The Real Meaning of Halloween

Ghosts and goblins, witches on broomsticks, pumpkins, candy and spiderwebs…it’s that time of year again. Halloween—probably every child’s favorite holiday, combining the irresistible attractions of dressing up in costume and eating candy.

But there’s a deeper spiritual meaning that underlies the holiday for Pagans and real Witches—those who follow earth-based Goddess traditions that predate Christianity. As we (in the northern hemisphere) move into the time of cold and the dark of winter, we celebrate our New Year, and honor both death and regeneration.

In Northern Europe, Samhain (the Celtic term for Halloween, pronounced sow-in) was the time when the cattle were moved from the summer pastures to winter shelter. It was the end of the growing season, the end of harvest, a time of thanksgiving, when the ancestors and the spirits of the beloved dead would return home to share in the feast... People would leave offerings of food and drink for their loved ones, and set out candles to light their way home. Those traditions gave us many of our present day customs. Now we set out jack-o-lanterns and give offerings of candy to children—who are, after all, the ancestors returning in new forms.

Death and regeneration are always linked in Goddess theology. Birth, growth, death and renewal are a cycle that never ends, through natural systems and human lives. Embracing this cycle, we don’t need to fear death, but instead can see it as a stage of life and a gateway to some new form of being.

So Samhain (Halloween) is a time to remember and honor those who have died, to celebrate their lives and honor their gifts, to tell stories about them to the next generation so their memory will not be lost. We set up altars in our homes, with pictures and mementos, and in my house, we like to invite friends and family to an ancestor dinner, where we cook their traditional foods and share our family stories.

Samhain is also a time for deep spiritual work. At this time of year, we say, “the veil is thin that divides the worlds, the seen from the unseen, the day to day from the mysteries.

Halloween, and our traditions, are much misunderstood. This year, when you hand out candy or shepherd your children through the streets, we invite you to remember the deeper meaning of the holiday: that death is no barrier to love, and every ending brings a new beginning.