Samhain Blessings
25/10/09 19:29 Filed in: Sabbats
Many Samhain Blessings to all reading these words. I wanted to share some more Samhain lore and graphics with those who visit my humble cyber abode.
Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today of course, as Halloween.
Click on the Samhain Blessing image to view this as a full size wallpaper image.
Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer's end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.
Many thanks to ~Magickal Graphics~ for this lovely little image.
The following is an excerpt from an article on the Religious Tolerance Page:
Identifying Samhain as a Celtic Death God is one of the most tenacious errors associated with Halloween. Almost all stories about the origin of Halloween correctly state that Halloween had its origins among the ancient Celts and is based on their "Feast of Samhain." However, a writer in the 18th century incorrectly stated that Samhain was named after the famous Celtic "God of the Dead." Many religious conservatives who are opposed to Halloween, Druidism, and/or Wicca picked up this belief without checking its accuracy, and accepted it as valid. Read More from that page....
Many thanks again to ~Magickal Graphics~ for this lovely Samhain version of The 3 Witches.
And The Pagan's Path has a very extensive and informative article on the history of Samhain.
Blessed be, and Happy Samhain.
Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today of course, as Halloween.Click on the Samhain Blessing image to view this as a full size wallpaper image.
Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer's end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.Many thanks to ~Magickal Graphics~ for this lovely little image.
The following is an excerpt from an article on the Religious Tolerance Page:Identifying Samhain as a Celtic Death God is one of the most tenacious errors associated with Halloween. Almost all stories about the origin of Halloween correctly state that Halloween had its origins among the ancient Celts and is based on their "Feast of Samhain." However, a writer in the 18th century incorrectly stated that Samhain was named after the famous Celtic "God of the Dead." Many religious conservatives who are opposed to Halloween, Druidism, and/or Wicca picked up this belief without checking its accuracy, and accepted it as valid. Read More from that page....
Many thanks again to ~Magickal Graphics~ for this lovely Samhain version of The 3 Witches.
And The Pagan's Path has a very extensive and informative article on the history of Samhain.
Blessed be, and Happy Samhain.