SGC Admin: From our inbox to you… From About.com Paganism/Wicca… On Samhain (Halloween) Traditions & Customs

Samhain Traditions & Customs
Samhain is coming up on October 31 for our northern hemisphere readers, and this is the season of the witches’ new year! Let’s take a few minutes to look at the traditions behind modern Samhain celebrations, a brief history, and some of the many questions that Pagans today have about reconciling the spiritual celebration of Samhain with the more secular aspects of Halloween.

If you’re one of our southern hemisphere readers, Beltane is right around the corner – be sure to scroll down to the link with Beltane customs and traditions!

Samhain History  
Samhain is known by most folks as Halloween, but for many modern Pagans it’s considered a Sabbat to honor the ancestors who came before us, marking the dark time of the year. It’s a good time to contact the spirit world with a seance, because it’s the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. Let’s look at the history behind the season.

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Modern Pagans and Samhain  
Here at About Paganism, we get a lot of extra reader mail this time of year. Here are some of our most popular topics, regarding how we as Pagans can interact with the non-Pagans in our lives during the Samhain season.

Reader FAQ: Pagans and Halloween
Samhain: Nope, Not a God
Are Green-Skinned Witch Decorations Offensive?

Where Are All the Vampires?

Read More

Traditions of the Samhain Season  
Interested in learning about some of the traditions behind the celebrations of the late harvest? Find out why Samhain is important, learn why black cats are considered unlucky, how trick-or-treating became so popular and more!

Bat Magic and Legends
Black Cats
Cailleach Bheur, the Hag
Caring for Our Dead
Chrysanthemum Folklore & Magic
Death and Dying by guest author Ray Buckland
Deities of Death
Magical, Mysterious Spiders
Mexico’s Day of the Dead
Jack o’Lanterns
Nut Crack Night
Owl Folklore and Legends
Samhain Superstitions
Tricks or Treats?
Woolly Bear Caterpillars & Winter Weather Forecasts
9 Spooky Poems for Samhain
The 12 Days of Samhain Song

Read More: 

have a very safe and fabulous halloween… 🙂

Halloween postcard Stock Photo - 42849261
http://www.123rf.com: Copyright : Rossella Apostoli

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