01/11/2025
“Samhain is the threshold to the Season of Death. The fertile fields of summer give way to the bare forests of autumn. As crops slowly die and winter takes over, the cycle of life is once again approaching a renewal.”
― Dacha Avelin
The festival of Samhain (“summer’s end”) was celebrated the night before the New Year, presided over by the Lord of the Dead (Welsh — Arawn, Irish — Donn). The Celts traditionally recognized a twofold division of the year, summer running from Beltane (“fire of Bel” or Belenus, Celtic Christ), the Vernal Equinox to Samhain, (the Autumnal Equinox), and winter running from Samhain to Beltane.
It was later adopted as All Saints Day (November 1) in the Christian calendar, which replaced, especially in Celtic lands, a previous festival dedicated not only to all the dead, and especially the worthy dead, but likewise to endings — an idea connected with death.
Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker-half" of the year. In the northern hemisphere it is held on 1 November but with celebrations beginning on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.
This is about halfway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. It is one of the four quarter days associated with Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasa. Historically it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man (where it is called 'Sauin').
A similar festival was held by the Brittonic Celtic people, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan Gwav in Cornwall and Kalan Goañv in Brittany.
Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins and some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain. It is first mentioned in the earliest Irish literature, from the 9th century, and is associated with many important events in Irish mythology.
The early literature says Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts and was when the ancient burial mounds, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld, were opened. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices.
The festival was not recorded in detail until the early modern era. It was when cattle were brought down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them.
Like Beltane, Samhain was a liminal or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned, meaning the Aos Sí (the 'spirits' or 'fairies') could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of pagan gods. At Samhain, they were appeased with offerings of food and drink, to ensure the people and their livestock survived the winter.
The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them during a Samhain meal. Mumming and guising were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food.
The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination was also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples. In the late 19th century John Rhys and James Frazer suggested it was the "Celtic New Year" but that is disputed.
In the 9th century the Church had shifted the date of All Saints' Day to 1 November and 2 November later became All Souls' Day. It is believed that over time Samhain and All Saints'/All Souls' influenced each other and eventually syncretised into the modern Halloween. Folklorists have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs up until the 19th century.
Since the later 20th century Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday.
Etymology:
In Modern Irish as well as Scottish Gaelic the name is Samhain, usually with the definite article An tSamhain (Irish), An t-Samhain (Scottish Gaelic) and Yn Tauin (Manx). Older forms of the word include the Scottish Gaelic spellings Samhainn and Samhuinn. The Gaelic names for the month of November are derived from Samhain.
These names all come from the Old Irish Samain or Samuin (Saṽɨn), the name for the festival held on 1 November in medieval Ireland. This is believed to come from Proto-Indo-European semo- ("summer"). As John T. Koch notes, it is unclear why a festival marking the beginning of winter should include the word for "summer." One suggestion is that the name means "summer's end", from sam ("summer") and fuin ("end"), but this may be a folk etymology. In 1907, Whitley Stokes suggested an etymology from Proto-Celtic samani ("assembly"), and Joseph Vendryes suggested that it is unrelated to semo- ("summer"), because the Celtic summer ended in August.
Origins:
Samain or Samuin was the name of the festival (feis) marking the beginning of winter in Gaelic Ireland. It is attested in the earliest Old Irish literature, which dates from the 10th century onward. It was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (1 November), Imbolc (1 February), Bealtaine (1 May) and Lughnasa (1 August). Samhain and Bealtaine, at opposite sides of the year, are thought to have been the most important. Sir James George Frazer wrote in his 1890 book, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, that 1 May and 1 November are of little importance to European crop-growers, but of great importance to herdsmen practising seasonal transhumance. It is at the beginning of summer that cattle are driven to the upland summer pastures and the beginning of winter that they are led back. Thus, Frazer suggests that halving the year at 1 May and 1 November dates from when the Celts were a mainly pastoral people, dependent on their herds.
Some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise around the times of Samhain and Imbolc. These include the Mound of the Hostages (Dumha na nGiall) at the Hill of Tara, and Cairn L at Slieve na Calliagh.
In Irish mythology:
Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but much of it was eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian monks.
Irish mythology says that Samhain was one of the four seasonal festivals of the year, and the 10th-century tale Tochmarc Emire ('The Wooing of Emer') lists Samhain as the first of these four "quarter days."
The literature says a peace would be declared and there were great gatherings where they held meetings, feasted, drank alcohol, and held contests. These gatherings are a popular setting for early Irish tales.
The tale Echtra Cormaic ('Cormac's Adventure') says that the Feast of Tara was held every seventh Samhain, hosted by the High King of Ireland, during which new laws and duties were ordained; anyone who broke the laws established during this time would be banished.
According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Bealtaine) was a time when the 'doorways' to the Otherworld opened, allowing supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to come into our world; while Bealtaine was a summer festival for the living, Samhain "was essentially a festival for the dead."
The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn says that the sídhe (fairy mounds or portals to the Otherworld) "were always open at Samhain."
