I love Halloween-Samhain

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But why?

More and more people will tell you their favorite holiday is Halloween, or Samhain as many Pagans refer to it.  But why is that? 

I think there are a lot of reasons.  Here are a few of my thoughts, and a few of the things I like best about the holiday! 


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Now here's the perfect Halloween t-shirt for me! And a discount for you! 

I Love Halloween With Scary Witch Flying her Broom shirt
I Love Halloween With Scary Witch Flying her Broom by iheart
View other I love T-Shirts

This is just one of the fun Halloween t-shirts on sale now at Zazzle.com. Enter the code "TRICKORTREAT" for 10.31% off your purchase!

Look what I just found! 

Happy Halloween CD-ROM and Book (Electronic Clip Art)

Amazon Price: $15.98 (as of 11/16/2009)Buy Now

This is fantastic! If you need some great Halloween clip art for any art, craft, Squidoo lens, web designs, you name it - this is perfect! You get the book full of clip art, as well as a CD-ROM with all the images nicely ready to zip right into your computer and back out on printed invitations, or address labels, or greeting cards, or on your web page or blog or Squidoo lens or...

I have several of these Dover book & CD-ROM collections and I love them and use them all the time.

Halloween is a great excuse to shop!

Did you know that Halloween is now the second highest shopping holiday? Christmas is the only holiday people spend more money on!

Pagans and Samhain (Halloween) 

To Pagans, Samhain is a very important holiday.

It is the last of the three great harvest festivals many of us celebrate. Now is the time of turning in. We gather the harvest and evaluate our gains. We decide what will tide us over the winter, and what must be saved as seed for the coming spring.

It is the turning of the year - and the Witch's New Year. Now is the time when the darkness is greater than the light. When most of us will turn from outward focused tasks such as planting and harvesting (gardens, yes, but also jobs, learning, raising children) to inward focused tasks such as study of our craft, meditation, teaching, and spiritual growth.

Many cultures and religions agree that at this time of year the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are thin. In the old Christian traditions (and some current ones as well) this is a frightening prospect, as they believe that only the evil will pass through to this earth - since the good are all sitting beside God in heaven, I guess. But to Pagans, and any tradition that reveres and honors their ancestors, this is a time to look forward to. A time when we can remember, honor, and even visit with those who have passed to another plane of existance. Many of us decorate altars with offerings to those who have passed before us. Their favorite foods and drinks, and little remembrances of them such as photos.

It is a time for divination. For asking the ancestors and the spirit world to share their wisdom with us and to guide us in making decisions that will serve our highest good and greatest growth. Whether you read the tarot or tea leaves, now is a good time for a reading. Ask for guidance and advice from your ancestors and the spirit world, and they will share it with love.

And last, but hardly least, many Pagans still live in places where our religion is actively persecuted. Many of them are "closeted" - pretending to be something they are not. Then along comes the Halloween party and it is okay to dress as a Witch! To many, it is more like coming out than hiding behind a mask!

Tools for Divination 

The Halloween Tarot Deck and Book Set

Amazon Price: $21.17 (as of 11/16/2009)Buy Now

If you were thinking of doing a little divination on Halloween night - this is the perfect tarot deck!

Halloween in Truth or Consequences, NM 

A couple of years ago I was visiting Truth or Consequences, New Mexico on Halloween. Hubby and I were treating ourselves to a visit to one of their world famous healing hot springs spas.

After dark, spooks and monsters began appearing on the streets! It is a local custom for everyone who dresses up for Halloween to stroll up and down Broadway after dark. Many of the little local businesses open or stay open and offer treats. Even the local volunteer fire department turns out their parade truck and hands out candy to the kids.

It was one of the reasons we decided to stay here - two years ago! Yep - look for me on Broadway this Halloween - I'll be the Dark Fairy!

I love Jack-O-Lanterns 

Happy Jack (O'Lantern) by Matt McGee

Happy Jack (O'Lanter...

Pumpkin Puree Drained by Veganbaking.net

Pumpkin Puree Draine...

Pumpkin Sliced by Veganbaking.net

Pumpkin Sliced

Pie Pumpkin by Veganbaking.net

Pie Pumpkin

Pie Pumpkin Top by Veganbaking.net

Pie Pumpkin Top

Pumpkin Garcia by harryalverson

Pumpkin Garcia

At Least He Drinks Long Trail by harryalverson

At Least He Drinks L...

The remains of the Pumpkin by Photos o' Randomness

The remains of the P...

Pumpkin Cake dessert - Charming Spice AUD5 by avlxyz

Pumpkin Cake dessert...

IMG_0343 by beverlyislike

IMG_0343

automatically generated by Flickr

The Story of the Jack-o-Lantern 

One of my favorite Halloween stories

Sure, everyone has a Jack-o-Lantern - but do you know why?

Well, the traditional story goes - there once was a man named Jack, who was a terrible prankster. He played pranks constantly, and on anyone at all. When Jack died, neither God nor the Devil would allow him into Heaven or Hell for fear of his constant pranks. So Jack was sentenced to walk the earth for eternity. You could see him walking about at night - carrying his lantern. Thus he became known as Jack - O - Lantern.

