Samhain

Samhain (means end of summer) or Halloween (as it's better known), celebrated on October 31st, is the death festival marking the descent into winter. It is the end of one cycle and the beginning of another. The leaves are falling from the trees in drifts, and life is drawn away from the surface of the earth, and descends deep into the earth. Life is now in the roots and bulbs of plants which rest over the Winter. The Horned God who was Lord of Life and the Wild Greenwood has now truly taken His throne as Lord of the Underworld, the dread Lord of Shadows, the comforter of souls. The earth prepares for sleep and draws energy inwards.

It is a time of endings, but also a time of beginnings, as Samhain is a Celtic New Year's Eve festival.

Samhain was a time when the veil between the world of the Sidhe-the Fairy folk-and humankind grew thin, and so grew up traditions of casting fortunes on this night, hoping for a clear view into the Future. The assemblies of the five Irish provinces at Tara Hill, the seat of the Irish king, took place at Samhain, marked by horse races, fairs & markets, political discussions and ritual mourning for the passage of Summer. It is an Irish-Wiccan (or Wittan) custom to place black candles in the windows for protection against evil spirits and to leave plates of food out for the spirits who will come and visit you on this night.

This is a time for introspection, a time of transformation and inner work, a good time for banishings, and for sorting out unfinished business, as we too draw our energy within and prepare for the Winter. The Earth is becoming cold, and barren, and we see Her as the Cailleach, the Crone, the Wise One. She is the Dark Mother who devours the God that She may give birth to Him again. Her womb is also the tomb, and the Underworld, and the Horned God thus resides within Her womb over the Winter months. It is also a sombre time of remembrance, when we remember and honour those who have died. The veil is thinnest between the worlds and we call on the spirits of the dead and invite them to feast with us on this, the feast of death. We call upon our ancestors and contact the ancient wisdom. Thus we give up the past and look to the future, it is a good time for scrying, a time to face our shadows and the darker sides of ourselves.

Decoration: pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, nuts, gourds, apples, candles and marigolds.

Other things to try: Carve and empower a pumpkin to repel negativity. Erect a shrine to your ancestors. Fill a plastic pumpkin with gold wrapped candy and empower it for prosperity. Place a jack-o-lantern or crossed brooms at each of the 4 quarters. Build your altar out of hay bales.

Appropriate Samhain Goddesses are all Crone Goddesses, Underworld Goddesses.
Some Samhain Goddesses are: Hecate (Greek), Carlin (Scottish), Edda (Norse), Pamona (Roman), Crobh Dearg (Irish), Lilith (Hebrew), Psyche (Greek), the Morrigu/Morrigan (Celtic).

Appropriate Samhain Gods are all Death Gods, Aged Gods, Underworld Gods.
Some Samhain Gods are: Arawn (Welsh), Dis (Roman), Kronos/Cronus
(Greco-Phoenician), Xocatl (Aztec), Woden (Teutonic), Pluto (Greco-Roman),
Hades (Greek), Nefertum (Egyptian).

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside. Cream together shortening and sugar in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, using electric mixer at medium speed. Beat in egg. Combine pumpkin and milk in small bowl. Add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin mixture to creamed mixture, stirring well after each addition. Spoon batter into paper-lined 2 1/2-inch muffin-pan cups, filling 2/3rds full.

Combine crumbs, pecans and margarine; press onto bottom and 1 1/2-inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F., 10 minutes. Combine cream cheese, 1/2 c sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reserve 1 c batter, chill. Add remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices to remaining batter; mix well. Alternately layer pumpkin and cream cheese batters over crust. Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect. Bake at 350 degrees F., 55 minutes. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill.

These cookies can be made on Hallow's Eve. They can be shaped like people and the herb rosemary is added to the dough as a symbol of remembrance. Some of the cookies are eaten while telling stories or attributes of special ancestors, reminding us that we still have access to their strengths--or perhaps a predisposition to their weaknesses. The rest of the cookies are left outside by a bonfire as an offering. This can be a solemn ritul, but it need not be.

