Samhein. The Real Halloween

 

Halloween’s Back Story

In my novel The Excalibur Parchment, the Druid zealots who have global domination ambitions, plot to overturn democracy with a horrific act of terrorism in the heart of London. Significantly, they plan their bloody attack around Samhein. Or, what we would call, Halloween.

There is a vague understanding in modern society that there is a connection between the supernatural and Halloween. After all, we focus on ghosts, ghouls, zombies and the like as part of our “celebration”. Me, I prefer to focus on the candies! (I was a mean Dad. Went through all the candies my kids brought home and sifted through, eliminating the ones they could have or not have. I admit that safety and nutrition were not always my motivations. Sometimes I kept the best for me!)

So what was Samhein anyway? An encyclopedia of religion stated that Samhein (pronounced so-wee, sow-wayn or saw-win) is the night Druids and Wiccans believe the barriers between our world and the supernatural underworld are broken. That’s why ghosts, ghouls and zombies are so prominent. It is the Druids’ Feast of the Dead. For Wiccans and witches, it is also their ‘New Year’s’.

There are rituals during this time to contact dead ancestors, perform ancestor meditation, and rituals to honour the mother goddess (known as Crone) and the god (known as the Horned One. There are even rituals to indoctrinate children into the old religion.

Celtic Druids were followers of those old gods. They worshipped nature—as exemplified by the mother goddess, a forerunner of Mother Nature—and a head-spinning variety of other gods. Historians believe that at last count the Druids revered more than 370 gods of all kinds (though most of them are believed to be local deities). There are about 30 gods who were spread across the pantheon of the Celtic world. Among them were Awawn, god of the dead and the underworld; Cerunnos, god of the underworld and The Horned One; Danu, the mother goddess of the Tuatha De Danaan (who make an appearance in The Excalibur Parchment but take a more prominent role in Book Two, The Lucifer Scroll); Belenos, god of the sun and light; Ogmios, god of eloquence and communication and Taranis, god of war and thunder.

To the Druids of today and the followers of Wicca, Samhein is one of four focal celebrations during the year. It is not only the feast day of the dead and a new year, it is recognition of the fall harvest season and the beginning of winter. Because the veil between life and death, this world and the world of the dead, is broken during this time, it was traditional for strange things to happen symbolizing that world breach. So, men dressed as women, farm gates were unhinged and left in ditches, children would bang on doors and then run away or, better yet, demand food. In other words, the precursors of today’s trick or treating and Halloween pranks.

The dead were honoured not as dead people, but as living spirits who were guardians and guides to wisdom for the followers. For those who were properly and ritually prepared it was a time when journeys could be made “to the other side”.

So Halloween is not just a fun day filled with merriment, costumes and candy. It has its roots deep within the pagan belief system of the Druids. It is coated with satanic rituals, pantheistic beliefs and deviltry. Even today, a quick internet search will unearth modern Druidry websites complete with explanations of their beliefs and outlines of their rituals and their modern day celebrations of Samhein around the world.

By all means, enjoy your costumes and candy in a few weeks.

Just remember the pagan background of the holiday.

A place in history

The King cracks Time’s 100 list (and no, it’s not Elvis!)

I am always amused as I watch pompous self-important historians pontificate on various aspects of history. The Hittites, they argued, never existed but were in fact the products of over active imaginations in the writing of Hebrew Scriptures. There never were a people known as the Hittites, they argued, and therefore The Bible (yet again) was wrong!

Then those same pompous nits were left scrambling to explain themselves when irrefutable proof came to light showing that the Hittites did indeed exist and were actually an empire bigger than Egypt and one of Egypt’s greatest enemies.

All of this to say that it is very interesting to read this month’s latest list from Time Magazine. It is a list of the 100 most significant people in history. Now, we can argue about the criteria that the magazine used to compose the list and we can certainly argue about placement on the list. But what is most interesting to me is that King Arthur made it onto the list.

Yes, Arthur, who was High King of Britain, comes in at number 85! This king, whom many argue is a myth and either never existed or is a compilation of various other warlords and chieftains in the Dark Ages, made it onto a list of significant historical figures in the year of our Lord 2014. He places just below such other significant individuals as President John F. Kennedy (76) and Richard Nixon (82).

