CosmicSandBox’s Weblog

Halloween is an offshoot of an ancient Celtic celebration called Samhein, meaning “summer”. Celebrated on October 31st, it marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter on November 1st which was also their New Year. The Celts populated most of Britain, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain and Asia Minor around 800 B.C. They believed that on October 31st the veil that separated the living from the dead was the thinnest; and therefore, communication with the ancestors was easiest. Spirits crossed over the veil throughout the year, but it was much easier for them to materialize and move matter during the period of Samhein.

After Christianity spread all over Europe, Samhein was changed to All Hallows Eve. November 1st became All Hallows Day and later renamed All Saints Day. Hallows Eve eventually became Halloween.

It has only been since the 19th century that people stopped believing that deceased souls could continue to communicate with souls living on the physical plane. Everyone, up until that time, whether Christian or pagan, was immersed in the sacred and the mystical aspects of nature and the cosmos. They believed everyone was an eternal soul that followed nature’s pattern in the universal ‘birth, death, re-birth’ cycle of creation. They knew that nothing really ‘died” in the sense that it ceases to exist. It just changes form. Science has proven this to be true. However, instead of naming this essence ‘life’ or ‘soul/spirit’ they call it “energy”.

No matter how pervasive scientific theory has become, the sacred, mystical beliefs and practices haven’t died, but are still very much alive. They just change form like water that can become ice and steam. So whether one is living life from the ‘Outside’ in a physical costume on loan from the Cosmic Costume Store, or they’re living souly from the ‘Inside’ without the costume, they are still a living soul.

Prior to the Age of Reason most everyone believed communication with the other dimensions was possible and mostly beneficial. For example, experiences with angelic beings were common. Encounters with nature spirits filled mythologies and fairy tales that we enjoy today. However, after science became the ultimate authority, anything not measurable in a laboratory was considered unreal or unreasonable. This included anything mystical, spiritual or sacred. The established church reigned over the mystical and science ruled everything else.

Unfortunately, the established church at the time decided to demonize any unsanctioned interaction between the living and the dead, even to the point of killing anyone suspected of those ‘unholy practices’. Pagans of all types including herbalists were prosecuted. These judgments prevail today, but souls still come out to play on Halloween. You just can’t keep a good ghost down!

Humanity has known for thousands of years that light and dark, good and evil exist side by side. But since the scientific model took over we separated and judged what we couldn’t see with our eyes and measure or understand. Light was all good and dark was all bad. This view keeps us locked into an ‘either/or’ world of separation and division. These worlds don’t have longevity; but rather, they self-destruct because of the constant conflict that mind set generates. In reality it is a both/and universe, in which the light plays off the dark and vice versa. You can’t see the light without the dark. For example: no one can see a white dot on a white board! Simply put, without the play of opposites there would be no world.

How does all this relate to Halloween? It is a celebration of the dark and non-physical as being an integral part of the light and visible world. It is meant to teach the living how precious life in a physical costume is. Certainly, it is not always a bed of roses. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic ride, a grand ball worthy of our passion to dance till we drop.

As we too approach this winter season of dying, let’s open our minds and eyes to see beyond the veil to imagine what it might be like to not have a costume to play and dance on this physical plane. Listen for the music from the other side to appreciate every single dance step at this our ultimate costume party.