Sabbat Discovery - Samhain (Part 3)

Samhain Ritual Ideas

Clear old & negative energy

Honour the God & Goddess

Celebrating the Cycle of Life & Death

A Samhain Feast

Hnouring the Harvest’s End

Honouring the Ancestors

Animal Rites

Ancestor Meditation

My Samhain

As the Celtic New Year, I consider Samhain the most auspicious Sabbat for clearing old energies from my altar. I perform grounding on my altar once a year, at Samhain… I sweep the area with a besom made of Reed and create a circle of dried elderberries before my workings. I will be writing a feature on elderberries when I begin my Apothecary posts in the new year but at Samhain they are a potent accompaniment to my magicks.

After my workings I use the broom to sweep the elderberries out of circle and use them to make into my All Hallows Incense; this is an incense I will only burn on All Hallows Day to complete my Samhain rites. It hasn’t been included in this post as it is a personal blend and some things I keep private and sacred to my Book of Shadows.

Sabbat Discovery - Samhain (Part 2)

Samhain   Yule   Imbolc   Ostara   Beltane   Litha   Lammas   Mabon

Samhain Deities

Death is rarely so apparent than it is at Samhain. The skies have gone grey, the earth is brittle and cold, and the fields have been picked of the last crops. Winter looms on the horizon, and as the Wheel of the Year turns once more, the boundary between our world and the spirit world becomes fragile and thin. In cultures all over the world, the spirit of Death has been honoured at this time of the year; some of the deities who represent death and the dying of the earth.

The Lord at Samhain

The God is awaiting rebirth.

The Sun God

The Sun has descended into the realm of the Underworld; the forces of the underworld were in the ascendancy. The Lord of the Underworld, unfettered from the control of the sun, now walks the earth and with him travels all those other creatures from the abode of the dead. Ghosts, fairies and a host of other non-descript creatures go with him.

The Holly King & the Oak King

Many people consider Samhain the Oak King’s death. However, many celebrate it as his death and rebirth. It is not a rebirth. He is dead until the Winter Solstice! This is a time for darkness to reign. The days get shorter and the nights grow longer. This is a time for us to withdraw and hide in solitude. This is why the ‘holiday season’ can be very difficult for many to endure as we start celebrations before the Winter Solstice. At this point the Oak King, and all light, is dead and we must retreat to the Holly King’s realm, underworld, to be reborn.

The Lady at Samhain

The Goddess is at rest.

Mother Earth 

We transition from October to November when the Wheel turns to Samhain. The earth is wilting and cold winds are encroaching. It is time for Mother Earth to rest and restore – to hibernate until Imbolc.

Whilst the land is enveloped by the approach of Winter, and the veil which conceals Summerland thins, Mother Earth sleeps, dreaming of the abundance of Spring when she is reborn from mulch of autumns past.

This is by no means a complete list of deities associated with Samhain but they are certainly the more prominent ones and I urge you to research the more obscure and less known. I adore the energies of Samhain and that is largely because of these divine beings; deities associated with the Underworld, those that correspond to darkness, death and decay; they embody the essence of late autumn. Never shy away from this apparent ending because the beauty it holds is spectacular… our Northern hemisphere is aglow with autumnal splendour as the Gods and Goddesses of our various cultures and pantheons display their colours and wield their powers over the seasons. Rejoice in them, glory in them and don’t forget to jump in the puddles!!!!

Sabbat Discovery – Samhain (Part 3)

Sabbat Discovery - Samhain (Part 1)

Samhain   Yule   Imbolc   Ostara   Beltane   Litha   Lammas   Mabon

Observed: Sunset 31^st October – Sunset 1^st November

The Celtic New Year

This Gaelic festival marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.

Associated with: All Saints' Day; Hallowe'en; All Hallow's Day; Calan Gaeaf; Shadowfest

Samhain is known by most as Hallowe’en, but for Wiccans and other Pagans it is considered a Sabbat to honour the ancestors who came before us. It is an auspicious time to contact the spirit world because the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest during these days of darkening skies and chilling winds…. so cast your circles, light your candles and take full advantage of the cleared mists that so annoyingly separate us from the unseen ones.

In Wicca

Wiccans celebrate a variation of Samhain as one of the yearly Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. It is deemed by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four ‘greater Sabbats’. Samahin is seen by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on from this world and often involves paying respect and homage to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith; the opposite point of the wheel to the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility.

Wiccans believe that at Samhain, the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world.

Traditions

Wearing costumes and masks (or ‘guising’) may have been another way to befuddle, ward off or even represent the  harmful spirits and fairies. Guising or mumming was common at winter festivals in general but was particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural being were said to be amongst us. Before the 20^th century, guising at Samhain was done in parts of Ireland, Mann, the Scottish Highlands and islands, and Wales. In Ireland, costumes were sometimes worn by those who went about before nightfall collecting for a Samhain feast.

Guising and pranks at All Saints isn’t thought to have reached England until the 20^th century, though mumming had been done at other festivals. At the time of mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration, which popularised Halloween in North America, brought with it the strong tradition of guising and pranks from the Celtic lands. Trick-or-treating may have come from the custom of going door-to-door collecting food for Samhain feasts, fuel for Samhain bonfires and/or offerings for the spirits and fairies. Alternatively, it may have come from the English All Saints/All Souls custom of collecting soul-cakes.

Samhain was once and to Pagan paths still is one of the four main festivals of the Gaelic calender; traditionally, a time to take stock of the herds and food supplies; cattle were brought down to the winter pastures. It was also the time to choose which animals would be slaughtered for people to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and will raise livestock because it is when meat will keep since the freeze has come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible.

