The History of Samhain

The History of Samhain
By Jeanette Cooper


Druids would not know this night
And Witches would in wonder gaze
To see the festive costumed souls
That dash about the night in play
Where ancient magick ruled the land
Children’s laughter fills the soul
Yet in this way the night is honored
Much like the ancients long ago.
*1999 David O. Norris

Samhain comes from two Gaelic words. “Samh” which means summer and “Fuin” which means end. Today the month’s of May and November are in Irish Gaelic called Beltaine and Samhain respectively. It is believed that the Christianization of Ireland and their celebration of All Saints Day are the reason why Samhain is November instead of October.

Through this workshop we will delve into the history of this sacred day. We will journey through time to see how Samhain evolved into the holiday we commonly know as Halloween. What were the original intentions of this celebration? How long have people celebrated Samhain? When did it change from a harvest festival to a festival honoring the dead? When did Samhain/Halloween become synonymous with Witches? Ghosts? Black Cats?

As we travel upon our journey into the history of this sacred day, it is my hope that many of these questions will be answered.

Follow me as we begin our journey into our distant past................

The time is 4000 BCE. The tribal people of this era split their year in a way that they could understand. These were the warm or light half of the year and the cold or dark half of the year. The light half began in the spring and the dark half in the fall. In the spring they celebrated the return of life to their crops, the birth of animals that would sustain them, and the warmth of the sun.
At this time their celebrations had no name, that would come later.

Now, we journey forward to yet another ancient time, 2300 BCE. The Celts are migrating to Europe in waves, conquering the native people as they advance through Europe. This migration took several centuries and the loss of life to the native people was extremely high. The Celts though carried with them their own customs and weaved them with the tribal people of Europe.

Lets move forward a bit and take a look at how the Celts merged their culture with that of those they conquered. 350 BCE, The Celtic people have now settled Europe and combined not only their customs and culture but their blood as well. Here is where we trace the four great fire festivals: Imbolg, Beltaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. At this time Samhain is a festival of the last harvest. A time to celebrate the bounty of the crops and to prepare for the long, cold winter ahead. This festival typically lasted 3-5 days. There was feasting, music, and community. A time to suspend worries of the long, cold days and nights ahead. Either you had enough to see you through or you didn’t but whatever your situation it was still a time to let go of your worries and feast with family and friends.
Our journey now takes us to 41 CE. The Romans are conquering Britain and bring with them new customs, culture, and blood.

It is at this
Time that the Roman harvest festival of Pomona is merged with the Celtic
Celebration of Samhain. The Romans honor their goddess and seek blessings for a good harvest the following year.

314 CE. This is the time of Constantine, who declares the now established Roman Empire, a Christian one. This was essentially the time when the door began to close on the ancient Celtic religion. The last of the Celtic lands to fall to Christianity was Ireland, and by the 4th-5th century CE, what was now known as Celtic Christianity began to filter slowly into Ireland by way of St. Patrick.

Our journey from here takes us through the trials and tribulations of the Celtic people as they attempt to preserve their culture and their religion against the more powerful and dangerous foe of Christianity.
The Pagan people at first, openly welcomed Christianity as they had always welcomed the beliefs of other people. They did not believe however, that they needed to give up their beliefs to accommodate others. It was at this point that the Christian church realized that there might be a problem convincing the Celts to convert to Christianity, as they seemed quite content with what they had.
The Church’s answer to this was simple: bribe them. They did this by absorbing the Celtic customs and traditions into the Christian church. The Church took the Celtic festivals of Yule, Imbolg, and Samhain and turned them into Christmas, Easter, and All Hallows. This however, was not enough, as the Celtic people were tenacious about holding onto their gods and their traditions.
Now the Church begins to attack the heart of the Celtic religion and culture.
They turn the faeries into angels and demons, their gods into the epitome of evil, and introduce the concept of Heaven and Hell. This was all done to instill fear and copulation into the hearts of the Pagan people. When even this showed no sign of compliance by the Celtic people, the early Christian church incorporated a myth created by Zoroaster. This myth involved turning the main Celtic Deity into Satan (The Christian God’s mortal enemy).
Also at this same time, the Christian church began to hunt down and murder the priesthood of the Celts, the Druids.

