
| The Festival of Samhain/Hallowe’en In current times Hallowe’en is a celebration day centered around horror films, spooky decorations, and the inevitable sweets and snacks:-) However, the origins of this festival lie in ancient times, and align closely with the Wheel of the Year in the northern hemisphere. As Jan says, “Samhain means (from the Celtic) End of Summer. In a sense we have to move ourselves back in time here to properly understand what that means for Autumn as we now know it did not exist in the original Pagan calendar. We were either in Summer (bounty, blessedness and abundance) or Winter (threatening, sparse and demanding).”And Graham agrees: “The truth is, as always, rather more complex. It is a Celtic festival, one with ancient roots and a deep tradition behind it. Modern pagans celebrate it as Samhain, and for them it marks the end of the year.”To read more of Graham and Jan’s thoughts on Samhain/Hallowe’en, and to find out more about the Wheel of the Year celebrations, have a look at this page on the Angel Paths website:angelpaths.com/wheel-of-the-year/samhain-halloween/ |