Sunday 9 February 2014 Samhain 05

SAMHAIN At this, one of the two most important Sabbats, it is said that "the veil between the worlds is thin". The dead return to visit their old homes and we can communicate with them. The rule of the God begins, and he reigns until Beltane. This is a time of mystery and peril: Dark forests, danger from cold and want and prowling beasts, and strange lights that flicker and vanish. But those who possess arcane knowledge are superior to these forces and can master them.ThemesAll the leaves are fallen. Nuts are ripe and the last are falling. Animals are storing food for hibernation, or else migrating. The crops are stored for the winter, and the surplus animals that cannot be fed over the winter have been slaughtered, their meat preserved - except for what will be consumed at the feast.In some Wiccan traditions, and among the Manx, Samhain is the New Year. The Druids gave thanks to the Sun as ripener of the grain. A Roman festival of Jupiter. A Saxon festival in honor or a goddess of fruits and seeds, called La Maes Abhal, "day of the apple fruit". (Com. "lamb's wool", a traditional Hallowmas drink). A Druid festival in honor of Samhain, Lord of the Dead, who comes at midnight in a flaming chariot leading the spirits of the dead to visit the world of the living. Nov. 11 was a feast of Dionysos, at which he was honored as an ecstatic god of taverns and wine - and it still the feast of his Xian counterpart, St. Martin.PURPOSE OF THE RITESTo preserve the winter food supply and strengthen the Sun for his comeback atYule. Recalling the spirits of the dead so that we may communicate with them. Magic for survival through the winter of the wild animals, people and herds.FOLD CUSTOMSGuy Fawkes Day customs. The spectacular execution of Fawkes (hanged, drawn and quartered) led to his being identified with the god-king who was ritually slain in a similar manner - strange, since at that time those rites cannot have been performed for over a thousand years, and only a very few scholars would have known of any record of them.Oktoberfest retains much of the ecstatic spirit of the fest. Fire customs are too numerous to list. The Cutty Black Sow, now a Halloween goblin to scare or muse children, was clearly once the dark aspect of the Goddess. Burnt offerings are made of each kind of animal food - a bit of the meat placed on the Hallowmas bonfire.An occasion of rewriting laws and bringing annals and genealogies up to date."Soul-cakers", with blackened faces, go from door to door singing a traditional song. They are rewarded with soul-cakes, which are pale-colored sweet, spiced cakes in human shape, with eyes the only feature marked, representing the sould of the dead. SYMBOLIC DECORATIONSFigues of horned and hoofed animalsFigues of deathJack o'lanternsOwlsDead leavesEvergreensBonesEvergreen twigsAnimal's horns and teethDried plantsPine conesSOCIAL ACTIVITIESMasquerade parties. Maskers tour the neighborhood playing pranks and extorting treats, and at hearthside gathering lovers take auguries from nuts and apple peels. Games involving apples and nuts, death and the supernatural.THE RITETakes place on the Eve, late at night, outdoors if possible. Lay the fire in a brazier and place the altar in the northwest, undraped if it is made of natural-finished wood or stone. In the center of the altar, place five red candles, in a ring, for the God. At the back, line up three taller candles, white, red and black, for the triune Goddess. Decorate the altar with evergreens, pine cones, bones and animal's horns and teeth. Carpet the ground with dead leaves and pile brooms at the South. Some stocks of home-preserved food and foods that keep in winter storage - onions, potatoes, apples, nuts, etc. - should be placed near the altar. Communion materials are spiced cider and soul-cakes, which may be scored before baking for easier division, when each covener is given a piece.Wear something suitable to the spirit of the feast; all should wear their knives on their belts. Here is an idea from a vision that emerged in a scrying session. Let all wear short tunics and sandals or moccasins of rough faced leather. HP wears horned headdress wreathed with evergreens. HPS's tunic may be of white or unbleached coarse linen, and she wears a necklace of animal teeth, and wild bird feathers or wings on her crown or in her necklace.Use salt water in the banishings. Call on the Guardians particularly to keep away spirits hostile to people. Make the Circle very strong.Before the invocation, spirits of the beloved dead are invited to return and join the rites, and give us the benefit of their wisdom. HP invokes the God as a blend of Cernunnos, Samhain, Jupiter, Dionysos and the Sun. After the Charge, he heats the knife very hot in the fire. HPS presents the Cup full of cider. HP plunges the knife into the cup. When the knife has cooled in the cider, communion is taken.Thanks are offered to the Sun and the Earth Goddess for successful completion of the harvest. Meditation on death and how we propose to prepare for it. HP blesses the winter food supply, the attending spirits, and the usual list. Now coveners take brooms and sweep the Circle clear of leaves, burning them in the fire. Divinations and minor magic may now be performed, and then the dancing and feasting begin. Some of the food may be roasted in the fire - this is never considered a desecration of the holy fire, far from it. You may try to communicate with the dead.End the Circle with strong banishings. Don't forget to dismiss the spirits of the dead to they will not be bound here.

Reference: witch-selena.blogspot.com