The worn wooden cross reads only "Ben." Alongside this winding country road a human life ended. Through the greenery of spring into summer, the simple memorial is easy to miss, but amidst the dying vegetation of fall, the cross again appears. The lonely sentinel, weathered and dull, is a contrast to the fresh flowers which decorate its crossbeam in mute testimony to the endurance of the memory of the living.
The cross and others like it, whether grandiose or humble, function as shrines which serve the living and the dead. To remember a soul passed away is to allow them to live once more and it is this sentiment which is found at the heart of the great Celtic festival of Samhain on October 31.
Samhain in October and Beltaine in May are the two principal festivals of the Celtic pagan world (Imbolg and Lughnasadh, while both fire festivals, enjoy a slightly lesser rank). Opposite each other, they divide the year in two, their duality marks the initiation of the summer and the winter, the light and dark half of each year.
That there is "light in the dark, and dark in the light" is a fundamental tenant of the Old Religion. At Beltaine, we are reminded that within the bright days of summer can be found the shadows which spell the end of the year and eventually our mortal beings. At Samhain, the darkness and chaos which envelopes all holds within it the promise of salvation, of inspiration and importantly, the rebirth of the Celtic year which follows on November 1.
Samhain, as the season of death revels, celebrates both death and life. The "Feile na Marbh," or feast of the dead, requires that a bit of supper or tobacco be left out for ancestors who have crossed over. As with shrines, this tradition provides for the remembrance of the dead and invites them to come in out of the dark, to sit a spell at a warm, welcoming hearth and to bestow their blessings upon the household for the coming year.
By honoring the flitting shades, our world and the Otherworld can meet in a moment which is at once as common as it is mystical. The dead no longer haunt and the living no longer fear. All are as one and, all too briefly, the split is healed.
Through ritual and tradition humanity may honor and strengthen the divine light which illuminates and supports our world. Whether it be a roadside cross, a faded photograph upon a wall, or food and a note left for a loved one long gone on Samhain, each is a precious opportunity to renew our connection to the Otherworld, and thus our own souls.
As the seasons of our lives slip by, another autumn has blown away along with its brightly coloured leaves. Samhain is upon us, with all its dark promise. Happy New Year to you and Blessed Be.