| Think of Halloween and you'll no doubt conjure up | | | | Pagans, Wiccans and modern Witches today |
| images of a fun holiday filled with pumpkins, black | | | | celebrate Samhain in many diverse ways. Many enjoy |
| cats, candy, spooky costumes and Witches with | | | | the non-Pagan Halloween festivities in their local |
| warty hooked noses, green faces and a spine chilling | | | | neighbourhood, wearing costumes, eating candy, and |
| cackle. | | | | trick or treating. Others choose to celebrate by |
| But as a real Witch I see Halloween differently. And I | | | | taking part in religious rituals with other Pagans or |
| certainly do not have a warty hooked nose or a | | | | Wiccans and honour the dead. Many Witches join |
| flying broomstick! | | | | with their coven members to hold religious rites and |
| To many Pagans and Wiccans, Halloween is a great | | | | celebrate with feasting. Others take advantage of |
| festival marking the end of the old year and the | | | | the special time to practice some form of divination |
| beginning of a new one. Most witches join in with all | | | | such as Tarot Reading or Rune Reading and looking |
| the fun of the Halloween holiday too. I love to carve | | | | into the future. Others use the special time for |
| out a pumpkin to act as a lantern and when my | | | | meditation, visualisation and contemplation on their |
| children were small, I'd dress them up and take them | | | | desires for the coming New Year. |
| trick or treating. | | | | Personally I use the special evening of Halloween to |
| Halloween is the most important festival of the eight | | | | honour the gifts of the night, to conduct my Tarot |
| Sabbats that make up the Wheel of the Year. Each | | | | Readings and Spell Casting for myself and for others |
| Sabbat marks a point in the Wheel of the Year and | | | | who need my help. |
| are seasonal festivals celebrating and acknowledging | | | | Here's a great way for anyone to celebrate and |
| the cycles of nature as it turns through its seasons. | | | | honour the gifts of the night on Halloween. |
| Each Sabbat is celebrated by Wiccans and Witches. | | | | Halloween Honouring the Gifts of the Night |
| The eight Sabbats are the Summer and Winter | | | | Plan a night walk to honour the gifts of the night. |
| Solstices, the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes and four | | | | Ensure your safety by having a companion with you |
| fire festivals, of which Halloween is one. | | | | and a torch or lantern. Go to a forest, lakeside, the |
| Historically, the feast of Halloween comes from the | | | | ocean, a hillside, or quiet garden or park. Somewhere |
| Celtic tradition and is known as Samhain. Literally | | | | where you can see the stars and the moon, weather |
| meaning "summers end". Samhain signified the end of | | | | permitting. |
| summer and thus the end of the old year. It marked | | | | Breathe deeply as you take in all the sights, sounds, |
| the time of darkness, the time when crops lie | | | | smells and feelings of nature as it surrounds you. Pay |
| dormant, and the time when grazing animals were | | | | attention to all the Elements of Air, Earth, Fire and |
| brought in from the fields to winter shelter. | | | | Water that surround you and how they relate to all |
| There was also a spiritual significance given to this | | | | your senses. Let the joys of nature seep into your |
| important time of the year. Falling between the | | | | soul as you stroll along. |
| important religious feast days of the Autumn Equinox | | | | Look into the dark sky and connect with the energy |
| and the Winter Solstice, Samhain was also seen as a | | | | of the moon and stars. Silently ask the element of |
| sacred day. It was a time to remember past loved | | | | Spirit to connect with you. At this time be open to |
| ones, and a time to look to the future. It was | | | | any messages that come to you. |
| believed that communication between the living and | | | | Whatever you plan for Halloween, remember to have |
| the dead was most effective at this time, and that | | | | a great time! |
| acts of magic and divination were very potent. | | | | |