The following is an excerpt from "Witchcraft: The Old Religion"
by Dr. L. L. Martello.
Questions and Answers.
Q. What is the best way for one who is interested in the Old
Religion to make contact with a genuine coven?
A. Subscribe to all of the Pagan and Witchcraft publications. It's
easier to get into a Pagan grove which often acts as a backdoor to
the Craft, since many are Wicca-oriented in their worship and
rituals. Fill out a Coven-Craft application form issued by WICA. To
obtain yours, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. WICA's
address is Suite 1B, 153 West 80 Street; New York 10024.
Q. What are the major feast-days of Witches? Could you tell me more
about the origins of Halloween?
A. Most Anglo-American covens celebrate the following holy days. The
four major ones are Oimelc or Candlemas on February 2; May Eve,
Beltane, or Walpurgisnacht on April 30; Lammas on July 31 or August
1; and of course Halloween or Samhain on October 31. The four minor
Holy Days are the two solstices: Yule, around December 22; and
Midsummer, around June 21 or 22. The other two are the equinoxes:
March 20-21 for spring and the fall equinox on September 22 or 23.
The following will help to give you some idea of the origins of
Halloween:
November Eve, All Hallows' Eve, the Gaelic fire festival of Samhain, now
generally called Halloween, represents the summer's end, when the
Earth Goddess turns over her reign to the Horned God of the Hunt, the
transition from life to death, from an agrarian time to one of
hunting, from summer to winter, from warmth to coldness, from light
to darkness. It has been Christianized into All Saints' Day, a time
when the souls of the departed wander the land and in some cases
where the souls of the living temporarily join their spirit brethren,
a time for mediumship, remembrance of departed loved ones, and
celebration (as opposed to mourning) of the dead.
The Roman Goddess of fruits and seeds, Pomona, was worshipped on this
day. The stored fruits and seeds of the summer were then opened for
the celebrants. Apples and nuts were the main fruits. This was also
the autumn harvest festival of the Druids. They believed in the
transmigration of souls and taught that Saman, the Lord of Death,
summoned those wicked souls who were condemned to occupy the bodies
of animals in the preceding twelve months. The accused believed that
they could propitiate Saman by gifts and incantations, thus lessening
if not eliminating their sentences. This was also the time when the
Druids lit huge bonfires in honor of Baal, a custom continued in
Britain and Wales until recent times.
In Ireland October 31 was called Oidhche Shamhna, or Vigil of
Saman. In his Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Villancey says
that in Ireland the peasants assembled with clubs and sticks,
"going from house to house, collecting money, breadcake, butter,
cheese, eggs, etc., for the feast, repeating verses in honor of the
solemnity, demanding preparations for the festival in the name of St.
Columb Kill, desiring them to lay aside the fatted calf and to bring
forth the black sheep. The good women are employed in making the
griddlecake and candles; these last are sent from house to house in
the vicinity, and are lighted up on the (Saman) next day, before
which they pray, or are supposed to pray, for the departed soul of
the donor. Every house abounds in the best viands they can afford:
apples and nuts are devoured in abundance; the nutshells are burnt,
and from the ashes many strange things are foretold; cabbages are
torn up by the root; hemp-seed is sown by the maidens, and they
believe that if they look back they will see the apparition of the
man intended for their future spouse; they hang a smock before the
fire, on the close of the feast, and sit up all night, conceal ed in
the corner of the room, convinced that his apparition will come down
the chimney and turn the smock; they throw a ball of yarn out of the
window, and wind it on the reel within, convinced that if they repeat
the Pater Noster backwards, and look at the ball of yarn without,
they will then also see his sith or apparition; they dip for apples
in a tub of water, and endeavor to bring one up in the mouth; they
suspend a cord with a cross-stick, with apples at one point, and
candles lighted at the other, and endeavor to catch the apple, while
it is in a circular motion, in the mouth."