By the 7th century CE, the Church had come to the conclusion that the Pagan people were simply not going to forfeit their sacred day of Samhain.
It was known by the Church that the Celtic people set aside certain days to honor their dead, so what began was a move to incorporate all of the Celtic tradition into one holiday acceptable to the Church. They started by moving the Christian celebration of All Saints Day from its original date in May to November 1st. From there they went to Hallowmas, which was the Christian celebration of honoring ancestors. This then merged into All Hallows and October 31st being All Hallows Eve, which then evolved into All Hallows Even and would eventually become what is known today as Halloween.

Today as Pagans, we recreate the ancient festival of the Celts, known as Samhain. We combine the culture of the ancient Celtic people with our own culture and traditions, yet maintaining the spirit of the original celebration, by honoring our dead, feasting, dancing, and sharing with Deity.

The History of Samhain
Part 2
The Various Customs and Symbols

By now you are probably wondering how a simple festival celebrating the last harvest and honoring the dead became a holiday associated with Witches, Ghosts, and Black Cats as well as being synonymous with evil and magick?

Lets explore how these concepts were slowly, over the centuries, incorporated into the Celtic festival of Samhain, which eventually evolved into what is known today as Halloween.

We will begin our journey with the introduction of Witches. How did Witches become associated with Samhain/Halloween? When in history did this occur? Who were the men and women everyone called Witches?
Men and Women of magick, healing, and prophecy have been present in every culture and social structure throughout the world. Prior to the 20th century, Witchcraft, in itself was not a religion. Witchcraft was a system of magick inherent in the Pagan religious structure. It is believed that this evolved out of the decimation of the Druid caste, therefore putting the practice into the hands of the community itself. The meaning of the word Witch is still, to this day, hotly debated. It is generally thought that the root word “Wicce” is an old Anglo-Saxon word, meaning, “ Wise One”. Pagan was a word that comes from the Latin word “Paganus” which simply meant “Country Dweller”. Whatever the root of the word, it came to refer to anyone whose beliefs were different from Christianity’s, no matter what or whom might fall under that heading at any given time in history. Therefore, in the simplest of terms, Witch simply means Witch.

So, How did Witches become the epitome of evil and darkness that is now associated with Samhain/Halloween?

Let’s go back to Celtic Europe around 350 BCE. The Celts were a very freethinking people and their women were the strongholds of family and community. Celtic women were allowed to own their own property, fight along side their men, and generally think for themselves.
Now by the 4th century, Christianity began to rise to prominence, with their patriarchal religion and society. This new religion was not into freethinking or women having such a prominent role in society. Those who refused to convert, women who owned property, and the infirm were branded as Witches. This was not even really about religion, but about the hunger for power, land, and money. It has never really been about religion and even now is not about religion but about control. Today, the central theme of Christianity is still about power, land, and money. Since the Church had already begun associating Satan/Devil with the Celtic Samhain, and Witches were known to be consorts of his, it was only a small step to tie them all together. Those who suffered the torture of being accused Witches were likely to have born a marked resemblance to the image of what we currently know as the Halloween Witch. Disfigured and bruised, barely clinging to life, this is the image of the Witch that is so much a part of the modern Halloween tradition.

What are Ghosts? How and When did this concept merge into the Samhain/Halloween traditions?

Every culture, be it 2000 years ago or yesterday, contains it’s share of ghost stories. Now the word Ghost comes from the Germanic word “geist” which
originally meant a “ spirit of a dead ancestor”, which was invited to tribal celebrations. Technically, a ghost represents a human or animal that has passed from the earth plane into the Other World and are able to communicate in some way with the living.

We know that Samhain was associated with the honoring of the dead, in a time and place where the dead are unchanging from their earthly existence. It is natural for our American Halloween and modern Samhain celebrations to carry with it an association with ghosts, ancestors, and spirits.

