Samhain - All Hallows Eve Attunement

Transcription

1 Samhain - All Hallows Eve Attunement Channelling & manual by Jean "Gina" Myrner Attunement Samhain - All Hallows Eve. The last night of October, the last night of the Celtic calendar, a pastoral and agricultural "Fire Festival" or feast, Samhain Sabbot coinciding with All Hallows Eve. "Samhain is symbolized by the bonfire, jack o lantern, and cauldron.

2 It is believed to be a Celtic word which loosely translates to summers end. In the Christian calendar, it is known as All Saints Day or All Hallows Eve. This has been shortened in modern times to Halloween. Also it is sometimes called the Festival of Apples or Feast of the Dead." "Samhain is the one of two times in the year when the veil between this world and the next is at it's thinnest, a powerful time for divination and contacting the spirit realm. Samhain is the only night when it is believed spirits of the departed have the ability to visit relatives and loved ones. A place was set at the table in their honor, and to this day, some Pagans still reserve a place at the feast or a place a plate of food on the doorstep for any passing spirits to enjoy. All spirits must return to their resting place by the first crow of the cockeral." (Excerpt - Pagan Wheel of the Year by Farhad Najafi) All Saints Day (All Hallows - hallow is an archaic English word for 'saint'), November 1st, is a Roman Catholic holiday to honor all saints. The festival begins on All Hallows Eve the last night of October. Although it is a joyous day, it is also the eve of All Souls Day and in Medieval times it became customary on this day to to pray for the dead. During the three days between October 31st, and November 2nd, we see Pagan and Christian religious observations intertwined. Superstition struggles.

3 The Halloween Bonfire History The practice of lighting large fires dates back to roots of Halloween in the festival of Samhain which celebrated summer's end and the beginning of the dark season. Samhain also marked the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. On the eve of Samhain, young people would go from house to house asking for food offerings and kindling for the Samhain fires. The following day, the traditional day of Samhain, November 1st, people would extinguish their hearth fires and gather together to light large fires on sacred hill tops in honor of and to make offerings to the gods. Personal and symbolic items were burned as offerings for relief from sickness or bad fortune. The Celtic peoples who celebrated Samhain believed that the time between the beginning and end of the years was when spirits could travel freely between this world and the spirit world. Some spirits were good and they would help people divine the future. Others were evil spirits and would bring misfortune on whomever they encountered. The sacred fires were believed to have the power to scare away these evil spirits and people stayed close by them often wearing costumes of animal heads and skins as disguises to frighten those spirits and ensure their safety. As the great fire died it was considered good luck to take an ember and carry it home to relight their hearth fire. They often carried these embers home in holders made from turnips or gourds in which they carved faces in the hope that the faces would scare away any evil spirits that may be lurking along their path. Over the years,stories were created to teach the young this practice and provide moral lessons. On the following day, the ashes from these sacred fires would be spread over the fields as protection against spirits who would cause the next season's crops to fail.

4 A Happy Halloween Halloween also spelled Hallowe'en is an annual holiday celebrated October 31st. It is now largely a secular celebration with some religious overtones. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland's Great Famine of the 1840's. The day is often associated with orange and black, and is strongly associated with symbols. Halloween activities include trick or treeting, jack o' lantern carving, dressing in costumes and wearing masks, attending parties, bonfires, and setting up scarry displays/decorations using images of ghosts, goblins, witches, black cats, bats, spiders etc..

