Teach Me: Samhain

[KellyP]

Okay, I will open the floor with a topic that should be straight forward:
"What is Samhain?"

And since I know that Samhain is an Irish festival, I will also ask, "What festivals from other Indo-European pagan cultures do you believe merge well with the observance of Samhain?"

*pokes the other Druid types* Come on, let's compare some notes here and you can teach me something new!

[odubhain]

From The Cauldron of Celebration by Searles O'Dubhain:

Samhain

The Fidchell Board - (Nine squares/Four by Four Lines)

Doorway of the Lesser Sun
Time of the Ancestors
Deciding of Fate

Samhain - Summer's Ending

The Morrigan - The Great Queen of Death and Battle. The Source of Magic and Prophecy.

The Morrigan

The Dark aspect of the Celtic Triple Goddess. The “Washer at the Ford” (seen washing bloody laundry prior to battle by those destined to die). The Battle Goddess, also Queen of the Witches and Goddess of Magick. Could appear as a Raven, a beautiful Maiden or an ugly Hag. Marries the Dagda at Samhain. The Goddess of Death and Battle. The Morrigan is the prophetess of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her “second sight” will guide us just as often as the fires of Brighid shall inspire us. It is the Raven of the Morrigan that sits upon the doorway of wisdom, as well as the Ogham stone of the grave. Directional assignment: North or North-west, Samhain.

Crom Dubh - The Dagda's Dark Double who returns to the soil each year after facing Lugh at the Harvest.

Crom
(Crom Dubh, Crom Cruach, Donn)

“The Dark, Bent One.” He was the God that delivered the grain from the fields and the bounty of the harvest from the Underworld. He was called the “Bent One” because he carried the first sheaf of the wheat harvest on his back from the fields to the table (which marked the beginning of Lughnasadh). This sheaf is sometimes said to be golden Ethne, a corn child (a corn dolly, the name meaning “seed” or “corn”). This connection with Ethne is also associated with Áine as well. Crom is sometimes said to wrestle Lugh or Finn for the gold of the harvest and the rays of the Sun. “The Dark, Bent One.” He was the God that delivered the grain from the fields and the bounty of the harvest from the Underworld. He was called the “Bent One” because he carried the first sheaf of the wheat harvest on his back from the fields to the table (which marked the beginning of Lughnasadh). This sheaf is sometimes said to be golden Ethne, a corn child (a corn dolly, Ethne means “seed” or “corn”). This connection with Ethne is also associated with Aine as well. Crom is sometimes said to wrestle Lugh or Finn for the gold of the harvest and the rays of the Sun. During the Fall and after the Harvest, bull sacrifices were made to him to insure a good harvest. He is associated with the great stone circle called “The Lios” in Munster, close by Lough Gur. At times, he was seen as an adversary but most times he was considered a friend. He was also seen walking the fields with Ethne on his shoulders. Some say that he was an aspect of The Dagda. If this is so, then it was perhaps he that mated with the Morrigan at Samhain each year. Crom possessed a bull that was said to be immortal. As sacrifices were made to Bel to assure a fertile growing season at Bealtaine (and to safe-guard the herds), so also sacrifices were made from the herds to Crom Dubh at Samhain. The people would share a morsel of the bull’s flesh as Crom returned with his bull to the Underworld for the Winter. This event marked the beginning of Samhain. Directional assignment: Northwest, Samhain; Southwest, Lughnasadh.

Samhain is the beginning of the Celtic year and marks the time of the Cailleach and the beginning of Winter. The doors of the Sidhe are opened on this night and the veil between the Worlds is thinnest. This is the night that Druids offered sacrifices (usually the excess cattle that would form the basis of the Winter's meat stores). This is the time that the Ancestors walk the Earth once more and cross the thin veil to visit with the living. Samhain is associated with the province of Munster and the fortress of Tlachtga.

Samhain is the celebration of the Dead and their continued existence in the life after life. It is also the quiet time of realization that we have passed through the Light of the past Year and are now facing the approaching Darkness of Winter. The Lifeforce of our souls walks into the darkness of the year along with the Dark God of Winter. As the Sun is lessened, we tend to turn inward. This happens in our lives, in our homes, in our work and within our souls. On this sacred night, at the beginning of the Dark half of the year, we should open ourselves to communion with our ancestors. We should share the touch of Life with those that have passed through their Deaths into the realms of a still greater Life. The Dead walk the Earth on this holiest of eves. We are joyful yet reflective. Our lives are yet to be lived.