At first, because Europe - where the tale originated - did not have pumpkins - Jack carried a lantern made out of a hollowed out turnip with a candle inside. When Europeans came to the New World, they discovered pumpkins. Much better! Bigger - easier to carve and get a candle into! And makes better pie, too.

I think I am sentimental about this story because when my father-in-law, a real prankster himself, and an all around character, passed on a few years ago. As the family gathered around we began joking about how Dad was probably watching, because neither God nor the Devil would have him. We had visions of him bouncing back and forth, and being turned back at both gates. Later, I learned the story about the Jack-O-Lantern, and now it always reminds me of Dad.

So, I am especially fond of Jack-O-Lanterns. I've made Jack-O-Lantern clip art, Jack-O-Lantern coloring pages, and even Jack-O-Lantern greeting cards at Zazzle

Some other people made some cool pumpkin lenses, too! 

The Danse Macabre

The Danse Macabre is one of my favorite Halloween themes

The Danse Macabre 

One of my favorite stories about Death

The Danse Macabre was a medival allegory that was created at the time of the Great Plague. Fully one third of the worlds population died as the Black Plague swept across Europe. How frantic young people must have lived, knowing that at any moment blushing youth could wither and die. The picture of a vibrant young maiden dancing with death, usually a jaunty skeleton with top hat and tails came to symbolize this to many.

Today, we are doing our own Danse Macabre. A plague is sweeping the world, leaving behind thousands of orphans in less developed countries, while the most privileged nation lags behind helping in the name of lining the pockets of big, rich pharmacuetical companies at the cost of lives of the poor. Our governments make war at the drop of a hat, sending our young to die in the name of - whatever excuse they are using that week. "Terrorist" has become the new "witch hunt". We have handed over our rights as citizens as the government brandishes the fear of terrorists so that now any person, any time, any where, can be branded a "terrorist", then defamed, robbed, tortured, and killed without recourse. Our nations rush to suck the Earth dry of her resources, fighting over the last drops of oil, turning a blind eye to the obvious changes in our world wide weather so we can go on with our greedy consuming.

Truly, we are doing our own Danse Macabre. We rush blindly on, grabbing up "all the toys", hoping to build a wall of enough possessions, enough prestige, enough mind numbing drugs, movies, games to give us a sense of security while the world falls down around us. We are that youthful maiden, dancing in the arms of death.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

I believe that prayer and meditation influence the Universe. This Halloween, pause for a moment in your rush to get all the candy. Light a candle, say a prayer, meditate just a moment. Visualize a world of love instead of hate, of hope instead of fear, where people come together to help one another, where we live WITH the Earth, not just ON the Earth. Maybe you can resolve to make one small change in your own lifestyle that will make a positive contribution to the world. Step back from the dance, look Death in the eye - see that bony old skeleton for what he is, and slap him in the face for daring to trifle with you!

The image is original artwork by Summer Fey Foovay

More About the Danse Macabre 

Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French), Danza Macabra (Italian and Spanish), Dança da Morte (Portuguese), or Totentanz (German), is a late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the dance of death unites all. La Danse Macabre consists of the personified death leading a row of dancing figures from all walks of life to the grave, typically with an emperor, king, youngster, and beautiful girl?all skeletal. They were produced to remind people of how fragile their lives and how vain the glories of earthly life were. Its origins are postulated from illustrated sermon texts; the earliest artistic examples are in a cemetery in Paris from 1424.

Danse Macabre Images 

curated content from Flickr

Costumes!

Halloween is when even grown-ups get to play "dress-up"!

Costumes! 

Not just for kids anymore

I love costumes. I love playing dress up. Kids often use costumes to express their fantasy, or what they want to be when they grow up. I think grown-ups use costumes to express who they wish they could be, or to express their own fantastic wild side. Pagans aren't the only ones who have to hide parts of themselves from the outside world. Many of us have mundane daily jobs that require us to dress a certain way, wear our hair just so, limit our jewelry to only conservative pieces. Often, the life we've chosen limits our behavior, too. Not necessarily a bad thing. Yet who knows but you if behind your librarian scholarly exterior there lurks a wild gypsy, a Harley rider, or a sexy mermaid? No wonder adults leap at the chance to choose and wear a costume! It's like a brief vacation from your everyday life, isn't it?

I think I'm going as... 

Gotham Girls DC Comics Harley Quinn Adult Costume Adult (Medium)

Amazon Price: (as of 11/16/2009)Buy Now

This just suits my sense of humor this year.

My Top Three Adult Costumes 

It's always so hard to decide...

Adult Super Mario Brothers Halloween Costume

Amazon Price: (as of 11/16/2009) Buy Now

My Top Three Childrens Costumes 

I just love seeing all the kids dressed up!