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6 In this Halloween greeting card from 1904, divination is depicted: the young woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes to catch a glimpse of the face of her future husband. Irish Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century. Around the world Ireland Halloween is significant cultural event in Ireland where it is widely celebrated. It is known in Irish as Oíche Shamhna (Irish pronunciation: ee-hah how-nah), literally "Samhain Night." In the Irish language, Samhain is the name for the month of November. Pre-Christian Celts had an autumn festival, Samhain (Irish pronunciation:, from the Old

7 Man samain, "End of Summer," a pastoral and agricultural "fire festival" or feast, when the dead revisited the mortal world and large communal bonfires would hence be lit to ward off evil spirits.costumes and masks being worn at Halloween goes back to the Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them. History Pope Gregory IV standardized the date of All Saints' Day, or All Hallows' Day, on November 1 in the name of the entire Western Church in 837. As the Church day began at sunset, the holiday coincided exactly with Samhain. It is claimed that the choice of date was consistent with the common practice of leaving pagan festivals and buildings intact (e.g., the Pantheon) while overlaying a Christian meaning, however no reliable documentation indicates such a motivation in this case. While the Celts might have been content to move All Saints' Day from their own previous date of April 20, the rest of the world celebrating it on May 13, it is speculated without evidence that they were unwilling to give up their preexisting autumn festival of the dead and continued to celebrate Samhain. Traditions On Halloween night, adults and children dress up as creatures from the underworld (e.g., ghosts, ghouls, zombies, witches, and goblins), light bonfires, and enjoy spectacular fireworks displays in particular, the city of Derry is home to the largest organized Halloween celebration on the island, in the form of a street carnival and fireworks display. It is also common for fireworks to be set off for the entire month preceding Halloween as well as a few days after. Halloween was perceived as the night during which the division between the world of the living and the otherworld was blurred so that spirits of the dead and inhabitants from the underworld were able to walk free on the earth. It was believed necessary to dress as a spirit or otherworldly creature when venturing outdoors to blend in, and this is where dressing in such a manner for Halloween comes from. This gradually evolved into trick-or-treating, because children would knock on their neighbours' doors in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival. Salt was once sprinkled in the hair of the children to protect against evil spirits Poland All Saints Day In Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria, Romania. Moldova, Hungary and Catholic parts of Germany, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.

8 All Saints Day in an Oswiecim cemetery, Poland, 1st November Romania Halloween in Romania is celebrated around the myth of "Dracula" on October 31. In Transylvania and especially in the city of Sighisoara, there are many costume parties, for teenagers and adults, that are created from the US model. Also the spirit of Dracula is believed to live there because the town was the site of many witch trials; these are recreated today by actors on the night of Halloween. Sweden In Sweden, All Hallows Eve (All Saint's Night, Alla Helgons Natt) is a Christian, public holiday which always falls on the first Saturday in November. It is about lighting candles at graves and remembering the dead. When the American non-christian Halloween was introduced in Sweden it was celebrated on the same day as All Hallows Eve. This is due to a misunderstanding when the retail business organizations introduced Halloween in the mid-1990s. Many Swedes are unaware that Halloween in English-speaking countries is a non-christian holiday celebrated on October 31. Traditions such as trick-or-treating, masquerades and other typically American Halloween traditions are not very popular, and are especially disliked by older people as the holiday is supposed to be a day of rememembering the dead. The origin of All Saints' Day began somewhere during the fourth century. People would gather to remember all the martyrs who died.

9 "The challenge of sainthood is to go where love takes me." Switzerland In Switzerland, Halloween is seen as being a pagan festival. After first becoming popular in 1999, Halloween is on the wane. People see it as an imported product from the United States, which has not recently enjoyed a good image in the country. Switzerland already has a "festival overload" and even though Swiss people like to dress up for any occasion, they do prefer a traditional element. Ueli Mäder, a professor of sociology at Basel University said that the Swiss adoption of Halloween about ten years ago Swiss shops stocked Halloween costumes and masks for the first time in 1999 came from "a need for rituals". "In a strongly commercialised world a need arises for meaningful experiences. I can imagine that a ritual like Halloween when it is celebrated in a simple genuine way can satisfy that need." But he added: "It also took on an exaggerated or extreme form for a while which probably turned some people off. Perhaps is there is a need to bring Halloween back to a more simple level." Italy In the traditional culture of some regions of Italy, especially in the North of the country - populated by Celts before the arrive of Romans - there were until the last century traditions very similar to Halloween, i.e. beliefs about nocturnal visiting and processions of dead people, preparation of special biscuits and carving Jack-o'-Lanterns. These traditions vanished completely before the feast of Halloween arrived in a new form from America.

