It is time for changes, we feel that in the air that gets colder, in the sun becoming cooler and in nature, beginning to change her colours. Autumn is here, this season invites us to introspect and reap the last fruits of the year, that is, all the experiences that, in the last year, have made us become a little more mature.
As we know, in this period the veil that separates our world and the world of spirits thins, until it reaches its peak of transparency during the magical night of Samhain. Precisely for this reason, it is a good idea to take advantage of it to increase our experiences, putting us in communication with the afterlife and the Gods.
Since the beginning of time, human beings have always tried to get in touch with "elsewhere", trying with all of themselves to get answers on everything they could not explain; I think this is the reason why the Samhain has remained, in many traditions, a pagan festival in all respects.
As is well known to anyone who approaches the study of paganism, Christians supplanted all pagan traditions and festivals with their own, taking their main meanings and crippling them, giving them an "evil" nature, so that those who converted to Christianity did not have the temptation to return to those ancient practices.
Yule has thus become Christmas, Ostara has become Easter and so on, but the feast of Samhain, although the feast of All Saints has been established with the intention of replacing it, continues to have a certain influence as a popular feast; it has never completely transformed into a Christian holiday, but has kept that aura of magic that distinguishes it and has become a play party for children, that is the Halloween party in Anglo-Saxon countries such as England and the United States.
The energy at this time of the year is very palpable, it cannot be ignored, no one is immune to it and practically everyone, pagan or not, perceives its magic; it must be for this reason that the various customs, linked to the night of October 31st, are still handed down through the centuries.
The fact that our mind, if well trained, has the ability to communicate with other entities from other worlds and dimensions, may be one of the reasons that prevents us from forgetting about Samhain; our willingness to touch and reveal all that is dark and unknown, combined with the powerful charm that the supernatural possesses, makes it impossible for us to give up this festivity, since everything about it is part of us.
What is the true meaning of Samhain?
The term Samhain itself is a word of Gaelic origin, (pronounced "Sow-wen") which refers to the act of harvesting the last crops sown during the year.
Similarly, this holiday represents a transition, from the hot to the cold season, from light to shadow; in fact, according to some scholars, the word Samhain also derives from the ancient Irish Samuin, which means "the end of summer".
The Celts were very superstitious about everything that was "between two things", in fact many legends speak of bridges, the threshold of the front door, crossroads, even the shore area near seas, lakes and rivers. .
Precisely for this reason, they dedicated the feast of Samhain to honouring the dead, as if to exorcise the fear that, during this "passing" night, they might return from beyond.
Torches and fires were lit up in order to allow the benevolent spirits to follow the lights and re-join their loved ones, while protecting them, at the same time fire removed all that was evil. For the same purpose, they used the lanterns made with the pumpkins that are still used today to be carved, and the monstrous disguises, which were used to confuse the evil spirits by making them believe that the person wearing these dresses was "one of them" and therefore induced them not to hurt them.
With the advent of modernity, the most frightening party of the year has been the protagonist of many rumours and legends, mostly by Catholics, but also by some pagans themselves and people influenced by horror films, of course we are talking about people who are not absolutely aware of the true tradition of Halloween.
In this article I would like to debunk some myths about Samhain and reassure those who starts the practice of paganism.
Urban Legends and Platitudes on Samhain:
Is it a Satanic Feast?
First of all we need to distinguish what kind of Satanism we are talking about, since there is a huge difference between Spiritual Satanism, which is a form of paganism, and the Satanists you hear about on TV, the so-called Acid Satanism, or those who are committed to crimes in the name of the Christian Satan, the figure of Satan as represented in the Bible.
Samhain is an event connected to the cycle of nature, as the season changes, it is clear that therefore all the pagan currents, such as Spiritual Satanism, decide to adopt it as a celebration of great importance. At the same time, it is certainly not a festival invented by criminals to sow death and destruction, although unfortunately these people take the Samhain festival as a starting point for practicing brutality.
The world, in some ways, is full of mentally deviated people, so yes, there are people who practice senseless rituals where animals are killed, but all of this has nothing to do with Samhain and its traditions. Unfortunately, it is useless to sweeten the pill, bad people exist. It would be better to keep an eye on our pets closely, preferably keeping them home for the night, but without big dramas, because fortunately such episodes are rather rare.
Is it dangerous for children to celebrate?
Definitely not, for kids it is simply an occasion like another to have fun with friends, whatever their spiritual confession is. They do not run any risk of celebrating in monster disguises, the only risk to which they may be exposed is what is going on around the streets at late night, but it is a year-round problem, not just for this night.
Is it true that nothing esoteric should be practiced at this time of the year, as the veil is thin and so can be dangerous? Can you be in contact entities without wanting to?
Nothing more fake. Precisely because the veil is thin, we should take this time as an opportunity for spiritual growth, as we have more chances of obtaining good results from rituals with divinities and spirits. It is quite the same for new moon nights: many people argue that you should not practice with the new moon, as it has "malicious" influences, when it is simply the final phase of the lunar cycle, with its specific magic properties. As I have already said on other articles, one must not fear the "dark side" of things, but awareness is the key to spiritual growth.
To contact an entity, whether it is a deity or a spirit of any kind, requires a great deal of experience and sensitivity, obviously then, whoever is able to do so, has also the ability to handle the thing.
Those who are still inexperienced, can take the chance trying to connect more with their own nature of witch.
Halloween is the crippled version of the All Hallow’s Feast?
The same date was chosen, since the people, who were already celebrating the dead, would effortlessly get used to the new Christian tradition, even if the two celebrations, in fact, were never divided.