We come now, to our feline companions. Their history is far reaching and tied inexplicably to ancient Goddess worship.

We find cat mythology in association with the Teutonic Freya, who rode in a chariot drawn by cats. Artemis/Diana, who often appeared in cat form. Let us, also, not forget the Egyptian Bast.

The domestic cats we have today weren’t introduced into Northern Europe until 1050 CE. As we dig deeply into history, we find that there is only one fully developed religion that honored cats. The Egyptians, whose history of honoring our feline friends extend back 2000 years and is still in existence today. The Egyptian religion believed the cat to symbolize the goddess energy of their religion.

The negative association with our cat friends may have begun with the rise of the Roman Empire, when a foolish Roman soldier killed a cat and then a mob broke into his home and removed him from this earthly plane.

Several centuries later, the Inquisition surfaced with the belief that cats were demons in discquise and associated with Witches. In 1387, Lombard Witches were said to have worshipped the devil in cat form. At certain festivals such as Midsummer and Easter, cats were burned in wicker cages in accordance with Church teachings and beliefs.

As cats became scarce in Europe, the rat population thrived, bringing on the worst plague in history; the Black Death. This killed over 27 million people during the Middle Ages. Revenge of the cats, perhaps? Or at the very least, bad karma. The cat with it’s association with goddess worship and therefore women, whom the Church had already decided were the epitome of sin and evil, and were by this time being persecuted as Witches, was also persecuted.

This perception of cats, being evil and demonic, finally began to abate around 1930, in America. However their association with Witches and the day that celebrates their history never has.

We come now to the practice of Trick or Treat. How did this modern practice evolve out of ancient traditions?

Wearing masks and costumes has traveled from Celtic mythos into present-day Halloween practices in America. The masks associated with the Celtic mythos were believed to be representative of Deity and Nature, the main driving forces of the Celtic peoples. The practice of wearing masks and unusual dress reflects the socialization of any era. Lacking hard evidence, we have mountains of supposition from both the religious and scientific worlds covering the past 2000 years. Were masks created by Paleopagans and the early Celts? No one really knows for sure.
The practice of Trick or Treating itself, can be found in the Celtic practice of leaving special food for the dead. Going from house to house is not a new practice at all; this was the rule of both Pagan and early Christian holiday revelry. House-begging was the norm throughout the original Celtic territories. It is this custom that is at the root of our modern Trick or Treat practice. The earlier practices involved not only children but adults as well. While general practice did exist, the customs and traditions were highly localized. Usually the house to house involved giving a performance of some kind. In Ireland, the payment for such performances was money in some form. In Britain and Germany, the payment was usually in the form of food.

As we come to the end of our journey, we find that Samhain and in turn, Halloween has a very ancient and somewhat complicated history. From the early Celts through the Roman Empire, From the rise of Christianity to the return of the Old Religion, we find that beyond the various superstitions handed down from all the different cultures that touched it, the spirit and meaning of this day has changed little. We still honor our dead, feast, dance and laugh. Our children still honor the day by wearing their costumes and going house to house to gain treats. Samhain, whose celebration is ever-changing, according to the cultures and people who touch it, whose meaning remains clear, is a gift of sight into our distant past from the ancestors we now come together to honor.

Death and Dying



Death and Dying
By Darla Kaye Wynne

Death and dying has been a mystery through out the ages for all the cultures around the world. As humans we have a need to understand all aspects of our life, including the dying stage and what happens once we die.

What happens when we die? How do you know when you are going to die? Is there any heaven and hell and if so, how do I know where I am going? What if my religion is the wrong religion to get me to the next stage of the dying process? What becomes of me once I am dead? If I do reincarnate, what will I become? Do I have a choice on what gender I come back as? What if I don�t want to reincarnate? How does karma affect me? How do I know what lessons I have learned and what ones I need to work on? Will I become a ghost?

