Samhain - The Festival of the Dead

Halloween - a time to honour the past and connect with a sense of who you are & where you come from. In days of old, death and the dead were constantly present and as such, treated with less fear. Use this time to honour and pay respect to ancestors, friends and all those who are no longer with us. It is said that the veil between worlds is thin at this time, and food was often left out to nourish the souls of the departed, whilst pumpkins carved with ghoulish faces were intended to scare away any dark and sinister spectres who might otherwise be tempted to wander your way. This time marks the last harvest, the winter slaughter, the death of the crops and the rest cycle of the land. Death and decay in the natural world, reminds us of our own mortality...

We spent this Samhain (pronounced sow-in) with a couple of friends at a spectacular bonfire/firework display in Sidbury, I think they usually hold it on the 5th November, but with Halloween falling on a Saturday this year I guess they decided to combine the two. There was a really good atmosphere, with fire jugglers and drumming and dancing, one of my friends commented that it really did feel as though we were 'summoning the dead'! There were great beams of light being cast into the sky that seemed to stretch for miles, and as the ash from the bonfire floated into the shafts of light we reflected how it looked as though they could be the souls of the dead passing from one world to the next, it was a really good way to get into the swing of the festival. One day I would love to go the vivid and colourful Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, I think that death really is treated with far too much fear, darkness and awkwardness...I don't deny that mourning and tears have their place, and I know that my heart will break whenever I lose someone close to me, but there is no reason why death cannot be a celebration: A celebration of the life that was, a celebration of moving onto a better place, whether you believe in Heaven, or reincarnation, or of blending once more into the cosmos and becoming one with everything...In the worst case, all that will happen is nothing (and I personally don't believe that, but...) , that's really nothing to fear, as you won't be aware of it will you??! A celebration of change: without change, life stagnates. A celebration of the unknown...Death should be revered and respected as the last great adventure you will ever take, it should be celebrated in full technicolour! But enough, I digress....



After a fabulously noisy and colourful firework display, our celebrations concluded at home, with spicy pumpkin soup, fondue (just 'cause my fondue pot reminds me of a cauldron really!), sweet pumpkin pie, toffee apples, hot mulled cider and oodles of sweets (no trick or treaters ever call here, we're down something of a narrow, spooky country lane, which unsurpisingly, children don't seem to want to navigate in the dark on this particular night! Nevertheless, I always buy sweets just in case...!), the table set with one extra place for any wandering and hungry souls. It was a fun and light-hearted festival this year, usually we would spend a portion of the evening being a little more reflective and talking of relatives who have passed away, but somehow this year it didn't seem called for. We honoured those who walked before us, happy in the knowledge that we are connected to them, as future generations shall be connected to us, part of one great family tree, from the oldest root to the newest bud.


Traditional symbols and associated bits and bobs...
Colours: black
Flowers/fruits: pomegranates, apples
Gods/Goddess: Persephone-queen of the underworld
Symbols: jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, cauldrons
Foods: pumpkins, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), sweet things, spiced cider