traveling...(like witches through the dark night sky)

I leave for Europe on wednesday and won't be back until the 31st--arriving just in time to feed the witches, goblins, and vampires who come to the door. Lately I've noticed a decided lack of scary and more of a trend toward vegetables, fruits, elves and fairy costumes in the younger set.

The Celts believed that on this day, more than any other, the dead could mingle with the living because Samhainn, pronounced sah-ween, marked their journey to the underworld. Our November 1st was the their New Year, the time of the last harvest and the beginning of the dark days of winter. The calendar of today was only begun in Great Britain in 1751.

It was after the Christian missionaries attempted to change the religious practices of the Celts that Samhainn became Halloween or All Hallows (holy), a day to honor all the Christian saints. With its emphasis on the supernatural, Samhainn was a pagan holiday, frowned on by Christians who dubbed the otherworld, "Hell".

Despite the missionaries, Celtic beliefs continued, leading the  church to call the followers witches, dangerous and malicious. The Old religion was driven underground and its members went into hiding. But these ancient beliefs persist, even growing stronger with the new Druidic orders cropping up around the world. There are many who prefer the old calendar that coincides with the natural rhythms of nature and seasons that come and go.

For more information go to Tairis.co.uk (thank you, Gaelic reconstructionist polytheist)



I'll be traveling with my computer and plan to blog along the way. And I need to keep in touch with Createspace and Kismet Design. Enjoy this month before the start of the dark time, letting your senses take in the new slant of light, the shorter days. Cozy down by a fire with hot chocolate after raking leaves.