Samhain (SOW-in) is the Celtic New Year. As such it is many things and its origins are similar to the attitudes about endings and beginnings that are contained within New Year’s celebrations in most cultures. It is no mistake that the Jewish New Year occurs slightly before Samhain (at the Fall Equinox), as the two celebrations signify a change in the earth and the seasons. Samhain as a word means “Summer’s Ending” in Old Irish. It is all about harvests and preparation, completion and renewal, death and life, to name only a few ideas and concepts.

The Tide of Life

Samhain also marks a time when the tide of life that is found within Nature, is perceived to be flowing back into the Land Herself. Evidence of this is to be found in the falling of the leaves from trees, the ripening of fruits and berries, and the rich harvest of nuts that have fallen to the ground. As the sap of life for the trees flows back into the earth and the greenness of spring and summer, fades, our thoughts become less filled with the light and life of Summer as Winter approaches.

The Gates of the Otherworld

It is because this flow of life occurs twice a year that Celtic Pagans believe the gates to the Otherworld to also be opened. Just as Nature has a life of wheels and cycles, so do we also have such cycles within our lives, our years, our days and our spirits. Each of us has an ebb and a flow within , in much the same way that the seasons change, the tides roll in and out and the birds migrate to their many homes. As the Life River flows between worlds at Samhain, the ways are opened for the recent dead and the honored ancestors to pass from one side of the veil to the other. Gifts were placed outside for anyone who might be in need, the door was left open (so as to not be barred against one’s departed relatives), and a place was provided by the fire for the living or the dead.

Three Days of Feasting

Among the Celtic Pagans, it was noted that the time of greatest physical wealth (after the two harvests) was the best time to offer hospitality to all, both in the community of the living and especially to the community of the dead. Samhain was celebrated as a feast that lasted for three nights and days. Anyone coming to the opened door was welcome to join in the feast or receive a gift. Especial care was given to visitors and unknown people, since they could possibly have been a spirit of the dead or even a deity (who had come across the void and between the veils to visit among the living).


Samhain Customs

Board Games and Divination: Sometimes board games would be played that were considered to be games of fate, such as a form of chess called “fidcheall” among the Irish. For the leaders of the family to be successful in such games meant that the coming year would bring prosperity. Loss in the games that approximated life signified death or want in the future. Other forms of divination occurred that were centered around such games as bobbing for apples, twisting their stems, and/or slicing them open to count and read the patterns of their seeds. More formal divinations were performed by Druids and Seers to determine the severity of winter, the need for culling the cattle and the expectation of strife during the months of the Sun’s darkness.

Other Activities: Apple Bobbing, Carving turnips, Costume Parties, Gifts and Treats, Bull Feast.

Symbols: The Stone, the Apple, the Bull Feast, The Sacrifice for the Ancestors.

Food and Drink: Mead, Cider, cakes, fruits.

Lighting the Fire: A major activity at Samhain was the lighting of the fire, which was an act that symbolized the relationship between the king (or other leader) and the Land. Prior to the lighting of the main fire, all fires were extinguished in the surrounding country-side and hearth. A ritual was held to affirm the king’s truth, and to join him with the Goddess of Sovereignty, which is to say, the Spirit of the Land. Many times such a ritual might have been accompanied by the sacrifice of a bull, which was roasted and boiled within a cauldron for all to eat. The milk of the milch cows would have been a drink that symbolized the gifts of the Goddess. In this symbolic ritual meal, the entire family, and community of families, joined in the sacrifice and the relationship of the king to the Land. Another drink that was especially sacred at this time was mead, which is named after Medb, another name for the Irish Goddess of Sovereignty. Its intoxicating effects were described in its name, which means, “intoxicating.” This also meant that a person should drink wisely of the cup, as they also should soberly use the resources of their harvest, for Winter was coming and folly during the fat times would mean disaster during the lean times.

A Ring of Fire: The main fire was set ablaze by the Druids and by using a ceremonial fire drill or cross piece. Woods were brought from all directions and of nine kinds to form a central fire representative of everyone and every part of the community. Dancing and games occurred around the fire and a part of this fire was taken back to the hearths of each household. In a kingdom or large clann holding, distant friends and relatives would light their own bonfires as they saw the first fire lighted. It was in this way that the spirit of truth, of the Land and the People radiated outward from the heart of the Land to the edges of the country.

Samhain was about the end of summer and the beginning of a New Year. It was about the relationship between the people and their leaders. It was about the truth of the leaders as found in their love of the Land. It was about sacrifice and giving. It was a time of honoring death and the dead and a time of rejoicing about life among the living. In short, Samhain was about the holiness of the spirit as it manifests in Nature, within death in the ancestors, within life in the people, and within deity as manifested in the Land.