10 Denmark In Denmark children go trick-or-treating, even though they already collect candy from neighbors on Fastelavn, the Danish name for the Carnival which occurs before Lent. Central and South America In most parts of Central and South America, kids will pay a visit to their neighbors and yell " Dulce o Truco! (Sweet or Trick!)" in order to get candy and in Brazil kids yell "Doce ou Travessura!". The Spanish name for Halloween is Noche de Brujas and the Portuguese name is Dias das Bruxas Many people believe that during the Day of the Dead, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living. People go to cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the departed, and build private altars, containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Families decorating graves at a cemetery in Mexico Observance in Mexico The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous Olemec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Mexican or Aztec, Maya, P'urhepecha, and Totonac. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors have been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as years. In the pre-hispanic era, it was common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Azetec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the "Lady of the Dead," corresponding to the modern Catrina. In most regions of Mexico, November 1 honors children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as "Día de los Inocentes" (Day of the Innocents) but also as "Día de los Angelitos" (Day of the Little Angels) and November 2 as "Día de los Muertos" or "Día de los Difuntos" (Day of the Dead)..

11 Arab Christians (Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine) Arab Christians in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine celebrate Saint Barbara's Day or Eid il- Burbara on December 4 in a style somewhat reminiscent of Halloween celebrations in other countries. Children wear costumes and go trick-or-treating whilst singing a song. The traditional food for the occasion is Burbara, a bowl of boiled barley, pomegrant seeds, raisins, anise and sugar offered to masquerading children. Lebanese Christians believe that Saint Barbara disguised herself as numerous characters to elude the Romans who were persecuting her. Qarqe'an is a similar holiday celebrated in Kuwait and other Gulf states. The scary theme is not a part of the tradition: children dress in traiditional garb, form groups, carry baskets and sing outside of homes, receiving sweets and nuts for their effort. Japan Halloween has become popular only recently in Japan, mainly in the context of American pop culture. Due to the minority Christian population in Japan, the focus is on the more material aspects of Halloween rather than the spiritual aspects. Western-style Halloween decorations such as jack-o'-lanterns can be seen in many locations, and places such as Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan put on special Halloween events. Thanks to the cosplay tradition in Japan, the idea of dressing up in costumes has caught on with people of all ages. The wearing of costumes is mostly limited to private home parties, day care centers and kindergartens, as well as in larger cities at bars frequented or run by foreigners. On a national scale trick-or-treating is largely unpracticed. Philippines In the Philippines they celebrate Day of the Dead on October 31st., but this day can also be celebrated on November 1st or 2nd.. In the Philipines, this day, called "Undas", "Todos los Santos" (literally "All Saints"), and sometimes "Araw ng mga Namayapa" (approximately "Day of the deceased") is observed as All Saints Day. This day and the one before and one after it is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where prayers and flowers are offered, candles are lit and the graves themselves are cleaned, repaired and repainted. FOODS Pumpkins for sale