Vallancey concludes that these practices are the remnants of Druidism and will
never be eradicated while the name of Saman remains. In this brief
passage we will see the origins of many modern Halloween practices,
such a trick or treat, the Jack-o-Lantern, and apple bobbing.
In the island of Lewis the name Shamhna, or Saman, was called Shony.
One writer in disgust described "an ancient custom here to
sacrifice to a sea-god, called Shony, at Hallowtide." The
supposed Christian inhabitants would gather at the Church of St.
Mulvay, each family bringing provisions and malt which was brewed
into ale. They chose one of themselves to wander into the sea at
night up to his waist. He then poured out a cup of ale calling upon
Shony to less his people for the coming year. "At his
return," this writer says, "they all went to church, where
there was a candle burning upon the altar; and then standing silent
for a little time, one of them gave a signal, at which the candle was
put out, and immediately all of them went to the fields, where they
fell a-drinking ale, and spent the rest of the night in dancing and
singing. The ministers in Lewis told me they spent several years
before they could persuade the vulgar natives to abandon this
ridiculous piece of superstition."
The name Saman shows evidence of Druidism in the Irish. Another
word, the name of a drink, is "lambswool." It is made from
bruising roasted apples and mixing it with ale or milk. The Gentlemen's
Magazine for May, 1784, says, "this is a constant
ingredient at a merrymaking on Holy Eve." Vallancey shrewdly
traced its etymological origin when he said, "The first day of
November was dedicated to the angel presiding over fruits, seeds,
etc., and was therefore named La Mas Ubhal, -- that is, the
day of the apple fruit, -- and being pronounced Lamasool, the English
have corrupted the name to Lambs-wool." The angel referred to of
course is the Roman Goddess Pomona.
Q. Are these Holy Days the same throughout the world?
A. No. However, there are many universal similarities between all the
pagan religions. Names, dates, and days vary according to national
origin. For instance, one of the Holy Days still celebrated by many
It alien and some Sicilian traditions is the Lupercalia, on
February 15. It has since been Christianized into St. Valentine's Day
on Feb. 14. Let me quote from the WICA Newsletter: "Ancient
Roman festival honoring Lupercus, God of Fertility. It was called dies
februatus meaning 'day of expiation.' The Lupercal -- 'wolf's
grotto' -- a cave on the western slope of Palatine Hill. Near it was
the ficus ruminalis, the fig tree under which Romulus and
Remus were found and nursed by a she-wolf. The Lupercai who
celebrated this yearly festival were made up of the Fabian who
belonged to the Sabines and the Quintilian Lupercai, the Latins.
Later in honor to Julius Caesar, there was added the Julian
Brotherhood. They sacrificed a goat. Young neophytes were brought in.
The High Priest touched their foreheads with the bloody knife. Then
another priest wiped away the blood with wool dipped into milk. The
feast began with the celebrants clothed only in goat skins and
carrying (really hiding) thongs made from the same goat hides. They
ran up and down the streets of the city striking anyone who passed
them. Women came forward to be hit by the goat-thongs, believing it
enhanced their own fertility. This was also a symbolic purification
of the land and of the persons touched. This was one of the last
Pagan rites to be given up before Christianity completely dominated
the country. It is still celebrated today but in modern form, without
the goat or any other kind of sacrifice, but all wearing skins and
goat horns in a special streghe ritual."
Q. What are some of the Christian holy days that are based upon or
borrowed from ancient Pagan Religions?
A. You'll find many of them discussed in this book ["Witchcraft:
The Old Religion"]. However, briefly, here are some of
them. December 25 in ancient times was the day celebrated in honor of
the sun, deified in such figures as Mithra, Osiris, Horus, and
Adonis. It was also the feast day of Bacchus, Krishna, Sakia, and
others. The legends of these Gods were the same as those attributed
to Jesus Christ by the early Church. Pope Julius I in A.D. 337 made
December 25 the official day to celebrate Jesus's birth, following
older traditions who honored their founders on that date. It was also
the ancient celebration of the winter solstice. There is absolutely
no record in the Bible or elsewhere of when Jesus Christ was born.
