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Chado2423 · 10-08-2007, 12:55 AM

Oct 8th

Blessings Be... Just in case I don't make it until midnight here... The Wiccan Word of the Day for Oct 8th is...

Samhein (celebrated Oct. 31st) Witchcraft: The Eight Sabbats part 1 of 8 - Find Internet TV

(Did you know that when Pagans celebrate Samhein in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltaine is celebrated in the Southern hemisphere?)

I specifically chose this word, because it is the next Wiccan/Pagan holiday coming up. I don't want to get into a debate about Halloween festivities, but rather to clarify and as accurately as possible define the tradtional meaning of Samhein. Samhein is pronounced one of three ways, the first is Sow-wen, the ow, like the ow in cow. The second is Sah-wen, the ah, like the a in father, and the third is Saven, Like Sah, the ah in father, and ven like ven in oven. By Wiccans and neo-pagans it is never pronounced as "Sam-hayn" unless either jokingly, or mispronounced by a new and unknowledgable initiate. Samhain is said to mark "summer's end" and is one of eight pagan sabbats, or holidays. So next time anyone in your church says anything about Wicca and or Modern Paganism (not to be confused with Biblical paganism which is quite different), you can politely ask them "Did you know that there are eight traditional Wiccan holidays?" They might be aghast when they find out that you might even know them by name. Samhein, being the Wiccan new year. And the other seven holidays are Yule, Imbolc (pronounced Im-balk, like chalk, or Im-bowl-k), Ostara (Oh-star-ah), Beltaine(Bel-tayn) , Midsummer, and Mabon, (may-bone, or May-bon). In all actuality each holiday may have a differing name depending upon the tradtion, but the general concepts and reasons for the holiday remain relatively consistent throughout most pagan and neo-pagan customs.

Samhein is often considered the most important date in the pagan calendar, and it marks the beginning of the spiritual year (although some pagans celebrate the new year at another sabbat, Imbolc) {{and Goddess knows I need a re-birth from my past!!}} Samhain falls halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice on October 31st. Many pagans begin their celebrations at sundown on the 31st, and continue festivities through November 1st and sometimes beyond. (In the southern hemisphere, where summer is just beginning, pagans are celebrating Beltane.) Saimhain is specifically a holiday of Celtic origin. And it can be celebrated by anyone, who wishes to identify with the Celtic views. No Pagan holiday should only be reserved with just Wiccans in mind, instead all Pagan holidays are (at least in theory) open for all who wish to partake and become in tune with the divine.

The reason for the pronunciation confusion with the spelling is because the word is a Gaelic word, and is pronounced in the Gaelic fashion. In order to dispell some of the mis-information you may find on the web, I must make mention that Samhein is not the name of a God... Samhein is the Gaelic word for November. In a particular article in The Watchman Fellowship Inc. they expressed concern about the dangers of inter-religious dialog, and in this article they asserted that "It [Halloween] was at this time of the year that Baal, the Celtic god of Spring and Summer, ended his reign. It was also when the Lord of the Dead, Samhain, began his reign." The conceptual wording and context of these two sentences is rather confusing to anyone who has genuine knowledge of Pagan customs. There is no Celtic God by the name of Samhain. Samhein = Novemember or more accurately "Summer's End" in linguistic translation. And the God worshipped was not a God of The Dead. It is the day a God dies. And theologically He dies at this time every year.

Historically, the Celts had an autumn festival termed the "End of Summer", which was a pastoral and agricultural "fire festival" or feast, when the dead revisited the mortal world, and large communal bonfires would hence be lit to ward off evil spirits. The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is generally regarded as 'The Celtic New Year.' It is also termed "The Pagan New Year", "The Wiccan New Year", "The Witches' New Year", "The Night Of The Ancestors". Basically Samhain is an ancient Celtic fire festival marking the final harvest and the end of the ‘light half’ of the year. Traditionally it is believed that the veil between the physical and spirit realms is at its thinnest at Samhain – allowing the spirits of the dead to commune freely with the living. It is a time to not only honor the deceased, but to commune with them... as their spirits live on beyond the veil of this world and the otherworlds. Many Wiccans/Pagans aspire to commune with their friends and family who have passed on... to honor them, and to revere them as Sacred in the here and now in the most proper time to do so.

Modern-day Samhain is the day when many Wiccans believe that their God dies, later to be reborn. Thus, Samhain is not the worship of a God of death; instead it is actually a yearly observance of the death of a God. Wiccans and other pagan faith groups believe that Samhain is the time during which life and death walk hand in hand. On this day, the veil that separates the worlds (our plane of living and the plane of the dead) is at its thinnest. Many things are possible on this holiday. The God has arrived at the edge of life and is conceived as a seed that will be reborn soon. The Goddess in the form of the Crone rules, teaching us lessons and allowing our ancestors to guide us. Samhain is one of the most maligned and least understood holidays by non-pagans. Contrary to the modern media images of vampires, "evil-witchcraft", demons, devils and such, during the season of Halloween, Wiccans believe that this is a time to remember and honor those who have gone before us. Since the veil is indeed thin, this is the ideal holiday to contact ancestors and initiate communication. Because it is the Wiccan "new year" it is also a time to cut away practices and behaviors that inhibit our personal growth, and the Crone aspect of the Mother Goddess is ever present to assist in removing that which is unhealthy from our lives. It is also a time to plan for the future through divination practices, ritualized prayer, or spellcraft... or simply fellowship with family and friends. Appropriate rituals include contacting ancestors within sacred circle, honoring the lives of those who have gone before us, releasing destructive habits, divination activities, and all transformation rituals.

