In honor of this week’s upcoming holiday, it’s finally time to make a post dedicated to Halloween! As with many traditions and holidays with Pagan, Celtic, or Roman roots, astrology is closely connected. In Halloween’s case, the popular statement is that it is a Pagan tradition that was popularized and monetized in America, but the story is much more complex and interconnected than just that. While the celebration on the 31st of October is, in fact, Pagan, elements of Roman Lemuria, Celtic Samhain, and the catholic church all play into modern day Halloween.
Pictured: Modern Samhain Celebration
The contribution of Zodiac and Astrology are taken into consideration in the time of year and the annual date. Halloween- or more officially, All Hallows’ Eve- takes place on October 31st. According to the Pagan Calander, November 1st is the celebration of Samhain, but the celebration starts the evening of the day prior. As pictured above, this is a tradition that is still practiced in its authentic form by the Celtic community. This tradition is a result of the midway point between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice. Therefore, the basic idea is comparable to the same reason for the summer solstice, as discussed in a previous blog post. Elements of Samhain include traveling door-to-door of nearby houses to honor the dead, by singing. To scare away unwanted spirits, these singers wore costumes. Sound familiar yet? While the reasoning for celebration might not be the same today, many traditional acts have carried on into the American tradition. Astrologically, this takes place during the season of Scorpio. Being the introduction into the darker half of the year, this is seen as a time for self-introspection and new self-discovery. Each year different astrological aspects coincide, and this year has many important events such as eclipses and mars retrograde.
However, the Roman celebration of Lemuria and the influence of the catholic church also contribute to modern day Halloween. During the peak of the roman empire, there was an annual festival called Lemuria. The original dates of this were the 9th, 13th, and 11th of May. This was a time for the citizens to exorcise demons from their homes and communities. This included a feast to honor the catholic saints, eventually earning the name “All Saints Day.” The church appreciated the popularity of the event and made the executive decision to move the date from May to November 1st. The goal for this was to wipe out and minimize the celebration of Samhain, as it went against the beliefs of the church.
Pictured: Painting of a Traditional Lemuria Practice
Of course, these two events were seen as able to be commercialized, and therefore America saw this as an opportunity. Factors of both traditions were melded together to create the idea of trick-or-treating; the intent ultimately to increase candy and clothing sales. Halloween has become one of the most anticipated days of the year, and as time progresses many people start to find interest in the pagan roots of astrology around this time of year.
I didn’t realize Halloween was a combination of different holidays. I wonder how purposefully it was commercialized—was it simply coincidence, did someone actively think to commercialize it, or was it somewhere in between? I’m also curious about other traditions around this time of year, like Día de los Muertos in Mexico.
I loved this blog! As an October Scorpio born just one week from Halloween, it has always been my favorite holiday. As you can probably imagine, all of my birthdays were Halloween-themed, so I usually get pretty excited around this time of year. I really liked your blog because you delved deeper into the origin of Halloween and its traditions. We often think of Halloween as a party holiday, but the religious and spiritual origins run much deeper than simply candy. I will always love Halloween because of its origins, creepy traditions, and ambiance. And, of course, it falls within Scorpio season, so it is always a great time of year. Thank you for posting about Halloween!
Happy Spooky Season!!! I’ve always been fascinated with the history of Samhain, but I wasn’t really aware of Lemuria! The way you draw connections between astrology (Scorpio season) and the holidays is also very well done. And, of course, the way these two very large, historically and culturally relevant holidays were capitalism-ed into a consumer holiday is important to note. I really enjoy your blog – the one thing I would recommend is further personalizing your blog page to further fit the theme of the content you write on. An example would maybe be a background/header image of a star chart.
I never knew this. It’s weird to think how the meaning of Halloween changes to us as well, as we grow older. As little kids we get super excited to put on a funny costume and then to go to people’s houses to stuff our bags with lots of candy. Now that I’m 19 (and in college) Halloween has become the holiday where we get to dress up in “instagrammable” outfits, and look good at parties. I do think the history of this holiday is super interesting though. Astrology seems to be connected to so many different things and I don’t know much about it besides the fact that I’m a cancer, but maybe I should start learning more in depth about it.