Samhain

magickz

Active Member
Most who have Google know that it is "Celtic god of the dead" but I have to ask how many others here are agitated about the negativity given off by incorrect information for this myth? Halloween anyone? Replace God of death with the death of a God and we are all set. ;)
 

Isis

Member
I'm not sure I understand your comment, but I do know that Samhain was an obscure hero in Celtic mythology, not a God of the dead.
 

Rhonda Tharp

Active Member
I think All Hallow's Eve gets a bad rap, which marks the beginning of the season Samhain... The festival was more about ancestor worship than something evil.
 

LegendofJoe

Active Member
I'm not familiar with Samhain as being a god or hero. It is the eve of Nov. 1, the first day of the new year and the first day of winter.
In the Celtic myths many unusual things happen on this night. It is a time between the old and the new and therefore an in between period where the borders between our world and the other world melt away. This was a solemn holiday, beings from the otherworld can find themselves in this world.
One story that illustrates this involves the hero Finn Mac Cumhall. Every Samhain some fire breathing monster would come and terrorize the castle of King Cormac Mac Art.
This otherworldly creature, named Aillin, had a harp that would lull the people to sleep so he can kill them. (I suppose this monster was more cultured than Grendel, at least he can play the harp).
Finn was a hero that was able to resist the sleepy sounds of the harp and was able to stay awake long enough to kill the beast.
So here we have a real type of Halloween story from the Celts illustrating what can manifest at Samhain.
 

Arachne

Member
I think Saint Patrick was supposed to have performed miracles on Samhain, and thats how he won a lot of his converts.
 
Top