Each year the fire-breather Aillen emerges from the Otherworld and burns down the palace of Tara during the Samhain festival after lulling everyone to sleep with his music. One Samhain, the young Fionn mac Cumhaill is able to stay awake and slays Aillen with a magical spear, for which he is made leader of the fianna. In a similar tale, one Samhain the Otherworld being Cúldubh comes out of the burial mound on Slievenamon and snatches a roast pig.
Fionn kills Cúldubh with a spear throw as he re-enters the mound. Fionn's thumb is caught between the door and the post as it shuts, and he puts it in his mouth to ease the pain. As his thumb had been inside the Otherworld, Fionn is bestowed with great wisdom. This may refer to gaining knowledge from the ancestors.
Acallam na Senórach ('Colloquy of the Elders') tells how three female werewolves emerge from the cave of Cruachan (an Otherworld portal) each Samhain and kill livestock. When Cas Corach plays his harp, they take on human form, and the fianna warrior Caílte then slays them with a spear.
Some tales suggest that offerings or sacrifices were made at Samhain. In the Lebor Gabála Érenn (or 'Book of Invasions'), each Samhain the people of Nemed had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn and their milk to the monstrous Fomorians. The Fomorians seem to represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature; personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight and drought.
This tribute paid by Nemed's people may represent a "sacrifice offered at the beginning of winter, when the powers of darkness and blight are in the ascendant." According to the later Dindsenchas and the Annals of the Four Masters — which were written by Christian monks — Samhain in ancient Ireland was associated with a god or idol called Crom Cruach.
The texts claim that a first-born child would be sacrificed at the stone idol of Crom Cruach in Magh Slécht. They say that King Tigernmas, and three-fourths of his people, died while worshiping Crom Cruach there one Samhain.
The legendary kings Diarmait mac Cerbaill and Muirchertach mac Ercae each die a threefold death on Samhain, which involves wounding, burning and drowning, and of which they are forewarned. In the tale Togail Bruidne Dá Derga ('The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel'), king Conaire Mór also meets his death on Samhain after breaking his geasa (prohibitions or taboos).
He is warned of his impending doom by three undead horsemen who are messengers of Donn, god of the dead. The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn tells how each Samhain the men of Ireland went to woo a beautiful maiden who lives in the fairy mound on Brí Eile (Croghan Hill). It says that each year someone would be killed "to mark the occasion", by persons unknown.
Some academics suggest that these tales recall human sacrifice, and argue that several ancient Irish bog bodies (such as Old Croghan Man) appear to have been kings who were ritually killed, some of them around the time of Samhain.
In the Echtra Neraí ('The Adventure of Nera'), King Ailill of Connacht sets his retinue a test of bravery on Samhain night. He offers a prize to whoever can make it to a gallows and tie a band around a hanged man's ankle. Each challenger is thwarted by demons and runs back to the king's hall in fear. However, Nera succeeds, and the dead man then asks for a drink. Nera carries him on his back and they stop at three houses.
They enter the third, where the dead man drinks and spits it on the householders, killing them. Returning, Nera sees a fairy host burning the king's hall and slaughtering those inside. He follows the host through a portal into the Otherworld. Nera learns that what he saw was only a vision of what will happen the next Samhain unless something is done. He is able to return to the hall and warns the king.
The tale Aided Chrimthainn maic Fidaig ('The Killing of Crimthann mac Fidaig') tells how Mongfind kills her brother, king Crimthann of Munster, so that one of her sons might become king. Mongfind offers Crimthann a poisoned drink at a feast, but he asks her to drink from it first. Having no other choice but to drink the poison, she dies on Samhain eve. The Middle Irish writer notes that Samhain is also called Féile Moingfhinne (the Festival of Mongfind or Mongfhionn), and that "women and the rabble make petitions to her" at Samhain.
Many other events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. The invasion of Ulster that makes up the main action of the Táin Bó Cúailnge ('Cattle Raid of Cooley') begins on Samhain. As cattle-raiding typically was a summer activity, the invasion during this off-season surprised the Ulstermen. The Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh also begins on Samhain.
The Morrígan and The Dagda meet and have s*x before the battle against the Fomorians; in this way the Morrígan acts as a sovereignty figure and gives the victory to the Dagda's people, the Tuatha Dé Danann. In Aislinge Óengusa ('The Dream of Óengus') it is when he and his bride-to-be switch from bird to human form, and in Tochmarc Étaíne ('The Wooing of Étaín') it is the day on which Óengus claims the kingship of Brú na Bóinne.
Several sites in Ireland are especially linked to Samhain. Each Samhain a host of otherworldly beings was said to emerge from Oweynagat ("cave of the cats"), at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon. The Hill of Ward (or Tlachtga) in County Meath is thought to have been the site of a great Samhain gathering and bonfire; the Iron Age ringfort is said to have been where the goddess or druid Tlachtga gave birth to triplets and where she later died.
