There is always some stubble left in the field, and there is a portion which is left for the Good Folk. Harvesting beyond a certain time brings ill-luck, as An Cailleach, or some say the Puca, bring withering effects across the land at Samhain. A vital element in this process is a period of incubation in the “fruitful darkness”. Courage, faith, and vulnerability are necessary to enter the cave, the labyrinth, the dark procession. When we reemerge, we are changed, but a little more whole.
It is also important to be mindful of not pushing oneself too hard in this context. Perfection is an unrealistic and cruel whip. All things to their own season; cycles of growth and change have their own rhythms, and we must honor this sacred process with authenticity, clarity, and kindness. Honor the time of Samhain, allowing your engagement with life to shift in accord with Nature, moving inward into a season of rest. I have oft seen Winter referred to as representing death, as Nature appears devoid of life during this time. It is something of a misunderstanding to simply say that “death precedes life.” Rather, it is this idea of “incubation”, of potentiality resting in darkness, that precedes “life”. Then follows a cycle of growth, activity, outward expansion of energy, leading again to dissolution and reintegration. Again, and again, in an ongoing chain of transformation.
Our Ancestors toiled so that we, their descendants, would survive and hopefully thrive to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Let us not forget to show the Ancestors some joy! The lore is likewise replete with how the Good Folk love a good party. Generosity and hospitality are sacred and virtues in the Gaelic worldview. We have a spiritual imperative to share good things in life. Joy radiates, and the Ancestors and Themselves can likewise receive blessings from us in this way.
The ever-changing seasons can help us learn to participate fully in the joys and sorrows of the world. Instead of turning our backs on it, we stand in our Sacred Center, our wellspring of equilibrium and divinity, and engage with our pains, losses, deaths, and triumphs as natural and essential aspects of life.
This is echoed in myriad beliefs and customs, potently in evidence at Samhain. The agricultural harvest was complete, and the crops were in. There was no more outward signs of growth and the potency of the land is withdrawn into a suspended cycle of dormancy. Even Nature needs a nap! It must out with the old to prepare for the new. Nature does not cling to anything past its due time.
Samhain itself was a time of “no-time”, or a time “outside of time”. Some sources place Samhain at the first dark moon after the harvests were in. Others at the first frosts, when An Cailleach, the “Old Woman of Winter”, had fully awoken from her Summer slumber. Where she breathes across the landscape, frosts take hold. When she shakes out her plaid, the first snows fall. And yet others time Samhain according the alignments of the Pleiades, Antares, or the sun. An important point is brought to light when considering these: there was highly localized variance in accord with different landscapes and climate.
As a liminal, threshold time, Samhain was also spiritually dangerous. During this time, when the veil between worlds is dissolved, spirits roam freely through the worlds. And while there are many friendly spirits, some should indeed be feared. They are not all simply curious or wish us goodwill and friendship. Who knows why spirits do what they do? There are myriad protective charms, incantations, and practices to help keep our wits about us and harm at bay during Samhain. Guising and punkies are two of these.
Guising, the donning of costumes and disguises, served to trick tricksy spirits into thinking you were one of their ilk, thus protecting you from being spirited away. It also partook of the mischievous side of Samhain, when social order was upended, and normality unhinged.
Carved turnips with a candle set inside, called “punkies”, were set about to frighten away unfriendly spirits. In North America, this took the form of the pumpkin jack-o-lantern. I carve both. These fright lights helped safely guide the Ancestors back to the home of their living family, which was thoroughly cleaned, and hospitality awaited them. Food was plated, tobacco set out, tongs placed by the fire, and doors left unbarred to welcome the Spirits after the family retired for the night. In some sources, it is the Good Folk who come to enjoy the feast. In others, it is the Ancestors. All warrant due respect, though they may not all deserve our love and devotion.
Even the elements and the stars themselves are our Ancestors. As nothing ever really “dies”, we are our Ancestors, and we live and breath them all around us. We take form from that which already is, the duile (elements) of stone (bones), earth (flesh), plants (hair), sea (blood), wind (breath), moon (mind), sun (face), cloud (brain), heaven (head). When our time is done, we again become our elemental, ancestral forms.
As with each Holytide, Samhain has its associated sacred foods and feasts. In ancient custom, mutton and boar were the offerings for the sacral feast, along with pigs and fruits of the fields given as tribute to lords. In modern times, we make foods such as colcannon, barmbrack, and fuarag. Circuits of hospitality, replete with guesting, feasting, and storytelling, characterized social life for our Ancestors during this season, and we continue these customs of hearth and home in ways that are relevant for us in our own times.
In my personal practice, Samhain begins at dark moon. It is not a single night, but a period of time, usually lasting a fortnight, where I do a series of different private observances at home. I draw a single ogham on each night of the dark moon and record my interpretations in a journal (this year was alder, rowan, and bramble). At the light of the new moon, I do deep intention setting, and then put these to “seed” to incubate for a spell. It follows the rhythms of Nature where I live, blossoming and growing as the cycle of life flows.
Our landscapes of meaning are ever-changing and diverse for each of us.
What is remembered, lives. May your Samhain be blessed.
~ Erika