Samhain Games.

Hello there my dears, I hope you are all well. This next post is on Celtic Samhain games, I hope that you all enjoy it.

Samhain was the night during which the veil between this world and the Otherworld was at its thinnest- spirits roamed the streets and magic was at its most potent. (I actually did a post on Samhain a while ago, available here). It was fairly standard to stay at home, avoiding malevolent spirits and danger. As a result, games were a popular way to spend one's time. Of course what with it being Samhain, divination games were a favourite activity. I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you!

Divining the weather was quite popular. If you stepped outside your house at midnight and the moon was covered in clouds, it meant that there would be a lot of rain in the coming months. In fairness, I doubt they needed to look at the moon to figure that one out, it's ALWAYS raining here! ;)

A cloud covered moon meant rainy times were ahead
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There was also a fondness for predicting health, marriages and luck. One practice was to throw nuts into a fire. If they burned brightly then you would definitely be alive in twelve months. If they flared brightly then you would find yourself married in twelve months!

Rocks were marked with one's initials and thrown into a fire. If they could not be retrieved or were damaged then this spelled (hehe pun) bad luck for the thrower. 

The tradition of bobbing for apples originated from Celtic times apparently. Apples would be set floating in water and young unmarried folk would attempt to ensnare an apple with their teeth. The first to take a bite would be the next person to marry. It also brought good luck! 

It was also commonplace to melt lead into a cup and to interpret the resulting shapes as signs and/or omens of things to come.

On a Halloween related note, check out my make-up bag. I'v had this since I was ten but have only started using it as a make-up bag today. I don't know why I never thought of it before! :)

Some house-keeping stuff. After dwelling on it for a while I changed my URL from gothicireland to gothicphantomcat.blogspot.com. It hasn't caused me any problems and my content and followers remain unaffected, does anyone know of any issues which may arise further down the line? Is there something I'm missing? I know I have broken links but I can live with that. I'm going to change the title from The Phantom Cat's Guide to Gothic Ireland to 'The Phantom Cat's Otherworld'. I decided that it was a bad idea to limit myself with the original title, I just wanted to say it here so that people still know it's me.

:)

Celtic Samhain!

Kitty!
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Creative Commons.
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Hey guys!

First off I just want to say thank you to all of my followers I hope you all enjoy my posts- both old and future! x :D

Secondly, happy October everyone! It's finally getting colder here in the Emerald Isle which is fantastic. Soon it'll be time to don my long sexy winter coat and layer like nobody's buisness!

Now, what with it being October I decided to do a post on Halloween. Of course being an Otherworldly Phantom Cat I decided to do a post on the Irish origins of Halloween, i.e. the Celtic day of Samhain. I am aware that Halloween has been linked to many other holidays in many other countries but many of the traditions can be traced back to Ireland! I don't want to get into any religious stuff here because there is a lot of controversy surrounding the Christian influences on Halloween as it is practised today. Suffice to day that the Celtic holiday of Samhain is a pretty damned important precursor to Halloween! 

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In Ancient Ireland the year was divided into two seasons, Beltaine on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Each was celebrated with a harvest. Samhain marked the end of the lighter half of the year and the beginning of the darker half. It was the last harvest, a time of death and rebirth and a time to honour one's ancestors. It was celebrated from sundown on October 31st through until the last hours of November 1st.

The Celts believed that the veil between this world and the Otherworld (my crib, miaow) was at its thinnest at Samhain and that spirits roamed the earth freely on this night. Those who had died since the last Oiche Shamhna (Samhain night) were thought to pass to the other side during Samhain. Folks would leave food on their doorsteps as offerings to appease any malevolent spirits and as gifts for the kinder ones. People wore masks to disguise themselves as evil spirits so that they would be unharmed by those nasty ghosties roaming the fields and paths. People also lit huge bonfires to ward off evil ghosts and to guide good spirits on their way. 

Bonfire.
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The hill of Tlachtga, just twelve miles away from the famous Hill of Tara in Co. Meath, was the site of the very important Fire Festival. This festival signalled the onset of Winter. All other fires were extinguished and after sundown a huge ceremonial fire was lit on Tlachtga. Torches were lit from this fire and carried to seven other sacred hill, including the Hill of Tara.

Divination was a hugely important element of Samhain and was an intrinsic part of the celebrations at Tlachtga. Methods used include throwing bones, casting the Celtic Ogham, reading tea leaves and reading twigs and rocks. Since the boundary between this world and the next was at its thinnest on this night, Celtic druids sought to read the future by tapping into the mystical energies coursing freely on Samhain.

On Samhain preparations were made for winter in Celtic Ireland. Animals were brought in from the fields and those too weak to survive winter were slaughtered and eaten. Berries, corns and fruits had to be harvested before the onset of winter. According to one article I read there was a belief that foods became bewitched at the beginning of November and couldn't be eaten. Also there are stories of a beast known as a Pooka- a big black scary horse with red eyes said to roam the earth at Samhain kidnapping people (the thought of which I find kind of hilarious, is that weird?!). Alternatively if the Pooka was a bit friendlier he would divine your future. A Pooka is an Irish hobgoblin and the most feared of all the fairy creatures. He appears in several forms including horses, goats and ponies. This was also the night to kill that pesky Banshee of yours or to visit your local fairy hotspot for a tour of their otherwise invisible gaff (Irish slang for house).

That's just some basic history on the Irish Celtic Samhain! Over the coming weeks I will be posting many many more pieces on this topic including Samhain games, foods, traditions, rituals, animals, creatures and maybe even songs- if I can find some of those Samhain songs that we learned in school when I was about ten.

Until then guys! :)

A Halloween tradition of our own here at home. So delicious!