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the Frater's Mark
Halloween: Serious Fun
It's time, fellow Pagan webaholics, the greatest time of the year! It's Samhain a.k.a. Halloween! In my opinion, it's the most exceptional holiday in the Pagan spectrum, in terms of both meaning and trappings (one must only set foot inside my abode to realize my fondness for the Sabbat; even from the doorway, my collection of Halloween memorabilia leers at you from every wall, shelf and table). Nestled exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, it's the time of the first harvest, of reaping what nature has given us of herself. It's the time when the Goddess is eclipsed by the Horned God, when the hearth fire is extinguished and relit in preparation for the dark half of the year. It's All Hallow's Eve, the day before All Souls Day, when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, when the dead may walk among us and vice versa. And all the wondrous (yes, I am the morbid type of soul who thinks that a finely crafted ceramic skull is "wondrous") decorations embraced so commercially have Pagan roots as well - pumpkins, costumes, the various choices of momento mori, ad infinitum. It's a great time to be Pagan. And, if you're a history buff, you can get two Halloweens for the price of one. Many of the old traditions celebrate Samhain when the Sun reaches 15 degrees in the sign of Scorpio (on or around November 7 this year). So celebrate twice, but don't forget the essence of what you're celebrating.
Much can be gleaned by examining a culture's relation to death itself, because it must be remembered that how we view death has a direct effect on how we live life. While we Pagans are trying to turn this tide, we as a culture have rendered death unnatural, the antithesis of life rather than its final stage in a physical sense. We have no Day of the Dead as other cultures do; instead we choose to ignore, disguise or placate death, giving over to its fearful elements (and this, to me, is why so many Fundamentalists are fighting so strongly against Halloween - if I was to be judged and sentenced by an unknowable god upon death, I certainly wouldn't want a holiday reminding me of my pending fate). But the truth of death is far from sinister: death is simply a transition, necessary by natural design. It is the opening of a sacred door that allows us to step into the next stage of our spiritual existence. And, try as we might, guess what? It's something we're all going to experience. So why not realize it for what it is - knowledge controls fear - and take a lesson from The Big Easy and turn it into a celebration? Sounds good to me - bring on Halloween!
All Hallow's Eve by Mike Nichols
An excellent, in depth essay from an outstanding group of essay on our Sabbats.
You Call It Hallowe'en...We Call It Samhain by Peg Aloi
A good overview of Summer's End and many of its customs; how can you go wrong with a piece that has, as one of its subheadings: "Okay, What About the Candy?"
The Real Origins of Halloween by Isaac Bonewits
The only on-line article I've read that addresses the roots of Halloween and also honestly tackles the subject of the negative propaganda spread about witches at this time of year.
What The Public and Faith Groups Think of Halloween from the Religious Tolerance Homepage
A forthright collection of comments from various religious groups on the holiday; many of the views are frustrating to read, but it's a good assessment of what we Pagans have to overcome.
A plethora of Halloween stuff, including "Egor's Guide to Halloween Lighting" and "Pumpkin Carving 101". Practical and fun.
More Halloween fonts, gifs, clip art, recipes and monsters than you can shake an undertaker's shovel at.
Not for the squeamish, but where else can you shake the "Magic 8 Ball of Horror" and calculate your "Biorhythms of Horror"?
A group formed for all "Halloweenites", people hopelessly in love with all thing Halloween. Currently, they are trying to get the US Postal Service to issue a Halloween Stamp. I thought postal rates were already horrible enough, but...