Samhain Ritual

Celebration for Samhain, the Autumn Festival

Opening Poem

Suggested reading: “Door in the Mountain” by Jean Valentine

The Autumn Festival and the Meaning of Samhain

We have gathered here to celebrate Samhain, the year’s third and final harvest festival. Samhain also marks the end of the annual cycle of birth, growth, harvest, and death. The Wheel of the Year turns, moving us forward into the quiet darkness, where our seeds slumber until being reborn into the light of spring. We, too, look forward to the blessings of the year to come. But before we move on, we pause to look back and honor all that we have lost in the last year, whether it be someone who was dear to us, some task at which we did not succeed or a wish that did not come to pass, opportunities missed, relationships ended, or anything that causes sorrow from its loss. Tonight, as the veil between worlds grows thin, we will let go of all of these, leaving us free to pass on, at peace and without regrets.

At this time, we honor the ancestors of our blood. The generations of human beings who walked this Earth before us, who, in the living of their lives, forged a link in the chain that brought us into existence. Some of these ancestors are known to us. They are our parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, cousins, and kin. We cherish our memories of their lives and the time we spent with them, no matter how fleeting. Many more ancestors are unknown to us. Though we may not know their names or faces, we recognize them, too, as kin. We are all part of the great tree of life that stretches back through time to our common human ancestor.

At this time, we honor the ancestors of this land. Those who lived in this place before us, who loved in this place before us, who struggled, and fought, and laughed, and celebrated in this place before us. The richness of their lives enriches this place still, blessing us daily. We recognize, too, that our presence here is the result of a long history of violence and injustice. While we did not participate in these tragedies, we benefit from them. We cannot undo the pain of the past, but we can honor the suffering and sacrifice of those who lived through it. As we honor them, we honor this place. As we care for this place, we care for them. In doing so, we become connected to the ancestors of this land, and they become part of us.

At this time, we honor the ancestors of the traditions that speak to us, that call to us and claim us as their own. We do so not to appropriate or diminish these traditions but to honor the truth they contain. Perhaps our recognition of these truths reflects an echoing of ancestors long past and cultures long forgotten. Buried deep in our bones, these sacred beliefs become restless within us, urging us toward the greater truths of the universe and the Earth we inhabit. As we honor these ancestors, we ask them to continue to walk with us, inspiring us to deeper understandings of ourselves, our spirituality, and our world.

In many ways, it feels as though the twelve months since we last stood around the Samhain fire have been a time of grief and anxiety. The world feels more uncertain than ever, and yet we must remember that each day we walk the Earth with our loved ones is a day that should be cherished. In recognition of these truths and the lessons they bring, we offer five bundles in the Samhain fire. We will burn these bundles one at a time, pausing to reflect as we watch each burn. If, in this time of reflection, anyone feels they have a memory to share or something to say, please feel welcome to do so.

Burning of Remembrance Bundles

The first bundle is in honor of Gaea, Mother Earth, our planet. We mourn the destruction of ecosystems, the depletion of the forests and the soil, the loss of so many species of plants and animals, the poisoning of the air and water. We recognize that we have played a part in these processes. We ask forgiveness, and we vow to take better care of our planetary home in the year to come.

The second is in honor of all our ancestors who moved through this world as refugees, who left their homes in one part of the world and migrated to another, seeking better opportunities, safe haven, or a happier life. We thank them for the difficult choices they made and for all the people who helped them along their journey, as their travails brought us here to this place together. We ask that they guide all those who seek refuge today and inspire us to provide safe havens for others where and when we can.

The third is in honor of our civic ancestors—the brave activists who imagined a country rooted in fundamental human rights and dignity, a country that relied upon and respected the processes of democracy and fair representation, a country that for over two hundred years worked to live up to its ideals and promises. We thank those of past generations who fought for social justice, civil rights, and human dignity. We ask that they guide us as we struggle to preserve their legacies.

The fourth is in honor of all those whose lives have been lost to violence, whether by their own hand, in an accident, in an act of oppression, or in one of the many wars, both declared and undeclared, that have taken place worldwide. We pray that their spirits may find peace.

The final bundle is in honor of those for whom we will be ancestors. We ask that they forgive us for our shortcomings and mistakes, and we promise to work every day to leave for them a legacy of hope, compassion, peace, and joy. We pray that they will remember us.

Closing Thoughts

Samhain is a time for remembrance, for honoring ancestors and the past, for letting go. In this way, we mark the closing of the year. But in truth, this ending, this closure is illusory. The cycles of time have no beginning and no end. Time is a process, forever unfolding, forever spiraling forward. As we let go of the losses of the passing year, we welcome the possibilities to come. And we begin this year with a time for retreat. The darkness that is falling pushes us inward, into our homes and into ourselves. It is important to note that we begin with turning inwards, with rest. The coming winter is a space for planning, for quietly germinating seeds that will not see the light of day for many months. This is our time for quiet, for healing, for preparing ourselves for the spring. The Wheel Turns. Blessed Be. Blessed Samhain.

