SAMHAIN

The month of October brings us to Samhain, the great fire festival marking the end of summer and the final gathering of the harvest. In the Pagan calendar, this was one of the most important times, for it not only marked the end of summer, but the gathering in of cattle, corn, and people.

Rituals were carried out at this time that were meant to thank the Great Mother for the bounty of the land, and to ask for protection in the dark days to come.

In antiquity, this festival had no fixed date, but would have lasted around two weeks, with the entire community coming together to remember and celebrate the passing year. This was the dying time of the year, and the ancestors were remembered with affection – and with dread.

It was a time when the veils between the worlds became thin, and spirits could once more return to the people and places they had loved in life.

This has become a time for ghostly tales told around a flickering fire and by candlelight, for the light and warmth were meant to draw wandering souls home.

Aspects of this festival became absorbed into the Christian calendar, and today it is known as All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween. It is still potent – the spirit of Samhain alive and living in the hearts of those of us who remember.