In The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996), Ronald Hutton writes:
"No doubt there were (pagan) religious observances as well, but none of the tales ever portrays any."
The only historic reference to pagan religious rites is in the work of Geoffrey Keating (died 1644), but his source is unknown. Hutton says it may be that no religious rites are mentioned because, centuries after Christianization, the writers had no record of them.
Spirits and souls:
As noted earlier, Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the aos sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies' (the little folk), could more easily come into our world. Many scholars see the aos sí as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits. At Samhain, it was believed that the aos sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink would be left outside for the aos sí, and portions of the crops might be left in the ground for them.
One custom — described a "blatant example" of a "pagan rite surviving into the Christian epoch" was observed in the Outer Hebrides until the early 19th century. On 31 October, the locals would go down to the shore. One man would wade into the water up to his waist, where he would pour out a cup of ale and ask 'Seonaidh' ('Shoney'), whom he called "god of the sea", to bestow blessings on them.
People also took special care not to offend the Aos-sí and sought to ward-off any who were out to cause mischief. They stayed near to home or, if forced to walk in the darkness, turned their clothing inside-out or carried iron or salt to keep them at bay.
The dead were also honored at Samhain. The beginning of winter may have been seen as the most fitting time to do so, as it was a time of 'dying' in nature. The souls of the dead were thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality. Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them.
The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures throughout the world.
James Frazer suggests:
"It was perhaps a natural thought that the approach of winter should drive the poor, shivering, hungry ghosts from the bare fields and the leafless woodlands to the shelter of the cottage."
However, the souls of thankful kin could return to bestow blessings just as easily as that of a wronged person could return to wreak revenge.
Celtic Revival:
During the late 19th and early 20th century Celtic Revival, there was an upswell of interest in Samhain and the other Celtic festivals. Sir John Rhys put forth that it had been the "Celtic New Year." He inferred it from contemporary folklore in Ireland and Wales, which he felt was "full of Hallowe'en customs associated with new beginnings." He visited Mann and found that the Manx sometimes called 31 October "New Year's Night" or Hog-unnaa.
The Tochmarc Emire, written in the Middle Ages, reckoned the year around the four festivals at the beginning of the seasons, and put Samhain at the beginning of those. However, Hutton says that the evidence for it being the Celtic or Gaelic New Year's Day is flimsy. Rhys's theory was popularized by Sir James George Frazer, though at times he did acknowledge that the evidence is inconclusive.
Frazer also put forth that Samhain had been the pagan Celtic festival of the dead and that it had been Christianized as All Saints and All Souls. Since then, Samhain has been popularly seen as the Celtic New Year and an ancient festival of the dead. The calendar of the Celtic League, for example, begins and ends at Samhain.
“Samhain is the threshold to the Season of Death. The fertile fields of summer give way to the bare forests of autumn. As crops slowly die and winter takes over, the cycle of life is once again approaching a renewal.”
― Dacha Avelin
The Egyptian Book of the Dead identifies Osiris, the God of the soul who symbolizes death and resurrection, with fire:
“I am the great One, the son of the great One. I am Fire, the son of Fire. I have made myself whole and sound. I have become young once more. I am Osiris, the Lord of Eternity.”
"The Rosicrucians of the middle ages, such as Robertus de Fluctibus, Paracelsus, Thomas Vaughan, Van Helmont and others, who sought the hidden spirit in every “inorganic” matter; exoterically, alchemy is the transmutation of base metals into gold and the elixir of life, from Al and Chemi, fire; the god and patriarch Khem; the name of Egypt."
― Helena Petrovna Blavatsky - Isis Unveiled - Volume I
“The Druids understood the meaning of the Sun in Ta**us, therefore, when, while all the fires were extinguished on the 1st of November, their sacred and inextinguishable fires alone remained to illumine the horizon, like those of the Magi and the modern Zoroastrians.”
― Helena Petrovna Blavatsky - The Secret Doctrine - Volume II
The Rig Veda, perhaps the oldest book in the world, begins with the image of the fire sacrifice:
"I worship the Sacred Fire (Agni) that is chief priest, the deity of the sacrifice, who works according to the seasons, the invoker, best to grant the treasure. The Sacred Fire honored by the ancient sages is invoked again by the new. For us he manifests all the Gods. To you, oh Fire, day by day, by dawn and by dusk we come bearing our offering of surrender, the king of the sacred rite, the guardian of truth, flourishing in his own nature."
― Rig Veda
"Stay in the spiritual fire, let it cook you."
― Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī
Samhain prayer to ancestors:
"This is the night when the gateway between our world and the spirit world is thinnest. Tonight is a night to call out those who came before. Tonight I honor my ancestors. Spirits of my fathers and mothers, I call to you, and welcome you to join me for this night. You watch over me always, protecting and guiding me, and tonight I thank you. Your blood runs in my veins, your spirit is in my heart, your memories are in my soul. With the gift of remembrance, I remember all of you. You are dead but never forgotten, and you live on within me, and within those who are yet to come."
