Happy Halloween
Let’s look at the lighter and brighter side of Halloween…
As with most things, the festival of Halloween did not start out as we know it today… with images of ghosts, witches, broomsticks and pumpkins. Believe it or not, Halloween did have a more serious purpose but over time that significance has been lost. Halloween had its origins from the Celts in Ireland and Europe, today it is most popular in America and Canada and has spread to other countries, especially where members of the population have Celtic roots.
This pagan festival existed long before the birth of Christianity, which took up some aspects of the Celtic customs. In the 8th century Pope Gregory III chose the 1st of November as the day to honour and pay homage to the ancestor souls and saints who had passed on, so it became a tradition to remember our dear departed at this time of year. In the Christian calendar the day was originally called ‘All Soul’s Day’, and ‘All Saints Day’. This related to the journey of life, the movement onwards from birth to death, and then the cycle of life would continue. Actually, it was a time to celebrate letting go of the negative energies in our life and to embrace newness as we stepped into the future.
In Mexico and South America they have similar days of remembrance on the 1st and 2nd of November, there these celebration days are a national holiday called the ‘Day of the Dead.’ There are variations on this custom in many different cultures. ‘All Saint’s Day’ or ‘All Soul’s Day’ was a time to make an offering in honour of the dead. So people would make biscuits to give to those who would knock on their door. These were special biscuits made for this occasion in remembrance of those ancestor souls who had passed on. This biscuit called a ‘soul cake’ or ‘soul-mass cake’ was made, it was small and round, similar to a spiced shortbread. These soul cakes were a form of payment to those who would come door to door to offer prayers in the name of the departed to save their soul. In other places they were given to people who dressed up in costume at this same time of year.
Halloween takes place on 31st October, and this day marks an ending, and 1st November marks a new beginning. Interestingly, it is also the solstice time, where the daylight hours become less, and those in the UK, USA and a few other places change their clocks: ‘spring forward, fall back’. In spring one hour forward and in fall, autumn, one hour back.
As the wheel of life turned it was believed that at this transition time, between the end of October and the beginning of November that the wall between the old and the new, the living and the departed ones was the thinnest. A bit like the end of one year and the beginning of the next, there is a transition moment. Here in terms of numerology we have 111 at work, 01.11 – for the 1st of November and there is some mystical significance in these numbers. The number 1 and 11 relate to movement forward and spiritual awakening and a rising of consciousness. Some see the number relating to abundance and good fortune. 111 may also be a sort of call or nudge from God, the Universe and the angels to come back into spiritual alignment.
As we come into autumn and then winter, Nature prepares for the new spring and summer. In the same way this is a time for us to declutter and detox the old stale energies, in our life and in our mind too. In India around the same time there is the event of Dashera, depicting the burning of Ravan and evil, and then Diwali, a celebration of the light and redemption.
The whole imagery here is of light and cleansing, a looking forward to health, happiness and abundance. There are so many spiritual overlaps between these different faith traditions. Newness, light, love and cleansing, these are universal principles and practices. Not just on the outer level, with the physical cleaning, but on the inner level too. Where there is a cleansing of the intellect, to remove the darkness of ignorance within the self, and to step into the light of soul awareness. It is good time to empower our own intuitive powers more and bring them to the fore.
On this day some people will take the opportunity for some deep inner and outer cleansing. They may meditate more; eat more healthily; take a salt bath; and consciously do something to clean their aura. So it is a time of cleansing and to invoke the return of the angels in our life. Some people might light a candle, make an offering, or say a prayer in the name of the departed, appreciating their life and call upon their dear ones for help to guide them in their life. We call it the ‘afterlife’ but there is an eternal energetic connection between us as souls. It is truly a soul connection.
The word Halloween itself relates to what was known as “All Hollow’s Eve” – the “hallowed evening”, this later became condensed and known as Halloween. The ‘trick and treating’ began in North America in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and the popularity of this event has spread around the world. In the evening people would dress up as saints and go door to door, this is how the ‘trick and treating’ began. The practice of carving faces on pumpkins and other vegetables to create ‘jack-o-lanterns’ came from an Irish custom to scare aware the evil spirits from the farmlands and crops, then this too became a natural addition to the festival.
To put things into perspective, we have to remember how much people’s lives were connected to the seasons and Nature. Many people would have worked on the land, therefore events and festivals would be used to celebrate and mark different moments in time. In more distant times everyone would have understood something about the pagan festival called ‘Samhain’, now called Halloween, a celebration for the last harvest. As winter approached everyone would hunker down to prepare for the coldest and darkest season of the year, and wait the newness and new life of spring. Together with this would come the new crops; new growth; and new life as the people moved from the darkness of winter to the lightness and renewal of the next year and spring.
It’s Time… to honour our ancestor souls with love and gratitude for their life, and for the abundance of Nature. It is also a time to keep lit our own inner lamp of soul awareness.
© ‘It’s Time…’ by Aruna Ladva, BK Publications London, UK
A timely reminder. Time to be still, out with the waste, reconnect with the self, the Divine and those who have gone before leaving their legacy of love. Life can sometimes become too busy an we forget. A time for newness, rebirth and renewal. Thank you for sharing Aruna ❤