All of us are still paying tribute to the ancient Gods and Goddesses by
the names of our days of the week:
| English | French | Italian | Spanish | Planet | GOD |
|
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday |
Dimanche Lundi Mardi Mercredi Jeudi Vendredi Samedi |
Domani Lunedi Martedi Mercoledi Glovedi Venerdi Sabato |
Domingo Lunes Martes Miercoles Jueves Viernes Sabado |
Sun Moon Mars Mercury Jupiter Venus Saturn |
Mithra Diana Tiw Mercury Jove-Thor Venus-Freya Saturn |
Two of the English names come from Old Saxon rather than Latin. Tiw's
Day became Tuesday in honor of the old Teutonic deity, Tiw or Tives.
Wednesday is named after the old Teutonic Norse God Wodan or Wotan.
The Saxon word for day is doeg. In olden times the days were
called Jove's Doeg (Thursday), Mercury's Doeg (Wednesday), Mar's Doeg
(Tuesday), etc. Friday was the day when the ancients paid tribute to
Venus -- the love day. When Christianity became dominant, Friday was
no longer considered lucky -- Jesus was crucified on that day; also,
the uninhibited sexual rites dedicated to the love Goddess Venus was
considered a great "sin." Besides the days of our week our
months are also named after the ancient deities:
January: From Latin Januarius, honoring Janus, a Roman God. He presided
over the Gates of Heaven, which the Christians later assigned to St.
Peter. The Anglo-Saxons called it Aefter-Yule, and prior to
that Wolf-monat.
February: From Februus, another name for the God of purification Faunus,
thus fertility. The feast was held on February 15 (see Lupercalia)
and was called Februa.
March: After Mars, God of War. Anglo-Saxons called it Hraed-monat,
rugged month, or Hlyd-monat, stormy month. A stormy March was
an omen of poor crops. A dry March indicated a rich harvest.
April: From Latin aperio "to open," like buds. Anglo-Saxons
called it Easter-monat, in honor of the Teutonic Goddess of
the same name. She ruled spring and light. The Romans dedicated this
month to Venus, often referring to it as Mensis Veneris
instead of Aprilis.
May: Named after Maia Majesta, ancient Roman Goddess of Spring.
Considered Vulcan's wife. Look up the folklore regarding the May Day
celebrations, bonfires, and other rites celebrated throughout Europe.
June: Named after the Roman Goddess Juno. Called Sear-monat by
Anglo-Saxons. Juno was Queen of Heaven and Guardian of Marriage and
ruled childbirth. June is still the most favored month for marriage
today.
July: Originally called Quintilus, the fifth month. Old Saxons
called it Maed-monat, -- "mead month" -- the time to
gather honey for the drink called mead.
August: Named after the Roman Emperor Augustus. Was once called Sixtilis,
the sixth month.
September: Named after the Latin number for seven, that being the month in the
old calendar. Saxons called it Gerst-monat, barley month, as
this crop was usually gathered then.
October: From octo, the eighth month in the old calendar. Saxons named
it Wyn-monat, "wine month." This was harvest time,
and Bacchhus and Dionysius and all the other ancient deities were
honored. See Halloween above.
November: From the ninth month in old Roman calendar. Saxons called it Blot-monat,
"blood month." This was when the cattle and sheep were
slaughtered for food and sacrifices.
December: Named after the tenth month in the old calendar. It was consecrated
to Saturn, and on December 17 the great feast of Saturnalia
began, lasting several days. It coincided with the winter solstice
and the Yule season. The Anglo-Saxons called it Yule-monat,
"midwinter month." It coincided with the winter solstice
and the Yule season. The Anglo-Saxons called it Yule-monat,
"midwinter month."