Halloween Concept Child's Gothic Vampiress Costume, Small

Amazon Price: $15.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Halloween Concepts Child's Scary Skeleton Costume, Medium

Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Child's Toddler T Rex Costume (Size: 2-4T)

Amazon Price: $39.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

My Top Three Pet Costumes 

Pearlie the Psychic Kitty is a real spoilsport -she insists she is going as a ghost! That is - in her usual plush white fur. If I had MY way...

Casual Canine Lil Stinker Costume Sm

Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Wizard of Oz Dorothy Small Pet Costume

Amazon Price: (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Casual Canine Glow Bones Costume Xlg

Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Halloween Activites

What is your favorite Halloween activity?

A Recipe for My favorite Halloween treat 

Witch's Hats

These are so quick and easy to make - as well as delicious and fun to eat!

1 bag of Keeblers Fudge Stripes
1 bag of Hershey's Kisses (any variety)
1 tube of Orange cake icing (the easy to use type with tip built in is perfect)

Take one cookie - make a ring of the icing around the hole on the chocolate side. Stick an unwrapped Hershey's kiss over the hole. That's it! Repeat until you are out of something or have eaten all the kisses...

Halloween Coloring Pages 

I love to color - Halloween just gives me another excuse both to color, and to draw some new Halloween coloring pages for my website, Color-Your-Own.com This is one of mine up top here.

I have free Halloween clip art in the public domain you can use, too

Halloween Coloring Books 

Yes, I really have a thing about coloring books - lots of my Squidoo lenses are about them. I just did one quick little look at Amazon and found LOTS of Halloween coloring books - uh oh - I feel another lens coming on...

Halloween Coloring Book (Novelty Coloring Book)

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Halloween Fun (Dover Coloring Book)

Amazon Price: $2.95 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Pumpkin Glow (Jumbo Coloring Book)

Amazon Price: $2.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Pumpkin Fun: Jumbo Coloring Book

Amazon Price: $2.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Speaking of Halloween lenses 

I love makiing Squidoo lenses - and I love Halloween - so you KNOW this isn't my only SquidBOO lens!

My favorite Halloween movies 

I really love old monster movies. I remember watching these things over and over as a kid. And then there are the cult classics...I could pick about twice as many as they will let me here!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (25th Anniversary Edition)

Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 11/16/2009) Buy Now

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Special Edition)

Amazon Price: (as of 11/16/2009) Buy Now

Young Frankenstein

Amazon Price: $8.49 (as of 11/16/2009) Buy Now

Some Halloween reading 

I love to curl up with a good book - and I love old gothic horror books. Here's a few that would be just perfect to relax with after all the festivities and trick-or-treaters have gone.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (Collector's Edition)

Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Frankenstein (Penguin Classics)

Amazon Price: $8.00 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son: A Novel

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

Fear Nothing

Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

35th Anniversary Dark Shadows Memories

Amazon Price: $17.12 (as of 11/15/2009) Buy Now

I wonder

I wonder what everyone else is doing for Halloween? Let's see...

Halloween blogging 

Halloween in Melbourne, no. 9 « Sexy Witch
One of the advantages of being a pagan in the southern hemisphere is that there is no temptation to mush together (or confuse) Samhain and Halloween or Yule and Xmas or Ostara and Easter. For me at least, Halloween, Xmas and Easter are ...
Halloween Mythology: Samhain – The Origins of Halloween Part 4 ...
2 Responses to ?Halloween Mythology: Samhain ? The Origins of Halloween Part 4?. Lexi says: October 28, 2009 at 3:39 pm. Years ago there was beleived to be a welcoming of the dead into our world and every year on october 31st the dead ...
The Wild Hunt » Here Comes the (Halloween/Samhain) Flood
You knew it was coming, the religion news-writers were priming the pump, and with Halloween/Samhain only days away a veritable flood of articles, opinion-pieces, and interviews featuring or discussing modern Pagans have been unleashed ...

Merry Samhain you Creatures of the Night 

So tell me, what do you love about Halloween? 

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  • Reply
    foovay foovay Oct 7, 2009 @ 11:33 pm | in reply to grannysage
    Thank you for your compliments - and yes, us witches finally get out of the broom closet - although thankfully I live in a place where I can be myself all the time now!
  • Reply
    grannysage grannysage Oct 3, 2009 @ 10:42 pm
    I always dress up as a witch and say it is the one time of the year I can be myself! I have a great collection of witch hats. Very nice lens and explains a lot about the holiday.
  • Reply
    carvingforkids carvingforkids Oct 31, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
    @foovay Happy Halloween and SamHain! It's my favorite holiday that we all can be who and whatever we want to be!

    http://carvingforkids.com
    @carving4kids
  • Reply
    Pastiche Pastiche Sep 19, 2008 @ 9:01 am
    Hi Summer, This is a fun lens! I've lensrolled it to 3 of mine with Halloween or costume themes. Nicely done, and Happy Halloween! 5*s - BOO! PS, why Demented?
  • Reply
    rms rms Oct 27, 2007 @ 4:10 pm
    This lens is super fantastic!

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