Sun Signs Everything Under The Sun!
What does Halloween have to do with Witchcraft?
The religion known as Wicca and its sibling and cousin religions are all based on the recognition of an ever-turning wheel as part of the yearly cycle. Like all cycles, it has a beginning and an end, and Samhain represents the portion of the year where things are coming to an end. Let’s see how Halloween and witchcraft are related.
The Sun God has passed through his maturity at Litha, to his old age at Lughnasadh, and now it is time for him to pass on into the realm of the dead in preparation for his rebirth at Yule. As such, this Pagan holiday is also the ‘Witches New Year’.
The word ‘Samhain’ describes this Wicca holiday of Halloween, comes from an Irish holiday of the dead. The traditions related to this holiday are also largely driven to the same. But in the absorptive nature of the Wiccan faith, any individual group can assimilate traditions from religions all over the world.
Halloween Traditions
The common denominator that stands at the core of the Wiccan tradition of Halloween is the honoring and recognition of those who have passed before us. The carved pumpkins (originally gourds, as pumpkins are native to the New World) and the lights therein were used to either ward off evil spirits or to guide spirits back to the spirit world so they didn’t get lost or stuck in this world.
The original use of the costumes is largely in question, partially due to a lack of written records predating 1585 in Scotland. It is however safe to assume based on a variety of evidence, and the preponderance of tradition, that the practice goes back before this. The origins of these Wiccan practices vary in purpose and style depending on where you herald back to, but they do tend to share one common theme.
The individuals dressed up were generally dressed up as frightening or disturbing creatures, representing various mischievous spirits or ghosts. Those so dressed would then go from house to house, singing songs or reciting verses and collecting treats of various sorts. These were usually accompanied by threats of mischief if they did not receive those things for which they petitioned.
Often the costumes were worn to confuse or ward away mischievous spirits from the homes and community. It is also a way to guide the spirits off so that they don’t remain trapped here.
Halloween and Witchcraft: Why are the Popular?
This time of year also has an effect known as ‘the thinning of the veil’. This refers to the barrier between this world and the spirit world. It assists in communication with those who have passed on. Being a liminal time it is bound on the border of one year and the next. It is bound between the land of the dead and the living. So, it is often good for divinatory practices as well.
Additionally, it is a season of death and a turning point in the Wicca wheel of the year. This holiday of Halloween is very popular as the equivalent of ‘New Year’s Resolution’.
It’s time to set old rivalries, bad habits, and pains to rest, and arrive in the new year refreshed. In some traditions, things that need to be released are written on slips of paper. Then, ritualistically they are thrown into a fire.
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