Ancestors? Samhain…whats it all about? And the origin of the bonfire!!
I am tomorrows ancestor
The future of yesterday
And what I am in the here and now
Goes rippling out all ways
Goes rippling out always
By Brian Boothby
Samhain, which marks the start of the annual Celtic Harvest Cycle, starts on the night of October 31st and goes on into November 1st. The Celts had long held traditions that were drawn from their various ancestral belief systems as well as their deep connection with the land and the environment that surrounded them. Roman occupation and Christianity brought different emphasis to the Celts festivities as these influences were assimilated and, today, the way we mark October 31st is less about our ancestors than about sweets and spooks.
The Celts honoured liminal times of day, twilight, nightfall and dawn and their days began at nightfall. Samhain celebrations start on the night of October 31st and go on into November 1st. They also had their harvest cycle fire festivals at those times of year when big changes happen in the environment around them, again those times when beginnings and endings are brought to mind. Beltain, in the spring as the earth warms up and starts to come back to life after the winter months and Samhain, when the temperature drops after summer and life begins to retreat again.
With the mist rising, the gloomy fog sets in, the air chills and darkness prevails. This doom and gloom is a catalyst for thoughts of endings, death, the dead and fear perhaps of what lies ahead. I imagine communities gathering together to mark this time of change, drawing support from each other, sharing food and clothing to keep themselves warm and stoking the fires of connection to bring a sense of safety and belonging. Perhaps the preparations for winter brought their thoughts to the friends and family lost over the previous year or family that had died during winters past. Samhain has always been a time of connection with ancestors.
My house has started to feel damp and the others are asking for the heating to go on, oh dear. The Celts were concerned for their survival during the cold months ahead so began storing the harvests and culling their livestock - perhaps bringing death to mind. My concern is simply to have enough money to pay the energy bills needed but it does bring up a primal need to conserve energy and perhaps to dig deep into my pool of resources.
I have found over the last few years, that I turn to my ancestors more and more often for guidance and support. I am still discovering my relationship with them. To start with I had my doubts. Perhaps they would judge what I do in my life and not want to support me. Was I judging them for living the lives they had? Yes, I certainly had been. Some of my ancestors have been involved in colonialism, most in business, many have been Christian, some were abused and some abusive, some were victims and some perpetrators. They were also explorers, warriors, creators, leaders, parents and grandparents. By remembering them and by working on having a continuing relationship with them I am doubting less and asking them for help when I need it. It’s up to them what they do with my request but I know it helps to find out about their lives and to think of them and their joys and sadnesses, their losses and their successes.
I have learned to remember them often, to talk about them with my family. Through Constellations work I have felt their pain and seen the changes that happen when those that had been excluded are included. When I make a connection with those in my family system, that held in their bodies the horror of sudden loss, war, migration, colonisation, early loss of children or parents and other trauma, in a constellation - I see and feel the pain they carry, I can tell them what I see, that they are not forgotten and that I live my life in their honour but leave the consequences of their actions with them and see their reaction. Always they want wants good for me and those of us that are living our lives now, of course this is how it is. When I, honestly, acknowledge what happened to them or what they did as both victims and perpetrators we are released from a systemic bond that has been strangling us, when we thought it was protecting us from pain.
It is not easy work and we have a strong loyalty to our family system, we need to belong and to step away from this can feel very dangerous and lonely. If the family agreed to not talk about something because it was a loss too painful, or a behaviour that was felt to be shameful, to name it publically is breaking that loyalty. When something is acknowledged something shifts!
A special place at home to remember the ancestors.
I was touched when my daughter told me that having a place in the house where I keep photos and treasures from my ancestors has brought them more into her consciousness. She says that she feels their love, support and wishes of good will from that corner of the room when she passes by and looks at their faces.
Bonfires come to my mind at this time of year too and I had a remarkable meeting with a chap at a little church a while ago. I was visiting with a friend who was looking for the grave of an ancestor. Whilst there we met this man who told us of a tradition that dated back to the middle ages. Then, he told us, the dead were all buried inside the church. There were earth floors to enable this to happen. Once a year, around October/November, those that had been buried a year were excavated and removed to be buried outside. The bodies had decomposed underground and just the bones were left. The skulls of the dead were put up on the window sills to enable the spirits to leave and the other bones burned in the churchyard. That would have given church services a bit of an edge!
This is the origin of the word bonfire. Not, as I thought before to do with good fire, from the French bon feu, but from “bone fire”! Anyway the practice was pursued in some places up until the 18th century but outlawed by the 19th century in favour of external burials and cremation - probably due to concerns with bad smells and overcrowding.
Another interesting and rather lovely tradition I heard about the other day was of the celebrations held in Ecuador and Bolivia on November the 2nd. Here the people believe that the spirits of ancestors return during this period. To honour their presence, the living stay inside from sundown till sunrise allowing the dead to wander freely, to visit their favourite bars, shops and parks!!
Yes! An excuse to stay in by that fire. If you don’t have one come and sit by mine for the evening. The weather outside is really not quite yet cold enough but the signs are there and by November surely the lack of sun will have sent its chill into the earths body and we will be feeling it and wanting to come together and cosy up!
Join me ON LINE on October 27th to connect with our ancestors, there will be some family constellation exercises, some visualisation and ritual to warm us up for the 31st.
The fireside at home.
The ancient festival of 'Samhain' (pronounced saah-win) means Summer's End, and marks the end of the harvest season. It is the time of year when the veils between this world and the Otherworld were believed to be at their thinnest: when the spirits of the dead can cross back to join the land of the living. Non-Pagans might call it Halloween..
Samhain is seen by many as the start of a new year, so it's a perfect chance to reflect, unwind and let go of things