The Three Days of Samhain Searles O'Dubhain Thu Oct 8 20:04:05 1998 Posted by Searles O'Dubhain on Thu Oct 8 14:56:10 1998: *p* Samhain (SOW-in) is the Celtic New Year. As such it is many things and its origins are similar to*br* the attitudes about endings and beginnings that are contained within New Year's celebrations in*br* most cultures. It is no mistake that the Jewish New Year occurs slightly before Samhain (at the*br* Fall Equinox), as the two celebrations signify a change in the earth and the seasons. Samhain as a*br* word means "Summer's Ending" in Old Irish. It is all about harvests and preparation, completion*br* and renewal, death and life, to name only a few ideas and concepts.*p* Samhain also marks a time when the tide of life that is found within Nature, is perceived to be*br* flowing back into the Land Herself. Evidence of this is to be found in the falling of the leaves from*br* trees, the ripening of fruits and berries, and the rich harvest of nuts that have fallen to the ground.*br* As the sap of life for the trees flows back into the earth and the greenness of spring and summer,*br* fades, our thoughts become less filled with the light and life of Summer as Winter approaches. *p* It is because this flow of life occurs twice a year that Celtic Pagans believe the gates to the*br* Otherworld to also be opened. Just as Nature has a life of wheels and cycles, so do we also have*br* such cycles within our lives, our years, our days and our spirits. Each of us has an ebb and a flow*br* within, in much the same way that the seasons change, the tides roll in and out and the birds*br* migrate to their many homes. As the Life River flows between worlds at Samhain, the ways are*br* opened for the recent dead and the honored ancestors to pass from one side of the veil to the*br* other. Gifts were placed outside for anyone who might be in need, the door was left open (so as*br* to not be barred against one's departed relatives), and a place was provided by the fire for the*br* living or the dead.*p* Among the Celtic Pagans, it was noted that the time of greatest physical wealth (after the two*br* harvests) was the best time to offer hospitality to all, both in the community of the living and*br* especially to the community of the dead. Samhain was celebrated as a feast that lasted for three*br* nights and days. Anyone coming to the opened door was welcome to join in the feast or receive a*br* gift. Especial care was given to visitors and unknown people, since they could possibly have been*br* a spirit of the dead or even a deity (who had come across the void and between the veils to visit*br* among the living).*p* Sometimes board games would be played that were considered to be games of fate, such as a*br* form of chess called "fidcheall" among the Irish. For the leaders of the family to be successful in*br* such games meant that the coming year would bring prosperity. Loss in the games that*br* approximated life signified death or want in the future. Other forms of divination occurred that*br* were centered around such games as bobbing for apples, twisting their stems, and/or slicing them*br* open to count and read the patterns of their seeds. More formal divinations were performed by*br* Druids and Seers to determine the severity of winter, the need for culling the cattle and the*br* expectation of strife during the months of the Sun's darkness.*p* A major activity at Samhain was the lighting of the fire, which was an act that symbolized the*br* relationship between the king (or other leader) and the Land. Prior to the lighting of the main fire,*br* all fires were extinguished in the surrounding country-side and hearth. A ritual was held to affirm*br* the king's truth, and to join him with the Goddess of Sovereignty, which is to say, the Spirit of the*br* Land. Many times such a ritual might have been accompanied by the sacrifice of a bull, which was*br* roasted and boiled within a cauldron for all to eat. The milk of the milch cows would have been a*br* drink that symbolized the gifts of the Goddess. In this symbolic ritual meal, the entire family, and*br* community of families, joined in the sacrifice and the relationship of the king to the Land. Another*br* drink that was especially sacred at this time was mead, which is named after Medb, another name*br* for the Irish Goddess of Sovereignty. Its intoxicating effects were described in its name, which*br* means, "intoxicating." This also meant that a person should drink wisely of the cup, as they also*br* should soberly use the resources of their harvest, for Winter was coming and folly during the fat*br* times would mean disaster during the lean times.*p* The main fire was set ablaze by the Druids and by using a ceremonial fire drill or cross piece.*br* Woods were brought from all directions and of nine kinds to form a central fire representative of*br* everyone and every part of the community. Dancing and games occurred around the fire and a*br* part of this fire was taken back to the hearths of each household. In a kingdom or large clann*br* holding, distant friends and relatives would light their own bonfires as they saw the first fire lighted.*br* It was in this way that the spirit of truth, of the Land and the People radiated outward from the*br* heart of the Land to the edges of the country.*p* Samhain was about the end of summer and the beginning of a New Year. It was about the*br* relationship between the people and their leaders. It was about the truth of the leaders as found in*br* their love of the Land. It was about sacrifice and giving. It was a time of honoring death and the*br* dead and a time of rejoicing about life among the living. In short, Samhain was about the holiness*br* of the spirit as it manifests in Nature, within death in the ancestors, within life in the people, and*br* within deity as manifested in the Land.*p* Many of the activities of modern-day Halloween come out of the practices of ancient and modern*br* Celtic Samhain customs. The giving of gifts and candies to visitors and children, echoes the*br* hospitality of the Celts to all comers (especially on Oíche Shamhna, the evening of Samhain). It*br* also is reminiscent of their awareness that the spirits of the Otherworld could more easily*br* approach this world at that time. The focus upon fall and the fruits of the harvest are also*br* reminders of days gone by, when we lived more closely with the Land and less within the artificial*br* character of modern life. The holiness of this time among the Celts is still seen in the location of the*br* Feast of All Saints at this time. After all, "All Saints" really means "All Souls" and that is who*br* Celtic Pagans and Christians alike are honoring at this time of the year. When you give someone a*br* candy or a gift at this time, please remember that the ancestors have made your life possible and*br* that the community of souls around you includes all manner of the living, the dead and deity as*br* well.*p* Beannachtaí na Féile Oíche Shamhna agat,*br* (The Blessings of Samhain Night to you)*p* Searles O'Dubhain http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/images/GOLD10.gif