Halloween is a magical time of year for many people. It’s a time when we can let some of our inhibitions go temporarily. Halloween allows all of us to confront our fears in a controlled way via scary costumes and haunted attractions. Secular Halloween is fun, but there is a spiritual history behind the holiday. Many pagans and witches still observe the rituals and meanings behind it.
For the Celts, who lived during the Iron Age in what is now Ireland, Scotland, the U.K., and other parts of Northern Europe, Samhain (pronounced saa-win) marked the end of summer and kicked off the Celtic new year. Ushering in a new year signaled a time of both death and rebirth, something that was doubly symbolic because it coincided with the end of a bountiful harvest season and the beginning of a cold and dark winter.
Samhain is one of the eight sabbats celebrated by Wiccans and other pagan religious groups. Pagans recognize a seasonal calendar known as the Wheel of the Year, based on the agricultural cycle of the U.K. The Wheel of the Year honors the blessings and changes of each season and acknowledges that the year has two halves — a light half (spring/summer) and a dark (half autumn/winter).
We recognize Samhain as the third and final harvest festival. The first is Lughnasadh at the beginning of August. Lughnasadh celebrates the harvest of grains and the last of the summer fruits and vegetables. It is fondly called the bread holiday. The second is Mabon. Mabon is celebrated on the autumn equinox and is a time of balance, thanksgiving, and celebrating the harvest of the last of the fall fruits and vegetables. Some consider Mabon to be Witches’ Thanksgiving.
Samhain is the final harvest of the fall season. This would have been a time when our ancestors brought in any remaining grains and vegetables from the fields and slaughtered animals to supply meat for the upcoming winter. Special bonfires were lit, which were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers. The animal harvest at Samhain may be one of the reasons that death is associated with it. However, nature grows dormant now, which is likely another reason we associate death with this time of year.
According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Beltane) was when the “doorways” to the Otherworld opened, allowing supernatural beings and souls of the dead to come into our world. While Beltane was a summer festival for the living, Samhain was often considered a festival for the dead.
The origins of Halloween are so closely tied to Samhain, it would be easy to say that your Halloween celebrations are much like Samhain celebrations. There’s lots of overlap, but one of the biggest differences between them is intention and reverence.
Many Wiccans will perform a Samhain ritual close to October 31st — the date we have standardized as Samhain/Halloween. Samhain rituals typically honor deities associated with death and rebirth from various cultures, calling out to our ancestors and honoring them or leaving them offerings. Some people put up an ancestor altar at this time.
Halloween is the commercialized version of a religious holiday, giving it a slightly different energy from the origins of Samhain. Many Wiccans and pagans enjoy Halloween as a part of Samhain. Some of us will decorate our homes or workspaces with seasonal decor. We carve pumpkins, go to corn mazes and haunted houses, and buy a ridiculous amount of candy. We may likely end up in a costume at a party, eating and drinking with our community — much like our ancestors. We can do all of these fun and exciting things for Halloween, so long as we understand that when we begin the religious portion of our seasonal rites, we must do that part with reverence and intention. Halloween is fun. Samhain is sacred.
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.