Samhain Lore
Samhain Recipes
Samhain Activities
Ravenna's Samhain Log
A scent fills the
autumn air, an indescribable October smell that comes only at this time,
pumpkins, apples, cinnamon, dry leaves burning, beer and --Halloween.
The leaves are
falling, the apples are ripe, and frost is on the ground. Samhain is fast
approaching and the veil between the worlds grows thinner each night. You can
feel it in the air as the Otherworld draws ever closer, as the sunlight dwindles
into twilight. Our ancestors are honored at Samhain, as it is the time of death
and dying. The spirits of the dead are more accessible, more approachable,
during this time of the dying of the land.
An introspective mood descends upon us in this dark time of endings, completion, and eventual rebirth. In the growing gloom and shadows as the trees cast off their colorful leaves and take on sinister, skeletal appearances, darkness and chill winds prevail.
Samhain is the Irish Gaelic name for the month of November, and when translated into English is loosely translated as "summer's end". To the ancient Celts, it was the time when the fattened summer cattle were slaughtered and the meat preserved for the coming winter months. Only the breeding stock was left alive, and everyone wondered if there would be enough food to last the winter.
This is the third
harvest, the last great burst of life and light before the inexorable descent of
winter, and the decline of the light into the longest night of the year- Yule.
Focus of Samhain:
This is the beginning and end of the Pagan year. At this time we reflect on
what has gone by in the year past. One cannot (or at least should not) allow the
Wheel of the Year to turn without some kind of examination of what has occurred.
We try and take responsibility for our actions and find ways to live better
lives in the coming New Year.
Click to
read Samhain Lore and Myths
