Halloween Trick or Truth?

Jeremiah 10:1-2

Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

Thus saith the Lord, LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN, and be not

dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at

them.

Deu 12:30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following

them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou

enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their

gods? even so will I do likewise.

Deu 12:31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every

abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their

gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the

fire to their gods.

Deu 12:30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not

snared by following them, after that they be

destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire

not after their gods, saying, How did these nations

serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

Deu 12:31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy

God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he

hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even

their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the

fire to their gods.

Origins

Samhain: Festival for the Dead? Eichler, L. (1924). Customs of Mankind, 434.

“The ancient Druids had a great autumn

festival which commenced at midnight,

October 31st, and lasted throughout the

following day, November 1st. Among other

things, they believed that on this night, the

great lord of death, Saman, called together

all the wicked souls that had been

condemned, within the past twelve months,

to inhabit the bodies of animals.

Because of the wicked spirits that

prowled about on this night, they lit huge

bonfires and kept a sharp lookout. Thus it

is unquestionably from the Druids that we

derive the belief that witches and ghosts

walk abroad on Hallowe‟en...”

Samhain Celtic Festival of the Dead

Originally the „Feast of the Dead‟ was

celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving

food offerings on altars and doorsteps for

the „wandering dead.‟ Single candles were

lit and left in a window to help guide the

spirits of ancestors and loved ones home.

Extra chairs were set to the table and

around the hearth for the unseen guest.

http://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/samhainlore.htm

Apples were buried along roadsides and

paths for spirits who were lost or had no

descendants to provide for them. Turnips

were hollowed out and carved to look like

protective spirits, for this was a night of

magic and chaos.

The Wee Folke became very active,

pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans.

Traveling after dark was not advised.

People dressed in white (like ghosts),

wore disguises made of straw, or

dressed as the opposite gender in order

to fool the Nature spirits.

Samhain Celtic Festival of the Dead

http://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/samhainlore.htm

• The Wee Folke became very active,

pulling pranks on unsuspecting

humans. Traveling after dark was not

advised. People dressed in white (like

ghosts), wore disguises made of straw,

or dressed as the opposite gender in

order to fool the Nature spirits.

Do Dead Men Tell Tales? Celtic Mythology, p. 127

"During this interval [at

hallowe‟en] the normal

order of the universe is

suspended, the barriers

between the natural and

the supernatural are

temporarily removed,

the sidh [in Irish folklore, a

hill or mountain where

fairies live] lies open and

all divine beings and the

spirits of the dead move

freely among men and

interfere, sometimes

violently, in their affairs.”

“After one‟s own

birthday, the two major

Satanic holidays are

Walpurgisnacht (May

1st) and Halloween.”

Anton LaVey, Founder of The Church of Satan, referencing

The Satanic Bible, p. 96

Terms & Names

Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals,

"Halloween is also a prime recruiting season

for Satanists." (Michaelsen, Johanna. Like

Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192)

Hallowe‟en (Celtic Origin: Circa 1000 B.C.)

The frightened Celts would masquerade as demons, evil spirits and ghosts, hoping to

convince the roaming evil spirits, they were another evil spirit, and leave them alone.”

The Druids believed, during Samhain, the mystic veil separating the dead from the living opened. The Druids thought these roaming spirits loosed on Samhain went

searching for a body to possess.

Witches

“A Witch‟s God...He is...Lord of the

Underworld [Hell]...He is

named...Baphomet...Lucifer...Baal…”

Angeles, Lyde. Witchcraft: Theory and Practice, p. 60

“The person wearing the

mask feels internally

transformed and takes on

temporarily the qualities of

the god or demon represented by the mask.”

Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 218

Hallowe‟en Masks

“An interesting symbol,

the skull…is prominent

in Witchcraft and

Demon worship as a celebration of death.”

Burns, Cathy. Masonic and Occult Symbols

Illustrated, p. 388

Skulls

Bobbing For Apples

“Bobbing for apples was originally a form of divination (fortune telling) to learn of future marriages. The first person to bite the apple was predicted to be the first to marry in the

coming year…” Santino, J. (1994). All Around the Year: Holidays &

Celebrations, 26.

“The Jack O‟ Lantern represented a

man caught between”

Santino, J. (1994). All Around the Year: Holidays & Celebrations, 26.

Jack O‟ Lantern

“Carved and illuminated by a candle, they

are symbolic of death and the spirit world.” Thompson, Sue Ellen.

Holiday Symbols and Customs, p. 25)

“...the jack-o‟-lantern is generally presented in its traditional form as a festive euphemism

for the death‟s-head, the triangular nose hole and rictus grin being the „dead‟

giveaways.” Skal, David J. (2003). Death Makes a Holiday: The

Cultural History of Halloween, p. 38

National Geographic, May 1977, p. 603

“Trophy, charm, or

ornament, the human

head figured prominently

in Celtic life. Warriors hung

enemy heads on their

houses as a show of

prowess, and Druids,

believing that the head

harbored the soul, placed

skulls in sanctuaries to

ward off evil.”

Elementals

“Elementals [spirits

such as trolls, elves,

pixies] are the

principle agents of

disembodied but

never visible spirits

at seances…

Faerie

…fairies…[are]

creatures who

figure strongly in

ceremonial magic

and practices of

nature worship, or

Wicca.”

Burns, Cathy. Masonic and Occult Symbols

Illustrated, p.p. 62, 67-68.