Oíche Shamhna

Many of the activities of modern-day Halloween come out of the practices of ancient and modern Celtic Samhain customs. The giving of gifts and candies to visitors and children, echoes the hospitality of the Celts to all comers (especially on Oíche Shamhna, the evening of Samhain). It also is reminiscent of their awareness that the spirits of the Otherworld could more easily approach this world at that time. The focus upon fall and the fruits of the harvest are also reminders of days gone by, when we lived more closely with the Land and less within the artificial character of modern life. The holiness of this time among the Celts is still seen in the location of the Feast of All Saints at this time. After all, “All Saints” really means “All Souls” and that is who Celtic Pagans and Christians alike are honoring at this time of the year. When you give someone a candy or a gift at this time, please remember that the ancestors have made your life possible and that the community of souls around you includes all manner of the living, the dead and deity as well.

Searles O'Dubhain

[skilly-nilly]

Okay, I will open the floor with a topic that should be straight forward:
"What is Samhain?"

And since I know that Samhain is an Irish festival, I will also ask, "What festivals from other Indo-European pagan cultures do you believe merge well with the observance of Samhain?"

*pokes the other Druid types* Come on, let's compare some notes here and you can teach me something new!


I am more of a folklorist than a Druid on the day. My local Grove holds outdoor, public Ritual on the Sat or Sun closest to the actual day (to the accompaniment of howling winds this year) so the Hallowed Evening itself is for personal traditions and ritual. Although I kicked off the personal celebration by giving a decorated crow feather as a re-affirmation of myself to the Goddess to Whom I am dedicated during the Ritual.

I am one of the dangerous spirits on Samhain believers. I believe that just as we have to balance our own impulses between selfish and giving, that there are forces for both good and evil in the large Worlds. I see the Bright Day as the time to invite in Good Influences, and the Dark Day as the one to refuse entry to bad ones.

I renew my house protections (sea salt and StJohn'sWort) and do a house spell.
I carve pumpkins-- I find that the rune for protection makes a great nose and eyebrows on a jack-o-lantern face.
I give out candy, but I don't let anyone inside.
I also smudge all of the trees in my yard to wish them a good sleep.


After the Trick-r-Treaters are done, I take an offering out to my outside offering bowl (an iron flower bird-feeder on a stake) that stands at West on my Magic Circle, a directional and calendar ring with big stones at the 8 points. This year's was oatcakes, hazel nuts, and Drambui. Last year's was milky tea and Scotch. Then I stand and talk to my ancestors, my beloved dead, the heros, and the Gods. And, this year, the dead girlfriend of the caretaker at work who's cats I adopted the day before.

Part of talking to the Dead includes the acknowledgment of Irish history---why am I here in Canada celebrating an Irish Holy Day? Because of the diaspora of the Irish from Ireland. So the famine victims are always a part of my beloved dead and the heros.

AN GORTA MÓR-----CUIMHUIM AR

So there's the 3 Realms:

Land/This World---Jack-o-Lanterns & Trick-r-Treaters
Sea/The OtherWorld---my beloved dead
Sky/The Timeless Land---the Shining Ones and the Goddess to Whom I am Dedicated.

[Maggie]

I am a gardening type both by avocation and right now by vocation so that the end of the agricultural year is the part that is most meaningful to me. I clean up my garden a bit and plant bulbs after sundown. The imagery of the bulb and that of winter being a time of introspection and preparation seem to go together. I have a small altar table, I light a beeswax candle. My father died two years ago and I have his picture there.

Even though my children are grown I still hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. Even that evokes the idea of cycles--I did it as a kid, my children went out and now another generation is following the same custom.

I'll take a chance and tell about an odd occurance this year. I have a small trashcan sitting by coffee table and laptop. When I came down the next morning I found an empty Camel cigarette box sitting on top. My father never smoked anything else and I don't know anyone now who does. There is a "logical" explanation--my husband was on nights, ran out of his and a coworker gave him the partial pack. The odds of that happening on that night though, are eye blinking....

Maggie

[Morr]

Samhain to me is the beginning of the most wonderful time of year (for myself). A time to grow and face the darkness of the world and yourself and learn from it.

On Samhain I honor the Dead and the Ancestors most of all. I invite them to my home, leave them candy, candles lit and incese. I acknowlege them, thank them and let them roam around my home and enjoy themselves (very interesting indeed!).

This year, it has become our wedding anniverssary. So Samhain has another new special meaning to me. We celebrated our marriage with the Ancestors, Gods and Spirits. It was great.

On Samhain, and especially the days before and after, I feel the presence of my Gods even more than I usually do.

Samhain to me is also the day/night of possibility, of awareness, of opening yourself up to the Otherworld and allowing yourself to learn and grow from the wisdom of the ancestors.

[_Banbha_]

Okay, I will open the floor with a topic that should be straight forward:
"What is Samhain?"

