halloween

quote on label:
The night holds both, beginning and end;
The wheel has come full circle again.
The past and future come into our sight;
All becomes One this magical night.
~Wren Walker
 
color: orange with black swirls
scent: orange & cinnamon
gemstone: black obsidian
 
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) which literally means "summer's end" in Gaelic. For early Europeans, it marked the beginning of the cold, lean months to come and meant plenty of festivals celebrating both abundance and the cycles of the seasons.
 
The Celts saw Samhain as a very spiritual time. Because October 31st lies exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, ancient cultures, with their reliance on astrology, believed it a potent time for magic and communion with spirits. The "veil between the worlds" of the living and the dead is said to be at its thinnest on this day.
 
As a kid, I loved Halloween for the candy. As a young adult, for the parties. Now I love Halloween for both its spiritual significance and its sheer sense of fun. When else can a person welcome the season of reflection and introspection, delight in the neighborhood kids' costumes and feel connected to spirits of past and present while munching Reeses?