These are just some of the questions that many people may have today and face at the time they are passing into the Other World. Since Samhain is the time of the Celtic New Year and the day the Celtic people honored their dead; this is an appropriate workshop to conduct at this time of year. Today we will not go into the history of Samhain during this workshop because that is a workshop in itself. Since this is a Celtic holiday, this workshop will reflect the Celtic view and that of the Tradition of the Sidhe.

There are many aspects of death and dying that one must reflect upon to come up with any of the answers to the death and dying process in both this world and the Other World. There are no clear-cut answers that any one can give you, but the only answers you may receive are ones that you accept as fact for yourself. The concept of death and dying has never been an easy aspect of our life cycle to accept. Many people fear the unknown.

In all of the Celtic lore there are reflections of Gods and Goddesses going to and from the Other World for mythological and battle purposes. There have been recorded myths that reflect mortals venturing into the Other World to discover secrets that only can be found within this realm on a shamanic level.

Death is the beginning process of change. Death is not always a word meaning leaving this realm, the physical aspect of our world. Death can be a process of the �old� you, changing into a better person by changing the habits that you seen as negative aspects within your life.

Symbolic Death

Death can be achieved through an initiation process. Initiation is a process meant to create change that comes from visions of the Other World in a higher state. It is a journey into the subconscious, a higher state of being, a shamanic trance, or euphoric state of being. The initiation process is meant to bring about an inner and outer change on an individual�s state of being in both this world and the Other World. Initiation can come in the form of joining a group and learning of the spiritual path and achieving the right to enter through the guidance of the group into the Other Worldly realm or one can perform a self initiation to willingly go beyond this realm on their own accord.
Symbolic Death is the process of creating change by allowing the �old you� to be left behind so that a new, open, spiritual, enlightened individual may take the physical presence of your physical vessel. the� body.� Change and the willingness to create and experience change is a must for any form of spiritual journey.

Physical Death

Death in the physical sense can be a long drawn out process brought about by a serious illness and this is usually a time when most people begin to confront the issues of what happens next and the fear may set in of the unknown. Death can come in the form of a quick accident, a violent crime, or an act of Nature. There are consequences to all aspects of these forms of death.

Death through illness is a reflection of the individual�s life. This reflection is of a person�s happiness, sadness, moral and ethical lifestyle; a reflection of how one has lived their life and sometimes even a lesson to be learned . This is no way meant to say that one who suffers is suffering for their wrong doings in this life because only that person who is experiencing the suffering can state why they feel they are suffering and be correct about it.

Long illnesses gives us the time to reflect upon our lives and prepare for the next life. We have the ability to put our affairs in order and this is not meant just by the material world, but also our connection with our friends, family and loved ones in this life and past lives. Reflecting and correcting our daily life allows us to release the baggage of this realm in good conscious.

Death through accidents are quick, unexpected and often painful for not only the individual that experiences the death. Depending on the kind of accident can reflect a past life confrontation that has come to pass in this life. If death is by a means of transportation it could possibly reflect that the same accident occurred in a past life and a lesson was needed to be learned and you had to experience it again so that you could learn what was necessary. This concept can be reflected on all accidents.

Death through acts of nature are a reflection of your relationship with nature. Nature is wrathful, quick and unforgiving. This can be seen as a lesson needed to be learn in this life, that will be useful in your journey into the Other World. This lesson will be one that shows your respect for and of nature, skills and knowledge of the natural forces within nature or one of simply; humility or to humble one�s self within their own reflection. As humans we often become over confident in ourselves and believe that we have harnessed �all� the powers of knowledge and we must understand that knowledge never is completely harnessed within this realm.

Death by murder is a lesson for the guilty. The individual murdered must remain in some form within this realm until the guilty party is found, punished and experienced remorse. The individual murdered is a teacher of gentleness, humility, unconditional love, conscious, accepting responsibility for one�s actions, and karma.

