of November 11. Emer
Clougherty, an Irish Druid who came to speak to my Druid group, Tribe of the
Oak shared with us yet another method to calculate the date. According to her, the Moon phase was the most important determinant of the day for the ancient Druids. In her system the Samhain festival (where the Celtic calendar starts) falls
at the end of the last Lunar month of the year, at the Dark of the Moon.
This makes sense as Samhain was a fearful time when most people would have
tried hard to stay inside at home, to avoid the wandering ghoulies and
ghosties.
While pumpkins are ubiquitous in modern times, they are a New World
vegetable. The ancient Celts would have carved turnips or rutabagas. Though
harder to hollow out than pumpkins, they produce satisfyingly ghoulish
faces. Try drying one after the holiday and hang it on a gatepost or door,
to frighten away the mischievous demons of winter.
Samhuinn in Scotland
For those who are Celtic Reconstructionists and for the historically minded,
here is an account of Samhuinn (Halloween) in old Scotland.
“The Festival of Samhuinn – October 31 – November 1
Samhuinn marks the official end of the harvest and the time
when the cattle must be brought down from the hills, into the safety
of the barnyard. Animals for which there is not enough fodder are
slaughtered at this time, the official end of summer and the start of
winter and the dark half of the year. The oldest extant name for this
festival is Trinouxtion Samonii (three nights at the end
of summer) from the Coligny Calendar of the Gaulish Celts (a bronze calendar found in Coligny, Ain, France, near Lyon in 1897 which is believed to be of Romano-Celtic provenance and which was possibly made by Druids).
The festival marks a time of feasting and plenty when fresh meat,
sausages, bacon, milk, butter, fresh breads, fresh fruits and nuts
are available. Rents were once paid in the form of cows, pigs and
sheep in time for the feasting. The bounty was shared with dead
relatives by setting a place for them at the table, and games were played at
the celebration, especially ones involving apples and water (apples
being mystically connected to Avalon or Abhalloch, the
Otherworldly Island of Apples, and water the gateway to the
realm of the ancestors).
The Christian church adapted this ancient Celtic festival to
its own ends, renaming it “All Saints Day” and “The Day of the
Dead”.
Samhuinn is a liminal time when the walls between the worlds are
thin, a portal between the seasons of light and dark. It is a time for
divinations and the time when Spirits can more easily make
contact with this world. It is a wise idea to travel in disguise to
fool any irate discorporate entities at this time. Children dress as
guisers and go from house to house wrecking property and indulging in
mischief, imitating the chaotic forces abroad in the land.
Large fires are lit to strengthen ties with The Fires of
Life and to regenerate the Earth. Householders douse their own
hearths and relight them from torches brought by runners from the
ritual fires.
A samhnag (bonfire) is lit for every house; youths collect
wood for months to make it memorable. Wood shavings and tar barrels are
added to the pyre by the adults who supervise the proceedings carefully.”
From “Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore”, Pendraig Publishing, 2010, by Ellen
Evert Hopman
The Dumb Supper
Covens, Druid Groves and extended families can enact this spiritually
meaningful rite to honor those who have passed over in the last year.
Beloved ancestors may also be remembered at the feast. Here are instructions
for how to do this in your own home;
“The first step is to decorate the table. Nice touches would be
skulls, images of skeletons and ghosts, black candles, black plates,
black napkins, and a black tablecloth, if you have them. Fall flowers
like Chrysanthemums are appropriate for the decor, as are Pumpkins,
Squashes, Apples, Acorns, Hazelnuts, root vegetables of all kinds, and
colorful fall leaves.
As you are planning the layout of the table, mark one chair to be
left empty, as a seat for the honored dead who may visit. Lay out a place
setting for the empty seat, but allow no one to use it.
Now you need to plan the menu. I have given a number of suggestions
in the preceding chapter, but you could also think about seasonally
appropriate fare like loaves of grainy brown bread, pumpkin and
squash soups, root vegetables, and fall meats like venison or turkey.
Mulled cider, dark red wines, Apple cider, and mead are appropriate
drinks for the fall table.
