Here we are, days away from the biggest legal candy grab of the year. You are likely busy preparing plastic pumpkins with prewrapped plunder and fixing your patient smile in place for when a select few greedy kids ignore your cheery “one-per-person” sign and grab three pieces each. If you have a moment, why not take a break to consider the following Pagan ritual tidbits. And in the Halloween spirit, I’ve even included an excerpt from The Veiled Connection, one of eight short stories you’ll find in Stephen Must Die, my new anthology now available at Gibson’s Bookstore, Manchester Craft Market, and on that obscure online book purveyor, Amazon.
According to “The Google”
Pagan Halloween rituals originate from the Celtic festival of Samhain (Sow-in), a liminal time when the veil between the living and the spirit world is thin, marked by ancestor veneration, protective magic, and seasonal transition ceremonies.
This ancient Celtic festival is celebrated from October 31 to November 1, marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, or the “darker half” of the year (Wikipedia)
It was a liminal period when the boundary between the physical world and the Otherworld blurred, allowing spirits, fairies, and ancestors to interact with the living
(History)
The festival included bonfires, feasts, and offerings to ensure protection and survival through the winter (History)
Symbolic Practices
Costumes and Masks: Originally worn to disguise oneself from wandering spirits or to honor them, evolving into modern Halloween costumes (Wikipedia)
Pumpkin Carving: Derived from ancient practices of carving faces into vegetables to ward off spirits (Tea & Rosemary)
Offerings and Sacrifices: Historically, one offered livestock or crops to deities or spirits to ensure protection and abundance during winter (History)
Now that I’ve provided some knowledge you didn’t even know you needed, please stick around and read an excerpt from The Veiled Connection:
Never one for doing things halfway, I circled the monument and lit all the candles that still had a burnable wick, which was a fair amount. Flickering flames danced and sparked, casting shadows and illuminating bones. A million voices within the mist hissed at once, perhaps in warning about my lack of protocol. But no matter, I’d chosen my fate and would not back down now. I closed the lighter and made my proclamation:
“Divinity, Divinity, Divinity.”
My spiritual chaperones rose as one, twirling, gyrating, and writhing to form an ethereal, windless cyclone. In that moment, my jaw hung open as I looked up and beheld this spectacle. I was in the eye of a storm unlike any I’d ever seen. It was both ominous and beautiful.
A wave of dread coursed through me. Had I done this wrong? Were my words not sincere enough? As fast as it began, the mass of souls settled back into a tight circle around me. When I turned back toward the monument, my eyes nearly popped.
Thanks for tuning in, folks. I hope you’ve learned some things and that I’ve piqued your interest in reading more of my short story collection.
Until next week: whatever you are, choose your offerings wisely and be a good one!
-Dave
