Ahhhh, yes, I love this time of year. I love the crisp air, the changing color of the leaves, the smell of hot apple cider, the sound of crackling while gathered round the fire. My inner witch feels all the more free! It's just something in the air, and it feels so right.
Many people think Samhain is the same as Halloween. However, that is not the case. Samhain is of Celtic origins. Samhain not only marked the change of seasons, but it is also the thinning of the veil. The Celts believed that during this time, the living and the dead could more easily communicate. Hence why they often held celebrations in honor of deceased loved ones. To remember is to live on.
Source:Â https://twitter.com/SheaErnshaw/status/1493623671025401856
Great feasts were held and large bonfires were lit! Costumes were also worn, but for a different purpose back then. You see, during this time of the thinning of the veil, all sorts of spirits were out and about. So the villagers dressed up in large scary costumes, monstrous looking things, to scare off the demons and evil spirits. The Celts believed it a form of protection not only for their villages but for their deceased ancestors who were traveling over to the Summerland. Gifts were left just outside the perimeters of the village as offerings to the various elementals, spirits and fairies so that they may aid in protecting the villagers.
It was somewhere around 835, the Pope of the Catholic Church changed the day of celebration for All Saints Day from May 13th to November 1st. It's vastly and widely believed that the Christian church was trying to replace the Pagan Celtic festival with an official church sanctioned holiday.... Over time, Samhain, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and even Hallowmas blended to become what we now know as Halloween.
Samhain is a sacred Sabbat. I have no issues with Halloween, as I have fun with my kids every year at this time! It's such a fun holiday! The costumes, trick or treating, scaring the crap out of people and making them scream! Shhhhhh beautiful dark side, it's almost time to play! But I also have taught my children about the old ways, their significance, and where we come from. To me, it's important to remember and honor our origins. If we forget where we come from, we forget who we are.
Plus, this time of year holds a special significance to me. It was in 2017, September 7th and October 10th, that I lost both of my grandmothers... It rocked me to my core, to put it lightly. That was also the same year we bought our new house, and that year, on October 31st I held a special ritual in honor and remembrance of my grandmothers. These two women helped raise me, taught me beautiful and hard lessons, gave me every ounce of love in their body. I learned from them and they helped make me the woman I am today. I will always honor them as well as my ancestors before them.
💫💜 Your Ultimate Woo Woo Witch,