But he places ABOVE such notables as Michelangelo (86), President Harry Truman (94), Pope John Paul II (91), Otto Von Bismarck (97) and theologian John Calvin (99).

Some others on the list: Henry VIII (11), Queen Elizabeth I (13), Queen Victoria (16), Julius Caesar (15), King David of Israel (57), the Apostle Peter (65),  and William the Conqueror (70).

All of this is interesting to me. When I wrote my novel The Excalibur Parchment I noted that a sea change is beginning to occur amongst some historians. Slowly, as they begin to really study and understand the so-called Dark Ages, they are picking up strong evidence that King Arthur did in fact exist and was indeed High King of all Britain. And, if Arthur was real, why could Excalibur also not be real. They are beginning to figure out that the so-called 'Dark Ages' were only dark because the people of the day lived mostly by oral tradition rather than written. Thus there was very little 'hard' proof of peoples' existence, lives or achievements. Yet as they now probe deeper and use modern technology and processes they are finding out that these dark age peoples were in fact creative, advanced, interesting and very, very real. And not just in Britain, but in other parts of the non-European world as well. New civilizations are coming to light and we are "amazed" at how progressive and intelligent they all were. Or is it that our academics are just so tunnel-visioned that when things don't line up in pre-conceived patterns they prefer to ignore rather than explore? Just saying.

And I am intrigued that it is not just Time underscoring The Excalibur Parchment, when I see the spread of pantheistic and even pagan religions such as Wicca. Here in Canada there is a renewed emphasis on First Nations' spirituality and Shamans are often included in ceremonial events that normally called for Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish participation. Now the Shamans also participate in 'blessing' an event along with representatives of the Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist and other religions. All in the name of inclusion, of course.

Specifically, in the past few years Druidry has been recognized by the British government as an official religion. A group known as The Druid Network won charity status as a religion and is listed in the official survey of religious beliefs in Britain. While various Celtic cultural events such as the famous Welsh Eisteddfods always included people dressed in Druid garb and reading poetry, these are often cultural druids (or people dressed up and performing) rather than worshippers of the Druid religion. But today, across Britain and Ireland and in Brittany, France, real Druids exist and the Druid religion with its worship of the old gods is increasing. 

So Arthur is real. Excalibur is (probably) real and Druids are indeed a recognized religion.

Fiction and non-fiction are beginning to collide methinks!

(Oh, and for those interested. Number one on the list of most significant historical figures was Jesus Christ. Elvis Presley came in at 69)

Spiritual Wolves. Identify and Confront them

Writing the tough ones

Writing is never easy. Particularly when you are dealing with very difficult and often painful subject matter

My good friend Coleman Luck has tackled that problem and, in my opinion, delivered a well-written, well-researched and much needed book. “Day of the Wolf: Unmasking and confronting wolves in the church” is a look at the difficult subject of painful, in-church dynamics and politics. Specifically, Cole looks at those who prey upon the “sheep” in the flock that is the church. These ‘spiritual wolves’ are endemic in the church. They are people who use the goodness and fair-mindedness and, yes, the love of most people inside a church body in order to further their own greedy grasp for power.

What struck me about the book is that as I read along, I began to identify—by name—individuals I had known who exhibited all the traits of spiritual wolves. They were individuals  who amassed followings of unthinking church goers who were awed by skill, looks, talent or sheer force of will and unblinkingly began to ‘follow’, aiding and abetting,  as their idols systematically destroyed and abused other church goers who refused to drink the kool aid.

As Cole wrote, he was cognizant that this book would not be well received in some circles. He relates experiences from his own church going background and his experiences as a Hollywood producer and writer. He tells tales that are not easy to hear.  He makes some harsh, yet justified, criticisms of the culture of celebrity that comes from the Hollywood milieu and has infiltrated the church—particularly the music scene. It is not pleasant reading and, I am sure, not pleasant writing.Yet he persisted driven, I believe, by the knowledge that this was a book that needed telling. If you have been in church circles where people (perhaps even you) have been hurt, this is a book that brings light to those aching moments. It is, in a strange way, affirming. You are not alone, thank God! You are not the only one who’s suffered under a wolf’s destructive attacks.

“Day of the Wolf” may not make Christianity Today’s list of top books for 2014 (though it should) but for me it is one of the top books of the decade. I strongly urge you to buy it and read it (check it out on Amazon). You won’t be disappointed.