![\"George](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/212\/2017\/10\/800px-George_Cruikshank_-_Hernes_Oak_from_The_Merry_Wives_of_Windsor_V_v_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg\")
<\/a>And Samhain is more than just one night, it\u2019s a season. The veil is thin now and will still be thin into November. If you feel overwhelmed this Samhain remember that it can be celebrated over several nights and days. Whatever you do and however you do it, have a blessed holiday!<\/p>\n
FEASTING<\/strong><\/p>\n We aren\u2019t sure exactly what happened when the ancient Irish-Celts gathered to celebrate (or cower in fear over) Samhain, but it seems likely that they probably feasted. Samhain-season was a time for culling the herds and taking in the last fruits of the harvest, which means there was probably a lot of fresh produce and meat around, and what better way to to get rid of it than with a little feasting? Besides, having a feast goes well with another Samhain activity . . . .<\/p>\n DUMB SUPPER<\/strong><\/p>\n A dumb supper is a silent dinner with a full plate left out for those who have gone before us. It\u2019s a chance to thank your ancestors and provide them with a hearty welcome into your home. Generally one plate is set aside for the dead (so you don\u2019t have to serve Grandma and Grandpa and everyone else-they can share a space), and the entire meal is eaten in silence. If you\u2019ve never participated in a dumb supper before it can be a bit unnerving, we talk a lot more than we think we do. It\u2019s especially challenging if you are hosting several Witches all participating in the dumb supper.<\/p>\n When I finish with a dumb supper at my house I leave the physical leftovers outside, generally by the lemon tree in my backyard that we use as a spot for offerings. (IF you\u2019ve got a small Samhain fire going in your backyard that\u2019s another place you can leave the leftovers.) It\u2019s considered bad luck to eat food given to the dead, so resist the urge to eat off of Grandma\u2019s plate. While the food will look untouched, it\u2019s the essence of the offering that the spirits consume, not the physical stuff, so don\u2019t worry about your offering not being accepted, it most likely was!<\/p>\n TALK TO THE DEAD<\/strong><\/p>\n I reserve a good twenty minutes every Samhain to talk to my deceased Grandparents. I think about them most days, but I rarely speak to them. With the veil between the world\u2019s at its thinnest I think Samhain presents a great opportunity to catch them up on my life and ask them how they are doing. At Samhain I talk to them like I did while they were alive and it\u2019s cathartic and comforting to do so.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect answers in the conventional sense, my Grandparents don\u2019t make any reciprocal noises when I talk to them, but I do feel as if they respond. I feel them close to me, and often sense various emotions while I\u2019m speaking to them. I\u2019m convinced that they visit at Samhain, and it\u2019s absolutely wonderful thing to experience.<\/p>\n BONFIRES<\/strong><\/p>\n Our ancestors probably built large bonfires on Samhain. Part of that might have been to celebrate the feasting that was going on, but it was most likely done to keep the fey away. Our ancestors were quite scared of the fair-folk and believed that Samhain was an especially dangerous time of year for dealing with the fey.<\/p>\n Hopefully most of us have a better relationship with the fey than our ancestors and don\u2019t need a fire to keep them away, but if you are worried about a few particularly malevolent forces this Samhain-season a fire might help. As for me I just like gathering around a fire and enjoying a cool Autumn night under the stars. I find that it connects me to the natural world, and if I listen and observe the world around me, other things too.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a more modern reason we often see bonfires in late October and early November-the English holiday known as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. Giant bonfires were kindled on Guy Fawkes Night in many cities and villages, and this tradition was eventually rolled into some Halloween celebrations, especially in the United States.<\/p>\n THANK THE GODDESSES AND GODS YOU HONOR<\/strong><\/p>\n In many Contemporary Pagan traditions the sacrifice of The Horned God is celebrated at one of the three Harvest Festivals (Lughnassa, Autumn Equinox, and Samhain). It\u2019s said that his sacrifice each year makes the land fertile and allows the crops to be harvested so we can survive the Winter. Now most of us don\u2019t believe The God literally dies (he\u2019s a deity after all), but it\u2019s an effective myth for explaining the Wheel of the Year and honoring the transitions that take place in our own lives.<\/p>\n Because the God dies for to ensure the Earth\u2019s bounty this is a great time of year to thank the Lord and Lady (and whatever specific deities you honor) for what they\u2019ve given you in the past year. That might be as simple as good health, or perhaps that long overdue raise. The fact that we are all here and still breathing is sometimes reason enough to be thankful.<\/p>\n DIVINATION<\/strong><\/p>\n We don\u2019t think about divination on Halloween very much these days, but traditional games like bobbing for apples evolved from divination customs and techniques in Great Britain. It was said that slicing an apple at midnight on Halloween night in front of a mirror would reveal a future lover\u2019s reflection. Another form of divination involved throwing nuts in a fire and looking for signs about future loves and even present day relationships.<\/p>\n In Robert Burns classic poem Halloween<\/em> the Scottish poet references this custom:<\/p>\n The auld guidwife\u2019s well-hoordit nits, Even if you don\u2019t want to throw nuts in the fire or slice an apple, it\u2019s still a good time to get out the tarot cards and reflect on what\u2019s happened in the past year, and what may soon transpire. I\u2019ve always believed that the energy of the thinning veil makes divination just a little bit easier this time of year.<\/p>\n![\""All](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/212\/2015\/10\/Jakub_Schikaneder_-_All_Souls_Day.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Dancing Fairies\" by August Malmstr\u00f6m. From WikiMedia.](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/212\/2017\/10\/1280px-August_Malmstro%CC%88m_-_Dancing_Fairies_-_Google_Art_Project-1.jpg\")
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\nAre round and round divided,
\nAnd monie lads\u2019 and lasses\u2019 fates
\nAre there that night decided:
\nSome kindle coothie, side by side,
\nAnd burn thegither trimly;
\nSome start awa, wi\u2019 saucy pride,
\nAnd jump out-owre the chimlie
\nFu\u2019 high that night. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"Apple Bobbing\" photo by Geoff Charles, from the National Library of Wales, CC0 1.0 Universal.](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/212\/2017\/10\/Apple-bobbing_at_Ditherington_Halloween_party_1498882.jpg\")
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