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1993-09-30
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Halloween - The Prequel
Copyright (c) 1993, Brigid Childs
All rights reserved
HALLOWEEN - THE PREQUEL
Halloween - the word conjures up memories of twilight shivers, running
through the piles of carefully raked leaves to knock timorously at the
neighbors' doors, squeaking out "Trick or treat", and waiting to see which
would be chosen. Eerie faces glowed and glared, guarding window after window
with candle flame in wildly carved pumpkin. Tales of terror passed from oldest
to youngest evoked chills on that special night we'd anticipated for weeks.
Halloween was ghosts and goblins and ghoul - and most of all, Halloween was the
season of the witch; silhouetted against the full autumn moon, straddling her
broom this queen of the night rode the darkness of our dreams. But where did
Halloween come from?
To the modern witch, Halloween is a serious religious holiday, its roots
reaching back in to shamanistic tradition. Called Hallows by some pagan
traditions, this is the Celtic New Year, Samhain (pronounced something ike
"sahw-in). On this night, the Celts and their Druid priests lit bonfires upon
which they symbolically burned the ills and frustrations of the past year. At
Samhain, which translates from the Celtic as "Summer's End", the Druids counted
their herds and mated their breeding stock for the coming spring. And Samhain
was the night when the veil between the worlds would part briefly to allow
contract between the living and their dead.
Many cultures have continued this recognition of their dead. The Japanese
hang paper lanterns on their gates to welcome home the spirits of their
ancestors; similarly the Irish leave candles in their windows toward the same
purpose. The Egyptians light candles in their cemetaries to guide the dead
back from the City of Osiris. The Jack o'Lantern of modern Hallows revels was
once a carved turnip used to light both live and dead celebrants to Samhain
rites. This is a night to honour and remember those who'd gone before. While
modern Pagans do not believe in disturbing the departed, on Hallows the spirits
are invited to share our ritual gatherings and whatever voluntary messages may
be communicated are welcomed. It's also a night when witches traditionally
practice divination to anticipate the events of the coming year. Runes, tarot
cards, scrying mirrors, even nuts and apples are Hallows' tools of foreseeing.
(Apples and nuts???)
Samhain; (Summer's End, remember?) represents the Third Harvest as well.
The Celts pressed cider in this season and collected nuts and the last fruits
and grains for winter; indeed, it was considered unwise to eat foods that had
remained unharvested past Halloween. Feasting appropriate to the season
included pumpkin, corn, nuts and apples, and servings were offered to the
departed to let them share in this celebration. The apple is particularly
associated with Samhain and Wicca; cut in half horizontally, it reveals at its
core the five pointed star. Its flesh nourishes us, yet its seeds contain
deadly cyanide. Apples were sacred to Hel, the Norse goddes of the Underworld,
and in Celtic myth, Avalon, the Isle of the Blessed, and Tir-Na-Nog, the
Summerland, both homes of the dead, are both depicted as beautiful islands
where apple trees bear fruit all year. Bobbing for apples, a modern Halloween
game, recalls the pagan traditions associated with the holiday. The hazel nut
also has long been noted as sacred to the gods as a source of wisdom. Hazel
nuts are tossed on the Hallows fire by young women attempting to see their
future husbands in the flames.
Pagans still observe the Old Ways, harming none in their practice of a
religion that interprets the agricultural cycles of the earth for an urbanized
industrial society. Modern Samhain rituals allow our love for nature and
respect for our ancestors and traditions to surface in a world where such
values are in short supply. The maske and merriment of Halloween echo the
original festival of harvest and spirits, gently accepting the joy of earlier
times.
Blessed be and peace be with you - Brigid