posted October 15, 2013 03:20 AM            

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Samhain, ( SOW-an) is one of the four major Sabbats of Wicca. It is a time for contemplation on the year past and connection with those who have gone before. In some traditions, there are conversations with the ancestors, dearly departed and others who have had impact on the lives of those who are still on the physical plain. In many cultures, there are particular deities that people connect to during the Samhain celebration. Samhain has components that are both physical and spiritual. On the physical level, it is a time to recall the period when people gathered all the harvest to be utilized during the winter months. On the spiritual side, it is a time to reflect on what has happened during the year: what worked and did not work, changes that were made -- and still need to be made -- in order to move forward into the new year. As the “veil between the worlds” is very thin, it is a great time to see the timelessness of the past, present and future for yourself.

Many traditions celebrate a Feast for the Dead or Dumb Feast either on Samhain eve or during the Samhain ritual to honor those who have come before. There are other festivals that came after Samhain, such as Lemuria, a Roman feast of the Dead, All Hallow's Eve (also known as Halloween) and there is even a Christian holiday called all Saint's Day. All are different ways to celebrate and communicate with our inner selves, our ancestors, and our deities. It is also a time when we show respect to those who have gone before us and impacted our lives. These remembrances assist us as Wiccans and Pagans to maintain the balance and harmony between the light and dark parts of ourselves, our relationships and our world.

Wicca is a religion and spirituality of balance and harmony. In the Celtic mythology, we can see this balance and harmony very clearly. One particular Irish deity that best demonstrates this balance is Bilé ( Bee-LEH) . His is the realm is the underworld. According to myth, this God arrived on the Emerald Isle at Beltaine where he met the Goddess Danu. Previous to his coming, the spirits of those who had left their physical bodies were roaming the countryside sometimes causing havoc with their wailing. Some of them had become banshees and their collective voices kept many an Irishman up with their wailing. Some of the spirits even bothered their living relatives by sitting in their houses and making a nuisance of themselves, preventing their relatives from sleeping by crying, walking around, and moving furniture.

The living leaders came to the Goddess Danu and asked her to find a way to help their deceased relatives pass over to another place where they would not disturb their living relatives. Once the Goddess Danu met and spent time with Bilé, she asked him to lead those people who were ready to “pass through the veil to the other side”. Bilé was not very pleased with the idea of going to the underworld permanently but he agreed as his service to the Goddess in exchange for being able to return to be re-united with her once a year. This became the Celebration of Beltaine in Ireland. She turned him into the representation of a tree which is what his name means. This tree is the World Tree at the center of the Western Sea. It is the doorway or stairway that is utilized by people after they are ready to leave the physical realm and go to the Otherworld or Underworld.

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