Samhain 2019 !!!

October has arrived and I am ready to start participating in the festivals! The upcoming festival is Samhain (Samhuinn, Samhainn, Oíche Shamhna), resembling most closely to the non-pagan public Halloween. I'm participating in the festival as a Gaelic Polytheist and am learning from their traditions, not Wicca. I do, however, incorporate modern celebrations of Samhain (like carving pumpkins). I'm actually only just starting to find my place in paganism (these past years have mostly been focused on my magic, not my religion). I hope to celebrate Samhain all month long, or at least be in the spirit of it. Perhaps this will help me start living with the seasons on a day-to-day basis.

*I am new, inexperienced, and not knowledgeable on this subject. At this point in time, I am not a good source to learn Gaelic Polytheism from firsthand. But I would like to track and share my journey*

The first activity I have engaged in for the festival is the making of the traditional Irish Samhain parshell (or parshal). (This was a mistake but keep reading lol) This protective charm is hung inside above the front door to ward off malevolent spirits. I tend to get more malevolent entities during the month of October, and this is a charm meant to last an entire year, so I made it early. I only now realize that it may not work as intended since I have made the charm before the 31st (you're only supposed to make it on Samhain eve)... Even if it still worked just as well on another day, I want to partake in the tradition properly. I'm thinking I'll dismantle the parshal and make it again at its proper time. Update: I have checked with a more experienced gaelic polytheist, and they agree with dismantling it.

~So that was a flop :P But I'm learning~

Anywho. My mother has gotten us some pumpkins to carve (and I bought some additional ones). I'm not sure how long the pumpkins will stay fresh, but I am quite excited to touch some pumpkin innards. I actually adore the scent and especially the texture of the inside of a pumpkin. Taking out the fruity filling is more exciting to me than the carving of a "spoopy" cute pumpkin face. Like the parshell, jack-o-lanterns are traditionally meant to ward unwanted ghouls and goblins.

((((If you're unaware, the tradition of carving pumpkins stems from a tradition of carving turnips (these are called tumshie lanterns!). I have been directed by some gaelic pagans that these turnips may more appropriately be called rutabagas to us Americans. Supposedly, these old-fashioned Samhainn crafts are more intimidating than their modern pumpkin descendants. This can be seen as a plus since much of Samhain focuses on warding off malicious spirits/fae. I'd like to make these this year, but I have not just yet))))

Back to the pumpkins~ I carved my first pumpkin this year with my boyfriend, Wilfred. Carving pumpkins is not a normal activity for him (even though it is pretty popular where I live). He carved a pumpkin once before when he was much younger, but he doesn't remember it all too well. His pumpkin came out amazing, though! Looks better than mine haha. (((It's worth noting that my boyfriend is not pagan nor religious; his celebrations of Halloween are secular.)))

This was Saturday night (October 12th). Something else exciting and fortunate happened that night. My sister, Krislyn, was last-minute able to come to visit us for a day. So she came late that night and slept in my bedroom. We only had a day together, but we made good use of it! I didn't just make my one pumpkin with Wilfred this weekend. When my sister came, I carved my remaining pumpkin and acorn squash. My father and sister carved their own pumpkins, while my mother shared one with my baby sister, Amittee. This was also the time I made my candles, as did my sister and mother.

Let's talk about our candle making. The significance of candles for Samhuinn is the honoring of ancestors, ghosts, and good spirits/fae. When the veil thins at Samhain, not all the spirits that cross over are seen in a bad light. Some spirits are welcomed with open arms, spirits not seeking to cause us any harm. It's nice to make your home especially comfortable and hospitable for your otherworldly guests during this time. 

The two candles I've made were made in honor of two lost loved ones of my life. The yellow candle is in honor of family friend, Doug, who was a big part of my early childhood. The black candle is in honor of my sister and my mother's lost daughter, Kirstie, who died when she was born. The daisies in Kirstie's candle are because of the associations between daisies and protecting children from kidnapping by fae. As well, I felt maybe the daisies would help uplift some of the solemn energies of black and lavender that are in her candle.

Doug's candle has more joyous tones to it. I tried to stay within the modern Samhuinn colors of yellow, orange, and black. Doug's candle smells of vanilla spice and seems quite festive. I made the candle a cutesy gift like I may have made for him when he was alive. It seemed to fit our relationship. I'm not planning on lighting either of my candles until either Samhain or Samhain eve.

My sister was only able to make one candle, since we were limited to four candles from the candle making kit I was gifted a while back. We have matching candles for this one, although hers smells like fresh cotton. I talked to her openly about how I was making my candles along the lines of paganism, and she said she would have her candle represent both Doug and Kirstie. (Krislyn left her jack o' lantern at home with us, but took her candle with her back to college. She does already have two jack o' lanterns at her place, though)

If Doug did come to visit one of these Samhain nights (from across the veil), I think that it would be okay for my sister and I to live in separate places. I don't recall the exact story from my mother, but it was something along these lines: Doug had passed away, but my mother did not know that yet. She had a strange, supernatural encounter of some form with a spirit that she claims felt like Doug. This happened to multiple of her family members on the same night, and they all contacted one another about it because it was such a surreal experience for them.

Now, my mother's candle was sentimental to her. It was not along the more pagan traditions I follow (or that I even mentioned to my sister), but it was meaningful. I don't remember all of what the flowers she picked represented to her, specifically, but I remember that she had flowers as symbols of myself and my sisters, Krislyn and Amittee. The lavender was to represent me, while my mother had taken some of Krislyn's crape myrtle and lamb's ear. (My mother assorted the flowers and leaves in a way so the candle lid could not go over it)