A modern pagan take on Halloween

By Caitlin Connors

Samhain serves as one of the biggest holidays in the Pagan calendar and it has a known origin in Ireland. Thousands of years old, it has morphed into the holiday we know today.

The resurgence of the holiday of Samhain (Halloween) has created a buzz all over the country, particularly in the heartlands of Ireland. A greater push has been made for the holiday to serve as way to reconnect with Irish history and mythology. Across Westmeath, there are numerous events throughout the county dedicated to the ancient traditions.

As well as fun events to be enjoyed by all, Samhain also acts as a time of spiritual celebration for the pagan population.

Anna Coote of Moate, a minister with Pagan Life Rites Ireland, identifies herself as a druid pagan, finding connection to beliefs similar to those of the Druids from Celtic times.

Druidry is a modern pagan tradition inspired by ancient Celtic spirituality, focusing on nature ancestral wisdom and the cycles of the earth. It promotes peace, balance, and respect for all living beings.

Anna grew up in Wexford in a mixed Catholic, Protestant household. She described her upbringing as "natural", and recalled fond memories of being in nature as a child, on camping trips, for example, and an overall feeling a deep connection and appreciation for the land.

Anna lived abroad for a time and had practised Buddhism.

"When I came back to Ireland, this just seemed to me the natural kind of way to go about things. We live on this earth, we move through the earth – that is what paganism is all about to me," she said.

Samhain means summer’s end and as the translation suggests, it was a time to celebrate that, and say goodbye to those from other tribes ahead of the winter. The celebration can be traced back to Neolithic times when nomadic tribes "used to have these rituals moving from the summer to the winter places".

"They essentially said goodbye to people during Samhain. And they would not necessarily know if they survived until six months later. So, Samhain was about leaving and preparation." Over the years, Samhain also became linked to the harvest and eventually the Druid Celts began to also honour their dead in this way.

"And at those times we used to see some people say the veil would grow thin between this world and the other world – it was more the other worlds would come closer."

The celebration would always involve fire and the community at the centre. "The light was to show them where to come back to and to spend this time with them until next Samhain. It was the inviting in of your honoured dead, honoured loved ones who passed away."

Druid pagan traditions are linked with Irish mythology, and a key belief is that when the ‘veil’ is close, the spirits of loved ones pass to this world for one night. It is also the belief other spirits also become visible, specifically, the Sídhe or the faeries, as known in Irish mythology.

Many who do not define their beliefs as pagan also believe in faeries and faerie forts due to the strong connection druid paganism has with our native myths and legends. "They’re what most of our mythology and paganism is centred around," said Anna.

Part of the tradition of Samhain is to appease the faerie folk by leaving out the first cut of the bread at the edge of your property, to satisfy them while they are out for the festivities.

Despite these aspects of Samhain, Anna’s main celebrations are to create "a time of honouring the dead".

Now, the modern Irish people are reclaiming the past, and for the Samhain in the Heartlands season, events include the celebration of fire at the Hill of Uisneach and the Famine Way’s Footsteps and Folklore.