As with the other three Gaelic seasonal festivals, there is evidence that bonfires were lit on hilltops at Samhain which is one of my favourite places to visit in a Samhain meditation... the chill breeze through my hair at altitude as smoke curls and twists through the air, weaving around and between a coven of witches as they chant and cast into the fire.

Beings and soulds from the Otherworld were said to come into our world at Samhain. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place at the Samhain feast for the souls of the dead and to tell tales of one’s forebears. However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a murdered person could return to wreak revenge.

Another belief of Samhain is that those mischievious fairies would steal humans and so fairy mounds were said to be avoided. People took steps to warn off these harmful spirits and fairies – they would stay near to home or if forced to walk in the darkness, turned their clothing inside out or carried iron or salt to keep the fairies at bay. Offerings of food were left at the door for firies to dissuade the fairies wrath and keep you in their favour during the coming year.

Sabbat Discovery – Samhain (Part 2)

The Celtic Year - Yew

A tree dedicated to the eve of such a magickal and sacred day is imbued with the properties of the emotions it invokes: all the excitement that Christmas Eve would inspire but transformed into something so much greater, so much more natural, rather than the commercial aspects of Yule’s Christian cousin. The Yew is a tree of ending… I like to think of it as the last breath of the dark days of Winter.

Associations

Polarity:        Feminine

Element:        Water & Earth

Sabbat:       Yule; Winter Solstice, Samhain

Deities:         Banbha, Amalthea (mother of Dionysus), Morrighan, The Erinyes, Cailleach Beara, Berchta, Hekate, Persephone, Astarte, Odin, Crone aspect

Symbols:       Sorcery & Magick, Death, Faerie

Planet:         Saturn, Pluto & Jupiter

Animals:        The Bull, Female Goats, Eaglet, Eagle, Hummingbird

Colour:        White & Silver, Black & Dark Green

Gems:          Olivine

Metal:         Lead

Herbal Uses:

CAUTION: THIS IS A VERY POISONUS PLANT AND SHOULD BE USED CAREFULLY.

·        Needles and branch tips of Yew have been used over the years by various traditions to treat lung diseases and bladder problems.

·        More recently Yew has been employed in the development of a new cancer drug – Taxol. It has been derived from the berries and the bark.

Magickal Uses:

·        As the time of the Yew is known as the time of Death, it is advised to not work magick on this day, the day before Yule. However, this can be countered by practicing rituals concerned with reincarnation.

·        In a ritual space, the Yew becomes a focal point as a ‘World Tree/Yggdrasil’; this is because they live for such a great many years that they link into the concept of immortality or the endurance of the earth and of life.

·        Use Yew for funeral wreaths and memorial plantings.

·        Yew can be burned in death-related rituals, such as at Samhain. The spirits of the those departed from this world are said to be held in the smoke until they are released by the practitioner.

·        As the tree which is caught on the cusp of the season of Life and the season of Death, Yew is a beautiful addition to Yule decorations.

·        As a beautifully textured and coloured wood, it is popular for making runes, ogham staves, frames for scrying mirrors and talking boards. Although this is a wonderful wood for tools, it should NEVER be used for goblets or plates – nothing that will be consumed from.

·        Druids would often use Yew for wand making

·        Yew is said to be lucky for those born under the sun sign of Capricorn and a sprig of Yew placed under the pillow ensures you will meet the person of your dreams and they will keep you safe from harm.

Other Information:

·        Latin name: taxus baccata

·        Folk name: English Yew; Tree of Death; Tree of Resurrection; Tree of Eternity; The Forbidden Tree.

·        The name is Yew is a distortion of the Anglo-Saxon word ‘eow’.

·        Evergreen.

·        Made infamous in the works of Shakespeare both in MacBeth and Hamlet.

·        The Yew grows wonderfully well in the shade of other trees and yet very little will grow in the shade of the Yew.

·        The ‘aril’, which is the fleshy part of the berry is a wonderful treat for much birdlife such as the thrush and the waxwing. The swallow the berry whole – including the highly poisonous seed which is passed in tact to fuel germination.

·        This is the tree which is sacred to Hekate and mythology tells that it is rooted in the mouths of the dead to release their souls and is also known to absorb the odour of death itself.

·        A triad of trees are associated with death and funerals; a long with Yew, Black Poplar and also Alder are planted often in and around graveyards.

·        Norse mythology links the Yew with the rune of Eihwaz. If the Yew is to embody the interpretations of this rune, it can be employed for shapeshifting, telepathic links and magicks for adjustment.

·        The history of the Yew being known as the Forbidden tree originates from its ingestion being used to stimulate abortion.

Autumn 2012

Summer colours have gone to bed,

Now deepest orange and russet red.

Richest brown and glistening gold,

The Autumnal glow, we now behold.

Sky grows cloudy, feeling the chill,

The Earth is bending to winters will.

Transitional beauty a joy to behold,

Rain falls slowly, wind grows cold.

Reap the gifts of Mother Earth,

Pumpkins and cider yielding mirth.

Celebrating our Wiccan ways,

Mabon, Samhain and darkening days.

Written 21^st September 2012, at sunrise in Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield.

Scene & State of mind.

There are no words to describe how beautiful it is here at this time of year. I can smell the chill in the air, the truest sign that autumn has arrived. I am completely at peace in this moment; the colours are invigorating and warm; as I invoke them, I feel my base and sacral chakras swell and swirl with energy.

The silence of a natural place at sunrise is always stunning but right now it is overwhelming to the point of ecstasy. All of my senses are heightened and my third eye is tingling with anticipation. I would not trade this feeling for anything in this universe.

Where I am sitting I can see rabbits on a large open area which only a week ago was completely green; it now resembles a forest floor blanketed in the brown, gold and amber of the gently falling leaves of this magnificent season.