November is kind of a sad month, isn't it? Yet--even as the days shorten and the temperatures drop--it doesn't have to be so melancholy. For ancient Celtic people and the Ireland of yore, the month of November is the start of the Celtic new year, which began on October 31st. The Celts called it Samhain (pronounced Sah-win).
The Celtic day also began at sundown instead of at sunrise. So, Samhain commenced at twilight on October 31st. Picture it in your mind: as the last sun of the year slipped beneath the horizon, the old year was seen to die. At the same time, out of the darkness, a new year was born.
Celts celebrated with feasting, dancing, fortune telling and divination by reading apple skins and hazelnuts (representing wisdom in Celtic culture). And of course, fires. Large bonfires sprung up everywhere only to be doused at midnight, plunging the Celtic world into darkness.
The fires were then re-lit from a great ceremonial bonfire at Tlaghtgha in County Meath. The High King's fire at Tara was lit first and then, in a sort of domino effect, the blazes moved out across the country until every hearth glowed anew. These fires were lit for warmth and to ward off the evil spirits residing in the darkness. Perhaps they were also a beacon of hope in the pre-electricity darkness and a symbol of the eventual return of the light.
Let's focus on this last bit. As we are plunged into the darkness of winter, we are also that much closer to spring. Out in nature, as you walk with me in Tuscany, the leaves are falling, the frost has arrived, and nature is preparing itself for the inevitable. For Celts, November's full moon was the Seed Fall Moon, honoring the moment in which seeds drifted from dying plants to the humid ground. The moment in which the earth received them and embraced them, keeping them safe until spring.
So as you walk in nature with me today, take time to reflect on what should lie sallow, and what should burst forth with new life come spring.
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