Closing Poem

Suggested reading: “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

The Paranormal

I have never experienced any paranormal phenomena, despite being long interested in the subject. As such, I treat such claims with all due skepticism, though without being dismissive. After all, I’m well aware that there is much about the universe that science still can’t explain. Despite the breakneck pace of scientific investigation over the last few centuries, some areas of human experience remain mysterious. Our understanding of how our own brains work, for example, is still rudimentary. And that’s fine; there will always be more experiments to conduct, more theories to develop, more work to do. So it’s important to keep an open mind. The term ‘paranormal’ operates for me much the same way as ‘supernatural’—it describes phenomena that don’t fit into our current scientific models. Our explanations for these experiences amount to sheer guesswork. And yet people continue to experience them. In his 1999 book The Triumph of the Moon, Ronald Hutton offers an interesting take on the issue of paranormal phenomena, which would often come up in the course of his research into the history of witchcraft and magic. He describes encounters with two women who claimed to be able to see apparitions of various kinds. Neither woman, he notes, generally called attention to her ability, though both seemed to have come to terms with their extrasensory perceptions. He then goes on to say:

These encounters are absolutely typical of many that I have had over the years, and especially during the last few, when my research into paganism and witchcraft has encouraged people to speak to me more openly about them. They have convinced me that there is a significant minority of people within British society (and doubtless in many—perhaps all—others) who regularly see, hear, or feel phenomena which most others do not perceive to be present, but which are very real to them. These phenomena can, indeed, be experienced in the same way by other individuals with the same characteristic. The latter seems to be most common among women, though by no means exclusive to them, and is often passed down through families. Let no readers of these paragraphs feel that their personal belief systems are being challenged; the experiences concerned may be the product of chemicals in the brain, or of communications from God Almighty, the Goddess, angels, the spirits of the dear departed, or a range of other entities. The only limitation that I myself would place upon interpretation of them is that the empirical evidence causes me to reject the notion that they are caused by mere overactive imaginations, or by general mental imbalance. (p. 270)

Hutton then questions why psychic phenomena have not received more serious scientific study (beyond merely trying to prove or disprove whether they are “real”) and suggests that, in this case, science has dropped the ball. If such extrasensory experiences are not what people claim them to be, then what are they? And what is the cost of dismissing such claims out of hand?

I also find it highly significant that modern Western society is apparently unique in the human record in that it provides no generally accepted frame of reference for them and no system of explanation within which they may be sustained or discussed. This was not expected to be the final situation by the Enlightenment authors who did their utmost to demolish the previous system of interpretation, in terms of good or evil spirits. Sir Walter Scott, in his Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, argued vehemently against a literal belief in such entities, but he did not deny that humans often appeared to see or hear them. He suggested instead that an improved understanding of the natural world would eventually yield a scientifically viable explanation for such phenomena. Almost two hundred years have passed since his time, and yet that explanation has not been achieved; instead, the tendency has been to ignore or deride such experiences, leaving those who undergo them to come to terms with them within private frames of reference, and greater or lesser degrees of ease and comfort according to their circumstances. The principal consequence is that large numbers of people in this society have to live with phenomena of which their dominant models of physical and metaphysical explanation do not take account—indeed, which they do not recognize at all (pp. 270–271).

Neo-Paganism in general (and Wicca in particular) seems to attract people who are interested in ritual magic, so developing a consistent stance on the paranormal is relevant to Scientific Paganism. Personally, I see little difference between Wiccan spellcasting and the magical workings of Catholic Christians (or the watered-down versions practiced by mainstream Protestants). Both invoke some mystical entity or other in the hope of a boon of some kind. I’m not convinced the universe works that way, but I acknowledge that such tropes can play a powerful role in holiday rituals. The truth of such phenomena, however, is still “out there.”

Cross-Quarter Days

In his 2012 book Britain Begins, Oxford archaeologist Barry Cunliffe provides a nice overview of the four annual festivals that many Pagans refer to as the “cross-quarter” days, with a particular emphasis on Samhain. Cunliffe maintains that these festivals can be traced all the way back to the Bronze Age in Western Europe.

The intensification of agriculture after the middle of the second millennium would have made a careful appreciation of the changing seasons all the more important to the livelihood of the community. Indeed, it may have required an adjustment in time management and the creation of a calendar more designed to meet the demands of the farming year than one relying on the solstices. By the end of the first millennium BC it is known that in Gaul the year was divided into four quarters, Samhain, beginning on 1 November, Imbolc on 1 February, Beltane on 1 May, and Lughnasadh on 1 August, and this same calendar was in operation in Ireland in the first millennium AD. Since it is closely attuned to the farming year, the probability is that the calendar goes back much further and may well have developed at a time when the intensification of agriculture was getting under way in the second millennium. Samhain heralds the quiet winter period when people are at home repairing and making equipment and tending the livestock that are being overwintered. Imbolc marks the time when lambing and calving takes place and the ewes start to lactate, and land has to be prepared for spring sowing. At Beltane cattle are driven through fires to cleanse them of vermin and all the animals are put out to summer pasture. Lughnasadh is the period of harvesting and the preparation of the grain for storage, for turning livestock onto the harvested fields, and for weaning lambs. The culling of the flocks and herds, with the accompanying feasting, probably took place in the days leading up to the beginning of Samhain, when the old year ended and the new year began. This major turning point in the annual cycle was appropriated by the Christians to be the festival of All Saints and is still widely celebrated in its pagan form as Hallow-e’en. The agrarian calendar differs from the solar calendar of the fourth and third millennium, based on the equinoxes and solstices, and is probably to be regarded as part of the great transformation that was taking place in the mid-second millennium (pp. 269–270).

Cunliffe sees in the many ancient stone monuments of the British Isles evidence that observance of the other four points in the Wheel of the Year—the equinoxes and solstices—goes even further back, into the Stone Age. This is the historical foundation on which the modern re-interpretations of Neo-Paganism are based.