It’s that time of year again. Halloween. All Hallow’s Eve. People dress up in costumes, go trick and treating, largely oblivious to the history of this day.
Before things get too spooky, let’s have a look at the origins and spiritual meaning of this day.
Samhain
The Celtic festival of Samhain was celebrated around 2000 years ago marking the end of the harvesting season. This also marks the halfway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice and is one of the four cross-quarter days celebrated by the celts. Cross-quarter days were seen as the beginning of a new season and Samhain marked the beginning of winter (this is why the summer solstice was called midsummer as it did not mark the beginning of summer which was the cross quarter day of Beltane, but rather the midpoint between the beginning of summer and Lammas, the beginning of autumn). Many believe Samhain was originally seen as the end of the year, thus being a kind of ancient new years eve.
The celts believed that this day created a ‘thinning of the veils’ between the physical world and the spiritual realms. In essence, this means that more ghosts and spiritual beings could make their presence felt during this day. Some believe the tradition of dressing up stems from the desire to scare away unwanted ghosts.
Spirits
According to some, the reason why alcohol is named after spirits is because excessive intoxication can lead to a spiritual possession of sorts when the physical barrier becomes weakened by the consumption of alcohol which allows spiritual forces to take over temporarily. Some people also believe this is one of the reasons people can’t remember anything from when they were drunk. They weren’t really themselves. This may sound far fetched for some, yet Halloween is perhaps not the best day to indulge in alcohol for those who wish to be cautious of evil spirits! If the thought of that doesn’t give you the creeps I don’t know what will!
In fact, violent crime is widely reported to increase during Halloween, which is another reason to be mindful. According to a US University Professor, violent crime increase by 50% on Halloween which is two times the daily average. Ouch! Might be best to take it easy!
Modern Halloween
Today’s celebrations are very different from those celebrated by our ancestors. For parents it will mostly be spent making costumes and buying an illogical amount of sweets, whilst younger people tend to party and dress up.
Personally I don’t celebrate Halloween. In many ways I feel it has become overly sexualised (what hasn’t in today’s society!) and an excuse for many to dress provocatively in order to get attention and validation. This seems to be largely fuelled by celebrity culture, ego and insecurity. I’m sure a lavish Halloween party is not one I would like to attend!
The Darkness Within
In many ways the tradition of dressing up is also an excuse to explore another side of ourselves. It’s an avenue to allow the darkness that some people suppress or hide to come to surface under the guise and disguise of being ‘someone else’. Like playing a character in a movie. Yet unless we have brought our darkness into conscious awareness, it is not wise to play with it.
Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.
- Stephen King
Perhaps the veils we really need to pierce are those of our own subconscious. Seeing ourselves clearly is what will allow us dominion over ourselves. Otherwise, who knows what’s pretend and what’s real. Halloween is probably not the time to find out…
Staying Present
If you are highly sensitive it would be wise to protect your energy during this time to make sure you focus on positive, pure energy.
After all, who knows if spirits are lurking? Better light some candles and stay away from spirits of all kind. 🕯️
Stay blessed, wherever you are! ✨
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I don’t celebrate it anymore either 😳
I was ignorant of Samhain. Many thanks for enlightening me, Hege. None of the festivities, celebrations and occasions are observed in the way they were perceived and the underlying objectives have gone for a toss. It is truly prudent to stay positive and calm outside and within. Thanks a lot, Hege.