Heat oven 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, almond extract, and rosemary until creamy. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture. Beat until dough forms and refrigerate for three hours. Divide dough into halves. Roll out one portion to 3/16 of an inch on a floured surface. Cut out with gingerbread women or men cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat rolling and cutting with second portion. Bake for 5-7 minutes.

Dip the apples into the chocolate and shake off excess. Then dip the apples into the nuts to coat the bottom. Set them 3 inches apart on a lightly buttered tray and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

In a small pot, stir together the sugar, cream, corn syrup, butter, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until the mixture reaches 240, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat and add vanilla. Pour the hot caramel over the apples, a little at a time, letting it drip down the sides. Cool the apples but don't refrigerate them.

Witches' Brew

4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups apple juice
1 cup chopped candied ginger
3 oranges, 2 large bottles ginger ale
2 cups grapes
In your "cauldron," bring one cup of cranberry juice and candied ginger to the boil over a high heat. Boil, uncovered, for about two minutes and set aside. With a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the oranges and cut the peel into thin 2-inch-long worms. Add the peel to the cranberry mixture. Cover and chill for at least four hours or overnight. Juice the oranges and put juice into a large pan or heavy bowl. Sir in the cranberry-ginger mix, the remaining 3 cups of cranberry juice, apple juice and grapes. Cover and chill for up to two hours.

Witches' Fingers

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 4
Boneless chicken breasts
1 cup flour, 1 egg, beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs
Pitted black olives, halved lengthwise
Shredded lettuce.
Grease a baking sheet with the oil and set aside. Cut the chicken breasts part way to create five fingers (the uncut part being the palm of the hand). Dust the chicken in flour, dip in the egg and coat in the breadcrumbs. Grill for five minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. Trim the "fingertips" with the olive "fingernails" and serve on lettuce.

Halloween Worms

For worms:
6-7 ozs egg noodles,
cooked with 8oz spaghetti, broken into short pieces.

Toss with: plenty of butter or margarine,
1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese.

Place in a greased casserole dish

For "dirt":
2 slices wholemeal bread, toasted and crumbled Melted butter or margarine 1/4 tsp salt
Mix the dirt ingredients together and sprinkle over worms. Place under a hot grill for five minutes

Eyeballs

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 lb icing sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
12 ozs white chocolate
Cream the butter and peanut butter together. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and blend thoroughly. Shape into small 1-inch balls and refrigerate on waxed paper for half an hour. Melt the white chocolate (you can use a microwave for this). With a toothpick, dip the "eyeballs" into the chocolate, covering all but a small circle on the top. Let cool on waxed paper. Makes around 40 eyeballs.

Skeleton Bone Biscuits

4 egg whites
1 tsp grated orange peel
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salted almonds
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites and sugar with orange peel and backing powder until blended. Gradually add nuts and flour, beating until mixture is thoroughly blended. Cover and chill until firm enough to handle, at least an hour or up to a day. Lightly flour your hands and pinch off a three-tablespoon size piece of dough.

On a lightly floured board, use the palms of both hands to evenly roll an 8-inch long rope. Cut rope in half; roll each half out again to 8 inches. Fold an inch of each end back onto rope and pinch ends to make bone shapes. Repeat to shape all the dough. Place bones an inch apart on a buttered and flour-dusted baking sheets. Bake in a 325F oven until cookies are lightly browned on bottoms (about 20 minutes).

Pumpkin Bread (Makes 2 loaves)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups sugar, 4 eggs beaten
2 cups of fresh pumpkin, 1/2 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine flour, soda, salt cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, water, oil and pumpkin. Stir until blended. Add nuts. Mix well. Pour into two 9x5" loaf tins. Bake for one hour. Cool slightly and take out of tins to let cool on a rack. This tastes best if you wrap and refrigerate it and wait a day to eat it. It keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen