THE TURNING OF THE YEAR

Blessed Be

The light of thine eyes, the strength in thy thighs,

the comforting sigh as this dream of life flies by.

 

Harvest's Complete

"Samhain" is the Gaelic word for November, the beginning of the Celtic year.  The evening before is "Oidhche Shamhna"~a gap in time~through which 'spirits' from other-worlds can enter.  In many homes, a "seomra thiar"~room to the West~is kept, sometimes just a place, where objects that remind one of the departed are kept.

Rituals include providing hospitality to ancestors

with food and drink. 

Windows and doors are lit and left open for the dead to enter. but all spirits from the other-worlds are not beneficent. 

Suite

by Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) for Orson Welles 'Macbeth' 

1948

 

http://youtu.be/UG3TrJ9cPac

To keep evil ones away, carved images of spirit-guardians on turnips~pumpkins today~are placed at the doors. 

Folks wear costumes, and walk about like dead spirits.
 
  "Death is never very far away, yet to die is not a tragedy.  What is of great importance is to die with honor, to live in the memory of the clan, and be honored at the "Fleadh nan Mairbh"~the feast of the dead~on Samhain eve.  Ancients believed that on this eve not only did the boundary between this world and the others dissolve, but that the entire structure of society dissolved  as well."
Considering the current condition of society, this might be a blessing in disguise.

"Eve" Of All Hallows

  Abandoned when I flew to Utah back in October 2012, escaping literal darkness plunged into after "Sandy" struck, then neglected in the rush and tumble of just going somehow.
Resurrected once more, and soon to receive some serious attention.