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Spirits come home for Wiccan New Year
by Nina Ansas
For some people, Oct. 31 is Halloween, but for Wiccans, or modern witches, it is New Year. During
New Year, or Samhain, many Wiccans believe the veil between the earthly and arcane worlds is
very thin.
According to Melora Artemisia D'Melissa, priestess of the Temple of the Winged One, on this day
the spirits of the dead visit their loved ones on Earth.
"You honor your ancestors on Samhain and put out food for them, especially apples because they are
symbols of immortality," D'Melissa said. "It's also possible to send messages to loved ones who have
passed away because on this day the two worlds are very close."
By tradition, many Wiccans attempt to communicate with the other worlds during Samhain. According
to Pauline Campanelli, a practicing Wiccan and author of the "Wheel of the Year," putting fingers on
a wineglass placed in a circle of letters allows spirits to communicate with those on Earth.
A majority of the basic Wiccan beliefs originated in Celtic countries; Samhain, in Celtic, means
"summer's end." However, the beliefs of Wiccans and the manner in which they celebrate New Year vary
greatly among individual Wiccans and covens. Some plan lavish parties, while others hold meaningful
rituals.
"I'm an eclectic," said Christine Fusco, a Wiccan priestess who works at the Majick Cauldron.
"There are lessons to find in every faith, so I picked what was pertinent to me; the majority of
my beliefs are Wiccan. I was raised Catholic, and I include some of those ideas also."
Fusco performs numerous weddings during the holiday of Samhain. New Year is a popular day for
weddings because it is a time of new beginnings. She conducts the ceremonies outdoors in natural
settings.
"Depending on the couple's needs you can have regular vows and rings, but there is always a
"handfasting," Fusco said. "You bind the couple's hands with a cord; this ties their souls together.
You don't untie the knot; you just slip it off their hands. If and when they want to dissolve the
marriage, they have to go back to the priestess to have the cord untied."
Wiccans respect the earth. They exist in close harmony with nature, and their festivals
acknowledge the passing of the seasons. Many Halloween traditions such as "trick or treat"
originate from the culmination of the autumn harvest.
Mary Adjei, priestess of the Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess, said that at the end of the harvest season in October, Celtic farmers tallied harvest yields to discern how much they had reaped.
"Trick or treat is related to the great importance of the harvest," Adjei said. "If the harvest was good and food lasted through winter, people had a treat. A poor harvest was a trick, and people would die due to the lack of food."
The masks and costumes worn on Halloween are used to disguise those who are not of this world. According to D'Melissa, dead ancestors wander the Earth and visit friends and family during Samhain. The candy given out on Halloween represents the welcoming treats served to all who enter.
"Both the dead and the living wear masks, so you don't know who's who," D'Melissa said. "They can come into your home and receive hospitality and food, and members of both worlds can mingle."
In addition to contacting their departed loved ones on Samhain, practitioners divine the future, and perform rituals that are important to individual Wiccans and covens.
Adjei's coven, which consists of older women, organizes a "croning ceremony" that celebrates a woman reaching the age of 50.
This is a ceremony of respect and a time of change and growth that honors the wise woman, or crone. They also gaze into the future on Samhain by using tarot cards or a crystal ball.
Although Wiccans receive more attention than usual on Halloween, they worship and hold numerous ceremonies throughout the year.
According to The Witches' Voice, an educational network about witches and their craft, thousands of Wiccans practice their faith in the United States.
The First Amendment protects Wicca, and a U.S. District Court declared that the wearing of pentagrams in public schools is legal.
For some people this symbol has sinister connotations, but for Wiccans the pentagram's five points represent the five senses or the four elements plus the spirit.
"The pentagram is a symbol of protection for us," Fusco said. "It only takes a darker, malevolent side when it's used upside down, as done by Satanists."
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