Today is Halloween. Blessed Samhain
Above: me by a megalithic dolmen last weekend celebrating an early Halloween. In some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain
Some days ago I shared my new Halloween musical special "The Lingering Light".
Check it on my previous post here
@yidneth/the-lingering-light-a-samhain-halloween-music-video-and-special-history-of-guendulain-abandoned-village-navarre-spain
Blessed Samhain
Today is Celtic New Year in Pagan (and Neopagan) Calendar. An Ancient celebration that is mostly known today as "Halloween"
Above: A doorway opens for the Spirits on Samhain
According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Bealtaine) allowing both supernatural or departed souls of the dead to come into our world. As Beltaine is a celebration of the living, Samhain (mostly known as All Hallow's Eve or Halloween) is a Feast for the Departed that marks the end of the harvest season as we delve into the dark half of the year. In the northern hemisphere it is held on 1 November but with its celebration on the Eve, 31st of October.
Today is a day to honour our ancestors, and pay tribute to those who have crossed to the other side, those we loved, those we miss. The brilliant autumn colours are fading and leaves falling on the ground leaving the branches bare, but those leaves decaying on the floor will become part of earth in its endless life and decay circle. The air gets colder, the nights darker and longer. Autumn shifts into winter as we learn to let go.
In the 9th century the Church moved the date to "All Saints' Day" to 1 November
Choose your Halloween vibe
Would you like to be the witch in the woods, walk in the misty forest foraging chestnuts and mushrooms? You breath in the smell of the damp forest and feel raindrops falling gently on your face while mist cloaks everything in the distance.
Would you prefer to step into a haunted manor, and cross the fence into the withered garden?
*Shelter of the nameless gods and ghostly shades
the wild moan of wind warns I shall not be dwelt in"
Today they're rising....
Maybe you could join other fellow ghosts and scare away some unwelcome tenants
Of if you're a loner Perhaps you prefer to walk in solitude among ruins now engulfed by Nature
Or become a "familiar" a spirit animal, take flight as a raven, run wild as wolf
But once a year when lights are dim
and candles light sinister grins
the veil is thin
the veil is torn
These are words of my halloween song "Life and Decay"
We step into the dark time of the year, but light never truely extinguishes... ever
How do you celebrate Halloween?
So what have you done for Halloween? Did you celebrate it?
Are there any special customs in your country?
We do not Trick or Treat. In Spain "All Saints Day" is a day to honour the departed.
For me it's been a quiet day, roasting chestnuts on a fire, reading some spooky ghost tales and before I go to bed I will light a candle, and will utter the name of those who I have loved and have travelled beyond, but just as an act of remembrance. I always say aloud the name of all my pets too and for me it's an act of caring, as they come to my heart and mind and I grieve them once more, then to let them go again and get cozy in the warmth of my fond memories.
Because I loved you, love you and will always love you...
Forever
If you're in the mood of some Halloween Music remember I have a special playlist here. It includes originals, covers and all the dark music specials done so far.
I also played the harp a little one of the symbols associated with Samhain the harp is considered one of the essential symbols of the journey from the world of the living to the world of the dead.