Simplistically, Samhein means "summer's end." The translation into the term November is simply because the names for the months in Celtic tradition had proverbial meanings.. The name of the Month was the phrase "Summer's End." And this term merely referred to the end of one year and the beginning of the new. Translated directly into English it would be Summer's End, but Samhein is also the Gaelic name for the month of November. The term the "Feast of The Dead" is often used in Samhein celebration, and sometimes in certain practices their is the practice of a "false supper" (for lack of knowing the proper term). This is a supper, usually the favorite dish of the ancestor... or ancestors, or someone whom one wishes to identify with, that is not eaten. Some people have the ritual of setting up empty plates. Others have the ritual of actually serving the deceased, but later feeding the food to the creature of the Earth or even preserving it, and passing the left-overs to family and friends (or perhaps even the homeless) the following day Nov. 1.

This is also the time of the year when the Goddess transforms from Mother to Crone. In her Crone form she mourns the death of the God, and honors him by giving the power to be re-birthed. This is symbolic of transitioning from the past of one year, and into the next, when hope can re-born.

And Also A Poem/Song "I'm not An Evil Man" by Crimson Peaceful Wolf

I don't know what you've been told, but I'm not an evil man,
I make mistakes, as any other, just like you do
But I also do that which is pure and holy, loving and true,
The same as any other, just like you do

I don't know what you've been told, but I'm not an evil man
I am here living, as any other, just like you do,
Wishing for a peaceful life, one that is pure and holy and true
The same as any other, just like you do.

I don't know what you've been told, but I'm not an evil man,
I make mistakes, as any other, just like you do
But I also do that which is pure and holy, loving and true,
The same as any other, just like you do

For the first time in American history, a military memorial plaque bearing a Wiccan pentacle has been placed in a veterans cemetery
A Hero Denied
Pagan Elders Dedicate the Pentacle Plaque for Sgt. Stewart
"The Symbol" Song - Pentacle Song