This is my favorite time, where I am most at home and at ease. I am not much of a ritualist. I try to live life as a sacred experience and connect with the nature of it all, at deep levels and it is mostly a quiet time without theatrics or proclaimations. I'm not knocking ritual, which can be beautiful and inspirational; it's just not how I relate on my own. I'm also not knocking theatrics, as I'm no stranger to it either. :hahugh:

Here's a fabulous article that sums up briefly some of what we know in the mythic/folkloric sources and from archaeology about Samhain and it's origins in a 'Celtic' context.


Samhain: Season of Death and Renewal
by Alexei Kondratiev


As the nights lengthen and the leaves take on their autumn colours, many of our cities prepare for a seasonal festival dominated by dark and frightening imagery. Ghosts, skeletons, hags, nocturnal creatures such as cats and bats, and grinning monster faces peer out at us from shop windows. Much of it is just commercialism, yet there is no denying that the atmosphere of the holiday still has a profound effect on the modern psyche — as we can see from the spontaneous outrageousness of Hallowe’en parades, the creative expressions of death-related themes, and the general surge in mischief-making. All these customs, however, are a diffuse reflection of the beliefs and practices of the Celtic populations of Europe, for whom this feast was a crucial turning-point in the flow of time.

The earliest record we have of the festival of Samhain in the Celtic world comes from the Coligny Calendar, a native Celtic lunar calendar inscribed on bronze tablets and discovered in eastern France a hundred years ago. The calendar — dated, through epigraphic evidence, to the 1st century CE — is written in the Latin alphabet and was found in conjunction with a Roman-style statue (identified by some writers as Apollo, by others as Mars), but the language used is Gaulish and the dating system itself bears little resemblance to Roman models, implying that it represents the survival of an indigenous tradition maintained by native clergy. A detailed discussion of the calendar lies outside the scope of this article, but for our purposes it will be enough to point out that its year consists of twelve regularly recurring months that fall naturally into two groups, one headed by the month that is labeled SAMON (for Samonios) and the other by the month GIAMON (for Giamonios), and that the names of these two months are clearly related to the terms samos “summer” and giamos “winter” (cf. Gaelic samh(radh) “summer”, geamh(radh) “winter”; Welsh haf “summer”, gaeaf “winter”). The date of SAMON- xvii is identified as TRINVX SAMO SINDIV, which can be readily interpreted as an abbreviation of Trinouxtion Samonii sindiu (”The three-night-period of Samonios [is] today”). This is one of the very few dates in the calendar that is given a specific name, testifying to its importance as a festival; and since Samoni- is obviously the origin of the modern name Samhain, it is reasonable to equate the Trinouxtion Samonii with the feast that is still one of the most important dates in the Celtic ritual year.....

DeDANAAN
(http://dedanaan.com/2006/10/19/samhain-season-of-death-and-renewal/)


I've been reading up lately on the pre-Indo-European infulences in Ireland and finding some observances...There's some speculation as to exactly who the people who built these monuments identified themselves as but the genetic evidence we have probably gives them as indiginous natives to the land for thousands of years directly following the ice age.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e189/EtainOcean/Eireann/cairnLsunbeam.jpg
Samhain dawn sunbeam penetrating to backstone in Cairn L, Carrowkeel

I don't give some of the speculations on this site much wieght but the astronomical observations of both sun and moon at some sites on quarter and cross quarter days are intriguing and at times compelling. Part of our legacy is pre-Indo-European, I kind of feel a little lonely in Irish Reconstructionism to putting this idea into historical context because it seems everything is all Indo/all the time...and identified as such even when the dieties/placenames/sites in question are thought of as pre-IE.....just a perception I have. Perhaps we are just naturally viewing through a 'Celtic'(IE) lense. :hahugh:
http://www.astroarchaeology.org/context/index.html

[Meadhbh]

This Samhain started off a bit different from what I normally do. I have a couple of freinds who lost family members in the last couple of days. So, I spent some time in the between place making sure they found the path okay. There was candle lightening and a bread and pomegranate juice offering to the ancestors and the good folk. we ate some at home and I left the part we set aside under a near by tree at midnight. There was the normal things to I gave out candy and went to a party for a bit.

[Faol-chů]

You might find Indian Deevapali to share some similarities to Samhain...

:)

[Tranquility]

Ah don't forget the Cailleach Bheur either! She is said to be a very fearsome one who brought many mountains and hills into existence. It was said that when she laid down her cloak to dry over the hills, they appeared white (AKA - Snow). So, she was the bringer of the harsh weather.. and typically governed the dark half of the year. When it became lighter, she supposedly threw her staff/wand down in disgust and turned herself into a boulder until winter's return. And that is why "no grass grows under the holly tree." SOme say she turned into beautiful maiden Bride for the lighter half of the year.