Although I enjoy the holidays, Samhain or Halloween has always been one of my favorite.  As a child I loved the costumes – the night was full of magic.  You could become anyone or anything…limited only by your imagination and the ability to render it in cloth, paint and wire….to dress as what we were or what we wanted to be.

For me it felt like I could be what I truly was…and no one seemed to notice that I was different.  The connection to the unseen is more acceptable at that time – and even those individuals the most out of touch, seem at this time to be more in tune with the essential sides of their own natures.  Truly the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is the thinnest on that night – it is easier to sense the unseen around us thru our heightened senses.  The summer is sliding rapidly into autumn – the time of family, hearth, home marked by the turning of the leaves on the maples, sycamores and birches – red, oranges and golds - and punctuated by the smells of apples, spices, soups and stews, baking bread –the last of the peppers pickled, the last of the tomatoes and basil canned and dried for sauces later.

Bundles of herbs dry in my kitchen and in the shed – lavender, scented geraniums in nutmeg, orange, rose, lemon, peppermint, joint the others – oregano, French tarragon, white sage, purple and gold sage, lemon and silver thyme, rosemary.  In the shed every available spot is full of little bowls that hold seeds and identifying markers for next year’s garden – both vegetables and flowers – waiting to be sealed into envelopes with my notes for planting.   I’ve put extra blankets on the bed – evenings are colder now and even the cats want to sleep close for warmth.  Sweaters come out of storage and the shorts and summer outfits take their place. 

I included a little bit of history of the holiday from the Celtic perspective (which in many ways is very similar from what I can read) to your own traditions. 

Samhain (pronounced "sow-ain" (also known as Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas (Celtic/Scottish) and popularly known as Halloween, is considered by many Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches (especially those of Celtic heritage) to be the date of the Witches' New Year, representing one full turn of the Wheel of the Year and is considered by some to be the most important Sabbat. It represents the experience of the craft: traveling between worlds, experiencing life and rebirth, and ultimately transcending both in the process: of not being afraid to face the darkness, or to think about that which we have lost; of not being afraid to face the changes in our lives; of turning negative experiences into opportunities for learning.  We say farewell to the God even though he's to be reborn again at Yule.

This is also a time of reflection and coming to terms with one thing we can never control - death. It is a somber holiday. We wear dark clothes and harbor thoughts for those who have lived and died before us.  This is also a time of ending relationships and it's possible for one to see a glimmer of hope for the future.

Darkness increases and the Goddess reigns as the Crone, part of the three-in-one that also includes the Maiden and Mother.  The God, the Dark Lord, passes into the underworld to become the seed of his own rebirth (which will occur again at Yule). Divination is heightened this night. 

Because of the significance of "life and death" sexual power is very important on this Sabbat as well. To make love is traditional on Beltane, buy it is even more important on Samhain. What better way could there be to honor life at a time of death? There is much feasting as well we do this do demonstrate our trust that there will be enough bounty to see us through the coming winter.

It is a time when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Deceased ancestors and other friendly spirits are invited to join in Sabbat festivities and be reunited with loved ones.  Many Pagans prepare a Feast for the Dead on Samhain night, where they leave offerings of food and drink for the spirits and keep a fire lit or a candle burning all night to honor and welcome the dead. This is also a true time for remembrance for those who have already passed to the Summerland. Often the reading of their names forms a part of the ritual. 

Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today, as Halloween.

Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer's end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven.

Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.

In the country year, Samhain marked the first day of winter, when the herders led the cattle and sheep down from their summer hillside pastures to the shelter of stable and byre. The hay that would feed them during the winter must be stored in sturdy thatched ricks, tied down securely against storms. Those destined for the table were slaughtered, after being ritually devoted to the gods in pagan times. Celtic custom decreed that all crops must be gathered by sundown -- barley, oats, wheat, turnips, and apples -- for come November, the faeries would blast every growing plant with their breath, blighting any nuts and berries remaining on the hedgerows. Peat and wood for winter fires were stacked high by the hearth. It was a joyous time of family reunion, when all members of the household worked together baking, salting meat, and making preserves for the winter feasts to come. The endless horizons of summer gave way to a warm, dim and often smoky room; the symphony of summer sounds was replaced by a counterpoint of voices, young and old, human and animal.