SAMHAIN FIRE FESTIVAL - the winter season
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above: A lone figure watches a Samhain sunrise on the mound of the neolithic hostages
A Chairde, Óiche Shamhna sásta diobh.
This year for Samhain we will be holding our ritual in the field at Dowth.
Dowth (Dubthach/dark house) is the place of death where the weakening winter sun shines into the megalithic chamber of Dowth South at solstice every year. It is a Neolithic master piece that complements the dawn sunrise in Newgrange 8 hours previously on the winter solstice.
Above and Below,The Great mound of Dowth, entrance to the dark underworld
As it happens Sunday 8th November is the actual Stone Age date of Samhain, the date when the rising sun illuminates the Mound of the Hostages on Tara.
Above: Samhain sunrise illuminates the interior of the mound of the Hostages, Tara
The theme emerging for this celebration is one of revealing the skeleton and stripping away all that no longer serves the light, whilst at winter solstice we will be incorporating the rebirth aspect of Samhain. But, for now, we will be considering death and sitting quietly facing our inner demons. Just as in nature, the trees lose their leaves and become skeletal, to give them the ability to resist the biting winter winds.
Samhain was considered the time of year when the veil between this world and the next were very thin and that the spirits of the dead were allowed wander on Samhain eve. It was tradition to placate the spirits by leaving out some food or drink (for the púca). We too shall be remembering our ancestors and offering them token food and drink.
Today, when we look at the shops we see masks of zombies, ugly witches, mummies and monsters etc. However, this is but a faint echo of the powerful underlying symbols that we will be re-membering this Samhain. Part of that will be making a mask of our own demons and dealing with them as appropriate.
The diety associated with this time of the year is the old Cailleach which is the old wisdom face of the goddess Brigid. To represent the change over period from maiden to crone we will be dressing Brigid in a dark cloak.
The bon fire is another tradition. The sacred Samhain fire was started on the hill of Ward and its flames brought across the country. Bon(e) fires were used for bringing heat and light into the cold and dark, for burning up the dead matter that we carry around.
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Above: the cobweb theme was used throughout the ceremony to convey the unity of all in the web of life. Traditional Haloween fayre of seasonal nuts, apples and murdered apples sliced and baked between hot sheets of pastery, other wise known as an apple tart. yum! And bright leaves herald their demise and fall.
What to expect
We will be placing ourselves in the web of life in relation to; our ancestors, our place of ceremony and our inner demons thus giving us a sense of time and place.
Brigid will don her black winter mantle and become the Cailleach of winter. We will be keening her death.
We will be creating masks to represent our metaphorical mask to the world which people can bring home or burn to represent the death and transformation of the inner dead. (we will be burning on a brasier off the ground to protect this sacred and sensitive spot.)
Then we will be drawing the web of life with each strand representing our departed relatives and friends as well as the unknown dead and blessing them all with love and light. To emphasise the web we will be tying a rope together into a circle to represent the unbrokeness of the circle of life and using it in a simple dance to send healing energies into the ethers.
Following that we will have open heart contributions whereby if you have a song, poem or profound thought you’d like to share, then please do. We will also be offering food to the ancestors as well as feeding ourselves.
Our Samhain center. The lantern representing life the cailleach representing death, a selection of food and drink for the ancestors, memoriam cards of departed relatives, the hoop representing the cycle of the year and eternity and the dark center representing the void which we all orbit.
The chalk board was used to draw the 8 divisions of the year, then participants drew strands for departed ancestors creating a web of life. We silently prayed for their highest good and wiped the board clean to start the new year with a clean slate.
The colouring pens were used to create a mask representing the damaged ego holding us back which we then ripped apart and burned in the cauldron, transforming that which no longer serves..........boy did that feel good.
connecting the strands, Weaving the web of life
(Thanks to BJ for the pictures)
Below the sun set at Samhain clips the back of Newgrange when viewed from Dowth
Some of the group bathed in Samhain sunset light at the end of the ceremony
Dancing Ancestors in the hedgerow
A Glow in the dark Crystal Skull called Merdrin was with us for the ceremony at Dowth
Contribute to the Samhain discussions on www.Cailleach.ning.com the social networking arm of TaraCelebrations.org
Samhain moon transits the Banqueting Hall at its Zenith
above: Some of the group up to mischief
Samhain
The wheel has turned again this year
And now we face the winter fear
Of darkened days and lengthened nights
And sudden shadows that give us frights
From highest hill to lowest vale
We look to winter and can not fail
To turn and face what we most dread-
Those darkened monsters of the head
And when we face our inner dead
We cleanse those monsters from our head
The wheel has turned, we face the dark
Behold the center, the winters spark.
Martin Dier
The black crows circled as we circled... and summer turned to winter in the season of samhain...
We ate from the harvest of nuts...
and shared our apples with the land... cherishing the lone apple of red and green from a displaced tree...
The sheep grazed as we announced ourselves to each other... as we danced around the handbags to the beating of the drums...
We danced inwardly to a close circle then outwardly to face the far horizons...
We smoothed our auras with Grail essence... and we received our messages from the angels...
and while the black crows circled as we circled...
the white death skull sat silently upon the ground.
Time dissolves, souls gather, in unity mysterious ancestors draw near.
Blessed or beloved, reviled or forgotten, generations amass, no harm, no fear.
Ancient memories stir in our hearts, distant dreams we've sought, held dear,
Slither silently within darkening shadows, whispering quietly to those who hear.
Plucked by wise invisible hands, echoing, vibrating chords appear.
Weaving through the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead
Seeking creation's love, eternal, we reach out to the strangeness of a deathly bier.
Time dissolves, souls gather, celebrating sacred samhain of the wheel of the year.
Scarecrow Festival at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2009
Many thanks to Kate for these photographs....
Samhain is the death of the old
Nature begins her hibernation and withdraws life force from the trees so that they can survive through the tough conditions of winter. We brace for winter with the security of Lughnasadh harvests and release our baggage to the Cailleach and the bone fires. We remember at this time our ancestral dead and honour their presence in our lives.
See the Sacred Art of Tara revealed at Samhain 2007 here
A lovely seasonal verse from Liz Kirkham in Derbsyhire England
Orchards at this time of year
are to birds a great attraction
picking at fruit in the trees
brings them real satisfaction
and try her rose hip syrup recipe for winter comfort -
'A recipe i used, was 3lb's of hips, put into a saucepan, cover with water and let them boil until they are almost soft.Then to each pint of juice, allow a pound of sugar, and boil together for about 15mins, the liquid turns to syrup,it's best left to mature after bottling, for a short while.' Remove the hairy fruits before boiling and use stainless steel pans.
And Liz also sent this lovely picture of bright autumn flowers:
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Notice the 5 (the number of change) formed by the shadows on the right hand tree - taken in the churchyard on Tara just after our Samhain ceremony last year... this is not an enhanced photo!
! HAPPY NEW YEAR !
The tree dies to the red berry
The red berry dies to the black seed
The black seed dies to the dark earth
and what at first seems like a schism, a spliting asunder, a wrenching apart
is the start of a new life.
md. samhain 2008
We had a fantastic Samhain trip to Edinburgh and meditated with the Mitchell Hedges crystal Skull.
We also took in Rosslyn and lots of other power points in the landscape.
Page last updated: 16th Apr 2010