Premonitions of Death

A premonition of death does not always mean that there will be a death in this realm. It can be of the symbolic death or of the actual physical death. A premonition comes in the form of a vision while awake or in a shamanic trance telling the individual that the person wants them to know and become prepared for the experience. This action usually happens within a week or so, but always within a year.

Dreams of Death

Dreams of death of come in symbolic form or the actual viewing of the event in a manner that the individual can understand. This can be done due to the emotional attachment to the individual; the love or bond that one has to the individual. This is also to make the individual aware of the action that is pending, so that they may prepare for the passing.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is what most Witches believe occurs after death. It is believed that after death we go to the Other World. While within this realm we are no longer in the physical body, but as a state of essence or spirit form.

While in this form, we as a collective and living conscious have the ability to decide whether we want to come back to this realm, move on to another realm, or to not be reborn.

Why would one decide to come back to this realm? One may decide to come back to this realm to finish some lesson or karmic aspect or task that needs to be experienced. Many believe that we chose to come back to this realm because it is fun and due to our emotional attachments that we refuse or are not ready to release. If we chose to come back to this realm, we also have the ability to decide what lessons we are ready to experience, what debts we want to pay, what gender we want to be, what environment we desire and so on. We as individuals are in control of our ultimate destiny and have a choice in all that we experience, even in death.

Choosing to not be reborn does not mean that you have achieved the ultimate enlightenment, but that one needs time to make the correct decision for our next journey. To possibly re-evaluate ones choices, patterns, lessons, skills and so on. There can be many reasons why one may decide to not be reborn at that time or maybe not ever. To decide to not be reborn ever, is to remain in one constant state of being or consciousness that one prefers.
What is the right religion and how do we know who is right?

This is probably one of the oldest questions in the world! The concept and desire to be right is just human nature and we can not or rather will change this desire with in ourselves, no matter how we try on this realm.

There is no right or wrong within faith and spirituality. This is an individual and personal choice that only the person can make for them self. Religion is much like an adult parent for us. We need something good to believe in, to aide us on our journey; an ethical and moral guideline.

No matter what religion one is practicing, when it teaches a positive aspect of living one�s life, it is the correct religion for that person. We have many names for the divine, but there isn�t but one collective conscious that we all are a part of and that creates the concept of deity.
Is there a heaven or a hell?

This is a question that only the individual can answer because it is a personal perception of an individual�s reality. If a person truly believes in either of these concepts, then it will exist for that individual. Witches do not believe in this concept because of the concept of hell being related to the living quarters of the deity of Satan, which is not within a Witches deity structure.
The Celtic View of Death

The Celtic people viewed death as a great reward, honor and symbol of courage. So much so , that the most significant holiday of the Celtic people is about death and honoring the ancestors.

Death was a reward because it showed self-sacrifice and the readiness to move into the Other World. To die in battle was the greatest reward a Celtic warrior could have because he went with honor and pride. Courage was a symbol of death because one confronted the unknown and died in their chosen method.

The Celtic people built notches that held the heads of their enemies or individuals that were family or known for their wisdom within their homes. These notches had dualistic meanings; for the enemy it was meant as a warning and to absorb their enemy�s strength, and the ancestor or friend gave the individual their gifts they possessed within this realm

This body was only a vessel to travel within this realm and could be replaced when needed. When death was knocking at the door, it was greeted willingly, and acceptingly.

This workshop may not have answered all of your questions regarding this subject, but hopefully it has given you something to think about and hopefully explore on your own.

We as responsible humans need to learn to live our lives with the idea that this could be the last moment within this realm. Let our actions reflect our spiritual being. When we do make mistakes, take the time to correct them to the best of our ability. Always tell the individual you love, how you feel that day. Never go to bed angry with a friend or a loved one. Nothing is more important than resolving issues and living life to the fullest and happiest that one can. Think about what you want to happen during your dying or death process in this realm and make arrangements for your wishes and desires to be carried out during both processes.

For More Workshops Email Me
Darla Kaye Wynne

Need Information ASAP?
Jeanette Cooper, Assistant Prison Minsitry Program Director