The magic of Samhain and the journey to Hallowe’en
I just returned from a trip to Ireland, where the holiday of Hallowe’en is said to have originated with the ancient Celts who called this holiday Samhain, or “summer’s end”. Traditionally the holiday was celebrated on November 1st, but some sources say that the festival lasted seven days, or even nine days. In Ireland there was a huge assembly at Tara where the kings met to craft their laws and the common people held celebration.
In medieval Europe the pagan (country) people celebrated the […]
Samhain by Phantom’s Siren 
Samhain (an ancient Gaelic word pronounced Sow’-en) is the ancient Celtic holiday that has come down to us as Hallowe’en (derivation of “All Hallows Eve”). Although it is associated today with witchcraft and doings of the devil, in pre-Christian times Samhain was simply the time when the veils between the worlds were at their thinnest. It was a time of reverence for the process of death and the mysteries of life. The astrological Samhain actually occurs at the midpoint of Scorpio which is the “cross quarter” between the Autumnal Equinox and 
The New Moon occurs when the Moon conjoins the Sun, beginning a new lunar cycle. Scorpio is the sign of emotional fearlessness and demands that we find pure and complete acceptance of ourselves at the deepest core of our being, so the Scorpio New Moon denotes a time of inner renewal and self-honesty.