In fact, in the United States, as in all Anglo-Saxon colonised countries, it is customary to celebrate All Saints' Eve on this day, but in fact it is celebrated in the Celtic way, with carved pumpkins and sweets, as if the two holidays had merged, with the difference which is now called Halloween, that is the fusion of the two words "hallows" and "eve '" which mean "All Saints' Eve"
In conclusion: the answer is no, the Halloween party was born long before its Catholic version.
Samhain and the Spirits:
On this day, we honour our loved ones who have passed the veil.
In addition to leaving lanterns lit to drive spirits, people used to set an extra seat at the table to invite their deceased loved ones to join them once again for dinner, they served food without looking into the empty place, since if by chance they saw the deceased it would bring them bad luck, the remaining food was then left as an offering outside the window to feed the spirits.
Probably in this period we are all more sensitive and we perceive more everything that is supernatural. The human being is naturally attracted to it, the numerous themed films / books are proof of this.
Unfortunately, monotheistic religions have filled people's heads with real phobias of everything beyond their beliefs, many of us, even pagans, have lost the connection with the afterlife and with the Gods, which is a pity.
If you've ever heard something about the "contact with the dead", or topics such as Ouija boards, automatic writing, trance, etc… you will certainly have noticed that the majority of users comment everything with "do not do these things , they are dangerous” or "do not mess with the dead"; Unfortunately, this is precisely the result of the work that monotheistic religions have perpetrated over the centuries on our minds and habits (just think of the difference in the relationship with the dead between places like India and Europe).
In the past the relationship with the deceased was more spontaneous, but nowadays that spontaneity has turned into fear, so much so that people refuse even to talk about it.
It is clearly a controversial topic and obviously you need skills, in-depth study of the subject, prudence and, above all, respect, as with all esoteric themed activities.
In fact, the same is true with divination: even when we decide to read the tarot we open portals, we ask for energy from elsewhere to help us in the interpretation, but divination done in this way is not frowned upon as the using an ouija board.
But at the same time, those who really want to return to original paganism must, sooner or later, strip off all these blocks and prejudices that have been instilled in us and begin to reconnect with our true nature.
A divination with the Ouija board, based on the preparation of the person leading, can be successful or evolve into a great confusion.
What is certain is that practically nothing you have ever seen in movies can happen, even if it is not an activity that should be taken lightly.
With proper precautions, you can have a very uplifting and safe experience.
Below, I leave you some tips for those who want to try this practice:
• First, you need to be sure that the people invited to participate are balanced and open to the esoteric world, the right dose of scepticism may be fine, but of course a person who refuses the idea of contact with the spirits may affect the outcome of the session. (After all, if you were a spirit, how would you feel about talking to a person who does not believe in you?). At the same time, a person with psychic disorders can attract malevolent entities, attracted by the same energy they emanate.
• Create a comfortable environment for approaching a spirit: comfortable fabrics, high quality incenses, purify the environment with sage, salt and crystals, and use light-coloured candles. According to some, benevolent spirits are attracted by light and warmth, so the candles would act as a catalyst. If you are indoors, be sure to choose the hottest place of the home if you want to feel more protected, draw protective seals on the support you will use and surround yourself with a circle of protection. It is essential to face it all without restlessness as negative energy could attract non-positive entities (such as larvae, restless spirits, etc.)
• At this point, the person conducting the session, the medium, can decide whether to do a guided meditation for the people who participate, to help focus the intentions better. Later, they will ask the spirit to reach the group of people.
You can evoke spirits of the place, passing through, or, for the more practical, specific people (obviously, in the latter case, it is easier to evoke someone with whom you have had contact in life, perhaps using an object that belonged to the person or a photo).
The medium can make their request by speaking out loud or even singing, depending on how a person is used to acting. For example, a sentence that can be said is: "Is there any spirit nearby who would do us the honour of joining this group to speak?"
If the group is made up of people who are particularly united and spiritually formed, it is possible that more than one spirit will arrive; this should not be interpreted as something dangerous, just let them speak one at a time, listening to the messages they want to leave you.
A spirit from some of your past familiars might even show up.
• You can use many tools to contact the dead: Ouija table, tarot cards, pendulum, automatic writing … what you are most used to works best.
• If any of the entities that appear will be malicious or angry, it is good practice to try to end the session. The medium can talk to them saying, "Thank you for your presence here with us, but now I invite you back from where you came from.”
• When you decide to end the session, do not forget to thank the spirits and say goodbye (as you would do with living guests), inviting them to leave the session.
• If one of the participants seems to have fallen into a state of trance, DO NOT wake them up abruptly, but speak gently and guide them back into a waking state; there are good chances of having a message for the group once awakened.
• It is likely that, even if a spirit has said goodbye, it will remain around making its presence felt for a few hours, or appear in a dream the following night. This is perfectly normal, you don't have to worry.
Activities for Samhain:
• Clean up the space you use to celebrate, alone or in company.
• Eliminate all the negative energies by dusting and burning sage and incense, you can also decide to consecrate space to the four elements.
• Only if you are able and feel safe, make a spiritual summoning in the way you prefer.
• It is the ideal night for divination, use the tarot cards, the runes, the pendulum, and all that it takes to get answers to you next year.
• Apple is the magic fruit par excellence, use apples to make cider, cakes, or garlands with dried apple slices. Bury some fruit as an offer to assure you a "good harvest" the following year.
• Offer food and drink to the spirits of nature.
• Cook something with the pumpkin (cake, biscuits,…) and engrave some seals; in this way they will boost the food that you will then eat.
• Of course, carve a pumpkin :)