It goes without saying that cell phones and electronic devices should
be turned off and left in another room, to eliminate distractions.
Electric lights should be shut off too; only candle flame, oil lamp, or
hearth fire should be used for illumination.
Children should be invited to attend only if they can keep silent for
the duration of the feast.
Start the ritual by going outside and making an offering to the local
Land Spirits in thanks for their labors in bringing your harvest to fruition
(see my suggestions in appendix A for suitable offerings).
Walk back to the house in total silence. The dining room should be
treated as a ritual area by smudging it and the guests with Juniper, Sage,
or other purifying herbs.
Call in the sacred directions (East, South, West, and North) or
invoke the Celtic Three Worlds of Sacred Land, Sea, and Sky to establish
your ritual space.*
Call in the ancestors you wish to invite. Keep a door or window cracked open
so the Spirits can come and go at will. Do the invocations silently, for example
the host or lead officiant can turn and face the directions, one at a time, while holding a wand, a large crystal, or a black feather.
At the place setting you have left for the empty seat at your table,
each participant should light a candle in a jar in honor of their own
deceased, silently offer up a prayer, and then leave a folded paper message
for their beloved dead next to the candle. These messages can be
burned in a fire later, sending them to the Sky realm via the smoke.
During the meal, which is eaten in complete silence, everyone
should pay close attention to any messages, signs, or portents as they
ritually share the supper with their living and deceased friends and family.
This ritual meal is a heavy responsibility for the host, who may wish
to enlist a helper or two. The host should serve all the food as well as
clear away the dishes, anticipating everyone’s wants so as to preserve complete
silence. No one should need to ask for something to drink or for an extra
condiment like butter, salad dressing, or pepper and salt. These should be
placed at intervals along the table, to be within easy reach.
*The Sacred Land is the realm of the animals, humans, plants, and Nature
Spirits. The Realm of Sea is the home of the fairies and the ancestors. The Sky Realm is the home of the gods.
The spirits are served first, with a selection of every food on the table
placed on a special “spirit plate” just for them (the spirit plate is put
outside after the meal so the wandering dead may partake of the essence of
the food). Then the oldest participants are served, and lastly the
youngsters. No one should eat until everyone has a full plate and cup.
The host should silently clear away each plate and cup as the guests
have had their fill.
The candles at the place of honor are allowed to burn themselves
out, without interference.
After everyone has eaten, the guests should silently follow the host
outside, where a ritual fire should be ready to be lit, or to a hearth
indoors, and only the host should speak. This is the time to ask ritual
questions such as, “If your ancestors could speak to you, what would
they be saying now?”, “In your life, what is dying away and leaving you?”,
and “What will you be dreaming of over the winter? And what practical
steps will you take to manifest your dream?”
The guests should depart in silence, after perhaps taking a moment
to write down the messages they have received (the host could have
small pads of paper and pens laid out around the fire).
When everyone is gone, the host should thank the sacred directions
or the Three Worlds, as well as the ancestors, and ritually sweep the
house and fumigate with cleansing herbs like Sage or Juniper. While
this is going on, a window or door must be cracked open to help speed
the Spirits back to their Otherworldly abode.”
Excerpt from “The Sacred Herbs of Samhain” Destiny Books, 2019, by Ellen
Evert Hopman
UPCOMING EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS
Thursday, October 20, 4 PM Eastern
The Sacred Herbs of Samhain
A Zoom talk (free)
Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conversation-club-the-sacred-herbs-of-samhain-t
ickets-235465472567
Sunday, October 23, 2022 10am-6pm
16th Annual Celebrate Samhain
Ellen will speak about plant magick
DoubleTree by Hilton Nashua
Nashua, NH
https://www.facebook.com/NHSamhain/
New England Witches will dance at Celebrate Samhain! (watch the video)
https://www.facebook.com/NHSamhain/videos/1282942839167951
And view the German originals here! (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjUV-byB8ls
Samhain Blessings on all who read this! *Reminder* You can find all my
books in the usual places or get signed copies from me at
www.elleneverthopman.com . YULE IS COMING! And books make great gifts!