Samhain: The Veil Between Worlds.
- Valentina
- Oct 31
- 3 min read
There comes a moment in the wheel of the year when light bends inward, when the harvest
is gathered, and the fields grow quiet beneath a silver sky. This is the season of Samhain,
known in Gaelic tradition as the great turning, the sacred threshold between the living
and the unseen.
From the night of October 30th, through October 31st, and into November 2nd, All Saints
Day, within this portals; time softens.
The veil between worlds grows thin, and the breath of the ancestors can almost be felt in
the still air. What we call All Hallows Eve was once a night of reverence and gathering, when
fires were lit to guide the wandering spirits and to mark the end of the bright half of the year.
The True Story of Samhain.
In the old Gaelic lands, Samhain marked the completion of the harvest and the quiet beginning
of the darker months. It was not only a time of endings, but of deep listening, when the world beneath the world could be heard again. The people would extinguish their home fires and
gather at the communal flame, bringing warmth and spirit back to each hearth together.
It was said that on this night, the fairy folk would cross into the human realm, walking among
us as the mists of autumn grew thick. To protect themselves, people began to wear disguises,
so the fairies would mistake them for their own kind and pass them by. The fair folk too,
dressed as humans, wishing to join the feast and feel for a moment the warmth of mortal joy.
Villages would go door to door, collecting from each home the fruits of the final harvest,
pumpkins, bread, roots, ale, all brought to the great fire. There they would share food and
song, dressed in masks and cloaks, blurring the boundaries between human and otherworldly.
In this shared space, the living and the unseen met not as strangers, but as kin.
Some tales whispered that mischievous fairies might take away the children of sorrowful
homes, carrying them into the other realm where time did not move as ours does. Out of
this fear, the act of dressing up became sacred protection, a way of claiming one’s place
in both worlds, hidden and seen.
The Sacred Meaning.
Samhain is not a night of fright, but of reverence. It is a mirror of life’s own mystery, reminding
us that death and birth are woven together, that endings are also beginnings in disguise. The fires burned not to banish darkness, but to honour it. The veils of the world invite us to meet what we cannot yet understand, to pray, to remember, to release.
This festival lives opposite Beltane, the bright celebration of spring’s desire, yet they are bound in reflection. Between them, the seasons turn through Lughnasadh, the first harvest, and Lammas, the feast of gratitude. Together they form a great circle of becoming, the pulse of creation itself.
In the Modern World.
Over time, the sacredness of Samhain was reshaped into the bright and noisy carnival we now
call Halloween, filled with fear, spectacle, and delight. Yet beneath the masks and lanterns, the
old truth remains. This is still the night when the worlds draw near, when the unseen asks to be acknowledged.
It may be a time to pray softly, to light a candle, to speak to your ancestors, to honor the endings
in your own life. To tend to your energy with care, keeping your heart clear of what drains or frightens, so that only light may pass through.
A Closing Reflection.
Samhain is the poetry of twilight, the moment when the breath between worlds is shared.
It asks us to walk gently, to see beauty even in decay, to remember that nothing is ever truly
lost, only transformed.
Tonight, you might pause by a flame, feel the thinness of the veil, and whisper gratitude to those who came before. You might wear a costume not to hide, but to remember that all beings carry many faces, and all faces belong to the same eternal dance.
The year turns, the veil opens, and for a brief moment, everything seen and unseen becomes one.
May this Samhain night bless your thresholds with peace and remembrance, may your heart
be protected by light as you move between seen and unseen, and may the whispers of your ancestors guide you home to yourself once more.
Much love to all, Valentina.
