SAMHAIN........................HALLOWEEN
Samhain............(pronounced Sew-in) is the most important celebration of the year in the Wiccan/Pagan calendar. It originated from the Celtic New Year and is a time for Spiritual Observance for Witches, for the rest of us it is a time when the nights are drawing in, the last harvest is brought in, the autumnal fruit preserves are made and packed into the larder to see us through the long winter months. Mother Nature offers us an abundance of vegetables before she prepares for her winter hibernation and her preparations for new beginnings. We enter into a new phase of colour and textures , colours that offer warmth and comfort in the chilly times to come...........Wicca is the largest of the Neopagan religions. It's core belief lies in Mother Earth, her offerings, the Goddess and her escort the Horned God and the phases of the Moon and how they effect our being. Wicca forbades harm to all people including yourself so whilst we will look at rituals, spells and magic, if it is not for the higher good then I am afraid we will not be covering it here and you need to be looking elsewhere for your advice. 
This brings me to the main reason for my blog, to look holistically at our lives, look at what is relevant to us and the way we live our lives. How to nuture ourselves. It is fine to say we need to go to the gym 3 times a week for an hour each session in order to be healthy. That may be so, I am not contesting the sound advice to exercise, yes, we all need to do that, but I believe wellness initially comes from within. Once our insides, including our mind and soul are feeling good then the exercise can come, and probably will come as we find ourselves with more energy and inspiration.
Let's look at the more commercial traditions that we engage in at this time of the year and why. For example, masks, in ancient times it was believed that Spirits came back to the earthly world on Halloween because it was at this time of the year that the veil that separates our world from theirs is at it's most penetrable, so people wore scary masks to try and trick the ghosts into believing that they were fellow spirits, thus protected! As for the Jack O'Lantern, a hollowed out pumpkin was actually a turnip in origin. The old Irish fable tells it like this......Old Stingy Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an Apple tree and once he was at the top Jack carved crosses into the base of the tree so the Devil was trapped, he only let the Devil down when he promised not to take Jack's soul to Hell. When Jack's time came he found that he was not allowed into Heaven because of the mean, stingy life that he had led, but he also was not allowed into Hell either, all he had was an ember of fire from Hell that the Devil had flicked at him, he put this ember into a stolen turnip and cut out shapes to allow the beam to light his way. Jack's soul wandered for eternity in the void between Heaven and Hell , hence the hollowed out pumpkin, which, incidentally was introduced from the Irish Amercans as pumpkin carved more easily, a lighted candle is now used to ward off evil spirits. To carve your own authentic Jack O' Lantern follow the tips below.....................
Choose a large pumpkin and use a sharp serrated knife to cut off the crown.
Using a large serving spoon, scoop our the seeds and fibres and discard. Then remove some of the flesh.
With a marker pen draw a simple outline of a face on the pumpkin, with triangular eyes, nose and a jagged mouth with square shaped teeth, use a small serrated knife to cut out the features, always cut away from you incase the knife slips.
Put a tea light candle inside the pumpkin, light it and replace the crown.
Never leave a lighted candle unattended.