10-08-2007, 12:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
Chado2423 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 388	Oct 8th Blessings Be... Just in case I don't make it until midnight here... The Wiccan Word of the Day for Oct 8th is... Samhein (celebrated Oct. 31st) Witchcraft: The Eight Sabbats part 1 of 8 - Find Internet TV (Did you know that when Pagans celebrate Samhein in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltaine is celebrated in the Southern hemisphere?) I specifically chose this word, because it is the next Wiccan/Pagan holiday coming up. I don't want to get into a debate about Halloween festivities, but rather to clarify and as accurately as possible define the tradtional meaning of Samhein. Samhein is pronounced one of three ways, the first is Sow-wen, the ow, like the ow in cow. The second is Sah-wen, the ah, like the a in father, and the third is Saven, Like Sah, the ah in father, and ven like ven in oven. By Wiccans and neo-pagans it is never pronounced as "Sam-hayn" unless either jokingly, or mispronounced by a new and unknowledgable initiate. Samhain is said to mark "summer's end" and is one of *eight* pagan sabbats, or holidays. So next time anyone in your church says anything about Wicca and or Modern Paganism (not to be confused with Biblical paganism which is quite different), you can politely ask them "Did you know that there are eight traditional Wiccan holidays?" They might be aghast when they find out that you might even know them by name. Samhein, being the Wiccan new year. And the other seven holidays are Yule, Imbolc (pronounced Im-balk, like chalk, or Im-bowl-k), Ostara (Oh-star-ah), Beltaine(Bel-tayn) , Midsummer, and Mabon, (may-bone, or May-bon). In all actuality each holiday may have a differing name depending upon the tradtion, but the general concepts and reasons for the holiday remain relatively consistent throughout most pagan and neo-pagan customs. *Samhein* is often considered the most important date in the pagan calendar, and it marks the beginning of the spiritual year (although some pagans celebrate the new year at another sabbat, Imbolc) {{and Goddess knows I need a re-birth from my past!!}} Samhain falls halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice on October 31st. Many pagans begin their celebrations at sundown on the 31st, and continue festivities through November 1st and sometimes beyond. (In the southern hemisphere, where summer is just beginning, pagans are celebrating Beltane.) Saimhain is specifically a holiday of Celtic origin. And it can be celebrated by anyone, who wishes to identify with the Celtic views. No Pagan holiday should only be reserved with just Wiccans in mind, instead all Pagan holidays are (at least in theory) open for all who wish to partake and become in tune with the divine. The reason for the pronunciation confusion with the spelling is because the word is a Gaelic word, and is pronounced in the Gaelic fashion. In order to dispell some of the mis-information you may find on the web, I must make mention that Samhein is not the name of a God... Samhein is the Gaelic word for November. In a particular article in The Watchman Fellowship Inc. they expressed concern about the dangers of inter-religious dialog, and in this article they asserted that "It [Halloween] was at this time of the year that Baal, the Celtic god of Spring and Summer, ended his reign. It was also when the Lord of the Dead, Samhain, began his reign." The conceptual wording and context of these two sentences is rather confusing to anyone who has genuine knowledge of Pagan customs. There is no Celtic God by the name of Samhain. Samhein = Novemember or more accurately "Summer's End" in linguistic translation. And the God worshipped was not a God of The Dead. It is the day a God dies. And theologically He dies at this time every year. Historically, the Celts had an autumn festival termed the "End of Summer", which was a pastoral and agricultural "fire festival" or feast, when the dead revisited the mortal world, and large communal bonfires would hence be lit to ward off evil spirits. The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is generally regarded as 'The Celtic New Year.' It is also termed "The Pagan New Year", "The Wiccan New Year", "The Witches' New Year", "The Night Of The Ancestors". Basically Samhain is an ancient Celtic fire festival marking the final harvest and the end of the ‘light half’ of the year. Traditionally it is believed that the veil between the physical and spirit realms is at its thinnest at Samhain – allowing the spirits of the dead to commune freely with the living. It is a time to not only honor the deceased, but to commune with them... as their spirits live on beyond the veil of this world and the otherworlds. Many Wiccans/Pagans aspire to commune with their friends and family who have passed on... to honor them, and to revere them as Sacred in the here and now in the most proper time to do so. Modern-day Samhain is the day when many Wiccans believe that their God dies, later to be reborn. Thus, Samhain is not the worship of a God of death; instead it is actually a yearly observance of the death of a God. Wiccans and other pagan faith groups believe that Samhain is the time during which life and death walk hand in hand. On this day, the veil that separates the worlds (our plane of living and the plane of the dead) is at its thinnest. Many things are possible on this holiday. The God has arrived at the edge of life and is conceived as a seed that will be reborn soon. The Goddess in the form of the Crone rules, teaching us lessons and allowing our ancestors to guide us. Samhain is one of the most maligned and least understood holidays by non-pagans. Contrary to the modern media images of vampires, "evil-witchcraft", demons, devils and such, during the season of Halloween, Wiccans believe that this is a time to remember and honor those who have gone before us. Since the veil is indeed thin, this is the ideal holiday to contact ancestors and initiate communication. Because it is the Wiccan "new year" it is also a time to cut away practices and behaviors that inhibit our personal growth, and the Crone aspect of the Mother Goddess is ever present to assist in removing that which is unhealthy from our lives. It is also a time to plan for the future through divination practices, ritualized prayer, or spellcraft... or simply fellowship with family and friends. Appropriate rituals include contacting ancestors within sacred circle, honoring the lives of those who have gone before us, releasing destructive habits, divination activities, and all transformation rituals. Simplistically, Samhein means "summer's end." The translation into the term November is simply because the names for the months in Celtic tradition had proverbial meanings.. The name of the Month was the phrase "Summer's End." And this term merely referred to the end of one year and the beginning of the new. Translated directly into English it would be Summer's End, but Samhein is also the Gaelic name for the month of November. The term the "Feast of The Dead" is often used in Samhein celebration, and sometimes in certain practices their is the practice of a "false supper" (for lack of knowing the proper term). This is a supper, usually the favorite dish of the ancestor... or ancestors, or someone whom one wishes to identify with, that is not eaten. Some people have the ritual of setting up empty plates. Others have the ritual of actually serving the deceased, but later feeding the food to the creature of the Earth or even preserving it, and passing the left-overs to family and friends (or perhaps even the homeless) the following day Nov. 1. This is also the time of the year when the Goddess transforms from Mother to Crone. In her Crone form she mourns the death of the God, and honors him by giving the power to be re-birthed. This is symbolic of transitioning from the past of one year, and into the next, when hope can re-born. And Also A Poem/Song "I'm not An Evil Man" by Crimson Peaceful Wolf I don't know what you've been told, but I'm not an evil man, I make mistakes, as any other, just like you do But I also do that which is pure and holy, loving and true, The same as any other, just like you do I don't know what you've been told, but I'm not an evil man I am here living, as any other, just like you do, Wishing for a peaceful life, one that is pure and holy and true The same as any other, just like you do. I don't know what you've been told, but I'm not an evil man, I make mistakes, as any other, just like you do But I also do that which is pure and holy, loving and true, The same as any other, just like you do For the first time in American history, a military memorial plaque bearing a Wiccan pentacle has been placed in a veterans cemetery A Hero Denied Pagan Elders Dedicate the Pentacle Plaque for Sgt. Stewart "The Symbol" Song - Pentacle Song Last edited by Chado2423; 10-08-2007 at 05:45 PM.