Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

Many years ago when I was in college I had a little dark side and I read numerous books on witchcraft and magic. I used to be completely fascinated by it.

Halloween, or Samhain to witches (an Irish/Gaelic term pronounced "sow-wen"), signifies the beginning of the New year.

Samhain is an important sun festival on the Wheel of the Year, which marks the eight important Sabbats, or festivals, that a practicing witch follows. These holidays are based on rituals dating back thousands of years and mark important seasonal dates like the equinoxes and solstices.


Witches typically celebrate Samhain by doing an evaluation of the past year (or turn of the Wheel) and making a list of what worked and what didn't. Then they banish what they no longer want in their life.

A few years in a row I did celebrate the new year on October 31st. Today it makes me smile and brings back so many beautiful memories. I will cherish then for a long time.

Happy New Year to all you witches out there!

3 comments:

L'impulsive montréalaise said...

Les sorcières, je sais pas trop... Mais quand je lis des trucs comme ça, je trouve que certains rituels qu'on leur attribue peuvent avoir du sens. En fait, je ne crois pas à la magie. Mais je pense que ce qu'on appelle la "sorcellerie", c'est souvent autre chose.

Andhari said...

Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Harry Potter and Charmed kind of make me want to be a witch. :P

Happy Halloween!

Anonymous said...

Happy Samhain Caroline. :)