Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 7: Season of the Witch

Tomorrow is October 1st.

Which in my books means that it's the start of Halloween. Yep, that's right. Halloween is basically an entire month. If Christmas can be a month and a half long (or longer if you go by the radio stations), then Halloween should have an entire month all on it's own!

Haunted houses, corn mazes, creepy decorations (or as I like to think...new house decor), and pumpkin spice flavored everything. Don't try to tell me you guys don't like reading about pumpkin spice and everything nice. My first post to reach over 100 hits was Welcome to Pumpkin Overload and it was all thanks to you awesome readers.

I feel honored that one of my most popular blog posts is about how much I love pumpkin flavored everything.

I love Halloween. I'm not a huge fan of scary things (even if I do write horror), but I love the dark atmosphere. It's a different kind of beautiful.

Plus it's the default season for all things witches!

If my mom ever dressed up for Halloween it was usually as a witch. She'd set up a cauldron with a fog machine inside on the front stoop of our house to pass out candy. It was a lot of fun watching little kids slowly approach our house, uncertain if a real witch lived there or not.

My mom isn't a witch, but for all of the real witches out there. Halloween is also the witch's New Year or start or their yearly cycle. Called Samhain (pronounced SOW-een), it's supposed to be a solemn and sacred day for witches. For some it's a day to remember those who have passed on, for others it's a day to try and contact the spirit world.

Though Samhain is one of the more well known holidays for witches and Wicca, there are actually quite a few spread out over the year. Last week, I wished everyone a happy Mabon, which is the celebration of the Autumn/Fall Equinox. It's also the last holiday in the Wicca or Witch's Year. There are a total of 8 holidays which correspond to the seasons.

Image originally from this site here.

They are:

• Samhain - which I already discussed above as the magickal new year. above
• Yule - or the celebration of the Winter Solstice or the festival of lights. Some people may have heard of a Yule Log or gone to a Yule celebration (my university held a Yule Log ceremony every year) which is when a log is passed around for everyone to touch, then it is light up and you can toss a sprig of holly on the fire to burn your troubles or bad luck away. Another way to celebrate Yule is to light candles after sunset.
• Imbolc - this holiday is typically celebrated at the beginning of February. It is a fertility holiday and represents the promise that spring is soon to arrive and with it the start of the growing season. 
• Ostara - the Spring Equinox. This is the official start of the growing season. From what I've read, decorating eggs (much like Christians do for Easter) is customary.
• Beltane - also known as May Day. It's the second fertility holiday. It is a celebration of spring time nature and is meant to honor the Earth. May Day is a none witch version of the same celebration. I've been to May Day celebrations in Pennsylvania and they are a ton of fun.
• Midsummer - or the celebration of the Summer Solstice. It's the longest day of the year and a period of plenty. Midsummer is associated with Earth spirits like elves and fairies. It is also considered a great time for love spells and magick.
• Lughnassadh or Lammas - is the start of the harvest season (specifically the harvest of grains) and is celebrated around the start of August.
• Mabon -  finally we come back to Mabon or the Autumn/Fall Equinox. From this point until the Winter Solstice, the days grow shorter and the harvest festival. It's a time for balance and giving thanks.

It just goes to show that October and Halloween aren't the only times to be a witch. Witches practice magick the whole year long. They also don't have to celebrate any of these holidays if they want to. The 8 holidays I mentioned above are very much based in the Wicca tradition and religion.

A witch doesn't have to celebrate a holiday or season if they don't want to.

These holidays are also very much based on the seasonal rotation of the northern hemisphere. I'm not as familiar with how witches in the southern hemisphere practice, but if I understand correctly, it's not too different from how witches in the northern hemisphere do. Information on these holidays can be found all over the Internet, but I used The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens & Spells by Skye Alexander as my reference.

So this October season, remember that for some people (especially witches) this season is very important and sacred. In fact Halloween or All Hallows Eve is just before two important Christian Holidays which also honors the day: All Saints Day and All Souls Day. It isn't just about dressing up in costumes and scaring each other silly. It's about remembering those we loved and lost over the years. It's about the ending of a cycle and the promise of rebirth.

Until next week.

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