Issue #5 Date: 16/10/2001 In this issue: Editor's Note Animal Magick: Swan Cat Crystals by Apasi and Sharae Pagan Band Review: Libana Written in the Stars: Monthly Horoscopes Reiki: How To Channel Reiki Energy When It Seems Like Nothing Has Happened During A Reiki Treatment ... Gods and Goddesses of Witchcraft: Huitzilopochtli Divination: Tarot Witchy Craft Ideas: Purification Soap Sleep Pillow The Talented Wiccans' Corner: About Goodbye's Tale Undone by Aphrodite Raven Child of the Divine by Taliana WolfSpirit Submit Your Own Works Book of Shadows Submit Your Own Work Previous Issues  |
Samhain Written and submitted by Taliana WolfSpirit. Other Names: Samhain is one of the two most important Sabbats of the year (the other being Beltane). Samhain is the Witch's New Year. It is the old Celtic feast of the dead, and it is said that on this Sabbat the veil between the two worlds is very tiny and penetrable. Samhain marks the end of the harvest, and is the time to remember and honor the dead. It is not a mournful Sabbat - quite the opposite. Samhain is the celebration of the eternal life cycle of rebirth or reincarnation. Samhain marks the end of summer, the beginning of winter, and the Witch's New Year. On this Sabbat, the old Crone Goddess mourns the death of the God, her husband. With the sun gone, winter takes over the earth. Ritual Suggestions Samhain rituals are not associated with "Evil" or negativity - they are to remember and honor those who have passed away, and to acknowledge that all things must come to an end before they can begin again in a new way. Fires are lit on faery mounds, or sidhs, which the spirits are said to live in before they can cross over to the Summerlands on Samhain. Food and drink are also left for those spirits who still linger. Your Samhain rituals should focus on the never ending cycle of life, and the rebirth after death. Morn the passing of summer, the God and family members, but rejoice for summer will be reborn, as will the God, and family members will be reborn when their time has come. Banish negative things in your life now, or detach yourself from "dead" areas in your life, the parts of your life that aren't going anywhere - this includes relationships, work, and other such things. |
