Samhain - 31 October
Cast your mind back six months, to the end of April. At that time we stood on the threshold of summer, looking forward to the warmth and light of the months ahead. The wheel has turned several cycles since then, the harvest has been sown, grown and reaped and we now stand on the threshold of winter.
This is one of the Greater Sabbats and justly so, for it is a very special time. Tonight the veil between this world and the Otherworld will be at its most ethereal and it may be that whilst we are honouring out ancestors and friends who have already departed this world that we shall feel their presence at our celebrations.
It is true that we are now in the midst of decaying vegetation and the closing down of the natural world for its winter sleep, of cold hard rain, sleet and frosts. Our thoughts will naturally turn back to the sunlight of the summer that has passed, but we must also look forward to the new season ahead, to the new life that will ultimately spring from the death of the year. For this is the continuous cycle of life, which as Pagans we acknowledge and embrace.