For those of you who don't know, witches are real, and I am one.

For those of you who don't know, witches are real, and I am one.

I've been a practicing Witch for about 10 years, and before that, I was Pagan before I knew what Pagan was.

Hence, Oct. 31 was a very important holiday for my coven, and for me. We call our holiday Samhain. We follow a primarily Celtic tradition.

On Samhain (or in this case, the night before, as well all have jobs ...), we gather together to eat (and eat and eat) traditional foods of the season (meats, cheeses, last fruits of the harvest and nuts) and recognize those people in our lives who have passed on into what we call the Summerland.

Our celebration is very similar to the Hispanic holiday Day of the Dead. It does not glorify death or revel in death; but we see death as a natural progression of the life cycle. We honor our ancestors as well as friends who have passed on, and give thanks for the wonderful things in our lives -- such as health, friends and family.

The dark aspect of Halloween/Samhain is because this is the time of year that the Earth begins to go dormant. Pagans celebrate the life cycles, which are mirrored in the cycles of the Earth. Hence we celebrate new life at Beltaine and its counterpart, death, at Samhain. There is nothing morbid about the celebration, and Pagans REVERE life, so there is no "sacraficing" involved.

Samhain is the Celtic new year, so this is a time for us to make resolutions and look back on the old year, reflect on what was good and what was bad, give thanks, and look forward to a brand new year.

Posted by lgauthier at November 2, 2005 10:31 AM