Samhain journaling: embracing the dark
The History of Samhain
The Halloween we know today is the legacy of the ancient Celts who celebrated Samhain - pronounced sow-in - their most important festival of the year. The name Samhain means summer’s end in Gaelic and in the Iron Age this was actually new year; the year beginning in darkness, just like a seed or a human embryo. It is 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. Darkness in this context is not seen as bad – in nature, both light and dark have purpose and equal value.
During this festival, the world of the gods “was believed to be made visible to humankind,” leading to supernatural tricks and trouble; ghosts of the dead and spirits from the Otherworld were also thought to return to the earth during Samhain. To appease deities during this time, sacrifices (generally of crops and animals) were burned in bonfires as a protective measure from evil otherworldly beings. Offerings were left out for other visiting mischievous spirits. Tricks and pranks were often played but blamed on fairies and spirits during the three-day period when the line between the two worlds blurred.
The spiritual undertones of the Samhain festival also lent themselves to looking to the future, an appropriate activity for the start of the Celtic new year. At the bonfires of the festival, fortune-telling was done alongside sacrifices, and many participants also donned costumes, often masquerading as animals or beasts, in hopes of fooling spirits who might want to harm them.
As Christianity gained power during the Roman Empire, it co-opted some of the pagan traditions, such as turning the connection to ancestral spirits into creepy ghost stories:
“The co-opting of pagan beliefs was another way that the Early Christian church could solidify its power over conquered people. Salvation was only possible through the church and to deviate would result in your soul wandering in purgatory or worse. Costumes were worn during All Saints and Souls days to ward off evil spirits. The Irish emigration in the 19th Century brought these beliefs and customs to America, where they have solidified into a secular modern holiday we know as Halloween.” – Mabonhouse.com
The relevance of Samhain today
You don’t have to be Pagan to be interested in, or to celebrate, Samhain. Essentially it’s a recognition of the change of seasons; embracing the darkness that descends upon us and leaning into it’s lessons. We are reminded or mortality (read Autumn Existentialism parts one and two for more on that) and invited to slow down and ‘go inward’, just as the sap in the trees is doing to prepare for winter.
It’s a cultural problem we have that darkness has become something to fear, and death a topic to avoid at all costs. Samhain is a way to rectify this by making a celebration of this time of year, with both seriousness and levity, tricks and treats.
You can celebrate in any way you see fit, but here are some suggestions:
Go for a mindful walk in the woods, noticing all the autumn colours and the trees in different stages of letting go.
Invite friends round for a bonfire, or attend one in your community.
Embrace your ‘shadow self’ and dress up as something totally not you and surprise your friends
Host a ‘dumb supper’ where you set a place at the table for relatives/loved ones who have died. Look at photos, light candles and recall memories of them.
Make a seasonal recipe, perhaps one handed down by a relative.
Journal prompts for Samhain:
Your ancestors are close by today. What might they wish for you? Is there anything you'd like to say to them?
What needs to be let go of, or allowed to 'die', in your life at present? How might you do this? What might this make space for? Write the things you need to release on strips of paper and burn them (safely!).
What scares you about winter or the dark? What lesson or opportunity might this be offering you?
Amongst change and transition, what needs to endure for you? What is evergreen? (qualities/behaviours/relationships)
Consider what your 'shadow self' might be like. Choose a quality that really frustrates/upsets you about someone else. Might this be a disowned part of yourself? What steps could you take to befriend this part, so that you can become more whole?
What makes you feel most alive and present? Consider if you have enough of these places/activities/people in your life...if not, what can you do to increase your sense of aliveness?
Fall, leaves, fall
By Emily Brontë
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