12 Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are a common Halloween treat made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts. One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish "báirín breac"), which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany. Other foods associated with the holiday: Apple Cider, Barmbrack (Ireland), Bonfire toffee (Britain), Candy corn, (North America), Caramel corn, Colcannon (Ireland), Pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, roasted pumpkin seeds, sweet corn, Soul cakes, novelty candy shaped as skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc. Pumpkin Nut Bread Pumpkin nut bread makes a wonderful snack, breakfast or dessert. This recipe makes one large loaf or 2 mini loaves for gift giving. The bread also freezes well. Freeze on a plate 6 hours, wrap frozen loaf in heavy duty aluminum foil and return to the freezer for up to six months. 2 cups all-purpose flour or 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon each: salt and nutmeg, 1 cup fresh pumpkin puree or 1 cup solid pack canned pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup skim milk, 2 eggs, slightly beaten, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup each: chopped pecans and black walnuts (may substitute raisins or any combination to equal one cup) Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt and ground nutmeg. In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, milk and eggs. Mix well. Add dry ingredients, oil and nuts mixing until just moistened. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Do not over mix. Spoon batter into well greased (use vegetable oil) 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or two 7-1/2 x 3 3/4 inch loaf pans, may use aluminum pans. Bake (in the middle of the oven) large loaf for 65 minutes or two mini loaves for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Use a knife to go around the edge of the pan to loosen bread from the sides of the pan, invert, cool on a cooling rack or plate. Slice and serve.

13 Religious perspectives In North America, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are quite diverse. In the Anglican church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions of All Saints Day while some other Protestants celebrate the holiday as Reformation Day, a day to remember the Protestant Reformation. Celtic Christians may have Samhain services that focus on the cultural aspects of the holiday, in the belief that many ancient Celtic customs are "incompatible with the new Christian religion. Christianity embraced the Celtic notions of family, community, the bond among all people, and respect for the dead. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry (hodgepodge) of celebrations from October 31 through November 5, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery." Many Christians ascribe no negative significance to Halloween, treating it as a purely secular holiday devoted to celebrating "imaginary spooks" and handing out candy. Halloween celebrations are common among Roman Catholic schools throughout North America and in Ireland. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church sees Halloween as having a Christian connection. Father Gabriele Amorth, a Vatican-appointed exorcist in Rome, has said, "If English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that." Most Christians hold the view that the tradition is far from being "satanic" in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a

14 part of many of their parishioners' heritage. Other Christians feel concerned about Halloween, and reject the holiday because they believe it trivializes (and celebrates) "the occult" and what they perceive as evil. Some consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its origin as a pagan "Festival of the Dead." In more recent years, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organized a "Saint Fest" on the holiday. Many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy. Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate Halloween for they believe anything that originated from a pagan holiday should not be celebrated by true Christians. Samhain Samhain is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four 'greater Sabbats'. It is generally observed on October 31 in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility Judaism Traditional Judaism frowns upon the celebration of Halloween." Arab countries In Arab countries where it is celebrated, devotion is given to St. Barbara. Saint Barbara became the patron saint of artillerymen. She is also traditionally the patron of armourers, military engineers, gunsmiths, miners and anyone else who worked with cannon and explosives. She is invoked against thunder and lightning and all accidents arising from explosions of gunpowder. Qarqe'an Tradition similar to Halloween Qarqe'an (Arabic: قرقیعان ) is an annual tradition practiced in Kuwait and other Gulf states during the holy month of Ramadan (13-15 Ramadan). The tradition has existed for hundreds of years: children knock on the doors of homes in their neighborhood wearing traditional clothes and carrying a basket to receive sweets and nuts. Qare'an is similar to Halloween, which is practiced in some western societies, but it omits قرقعة), (Arabic: the horror theme. As a word, Qarqe'an is derived from the word Qarqa'ah which means click or snick, the sound of iron pots carrying the sweets hitting each other while serving the sweets. Children gather in small choir groups in front of a home and sing. The song is intended to call on Alah to bless the youngest child of the family, to keep him or her healthy that the mother will remain happy. The more they sing, the more nuts and sweets they receive. The Qarqe'an tradition is intended to spread love, happiness and affection among adults and children.

15 Receiving the attunement do any preparations you wish. When relaxed and ready silently or out loud say: "I now accept attunement to Samhain - All Hallows Eve from name of sender. Express thanks! Passing the attunement to others: Send/ pass the attunement by using any method of your choice with clear intent. (Excerpts from Wikipedia)

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