#pagan roots

[poeaxtry]

fire, bloom, and transformation under the sun’s peak. This cheat sheet highlights vivid colors—reds, oranges, golds, and greens—plus animals like dragonflies, bees, and butterflies, and the power of crystals and herbs to fuel your magic. It’s all about abundance, growth, and self-love.

Explore the full Litha Cheat Sheet on my blog! Link in bio

[harmonyhealinghub]

Unveiling the Spellbinding Origins of Halloween Shaina Tranquilino October 30, 2023

As orange leaves flutter to the ground and jack-o'-lanterns flicker in the night, it's undeniable that Halloween has become a beloved, spine-tingling celebration worldwide. But have you ever wondered about the bewitching origins hiding behind this enchanting holiday? Join us on a captivating journey as we unravel the mysterious history of Halloween.

Ancient Roots: The roots of Halloween can be traced back over 2,000 years to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in). Celebrated by the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Britain, Samhain marked the end of summer and welcomed the harvest season. On October 31st, they believed that the boundary between the living and dead blurred, allowing spirits to roam freely among them.

Trick-or-Treating Takes Shape: During Samhain festivities, people would dress in costumes made from animal hides, attempting to ward off evil spirits or disguise themselves from mischievous entities. They also lit bonfires as a form of protection against malevolent forces—a tradition that still echoes today with our glowing Jack-o'-lanterns.

Christian Influence: In the 9th century A.D., Christianity began spreading throughout Celtic lands. Pope Gregory III designated November 1st as All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day to honour saints and martyrs who didn't have their own feast day yet. To integrate pagan traditions into Christian practices and discourage Celtic rituals during Samhain, November 1st became known as All Hallows' Eve—the precursor to modern-day Halloween.

Ghostly Evolutions: As time progressed, various customs blended together to shape Halloween into its present form. In Medieval England, "souling" emerged when beggars went door-to-door offering prayers for departed souls in exchange for food or money—a practice that later inspired modern-day trick-or-treating. Similarly, in Scotland and Ireland, "guising" appeared, with people dressing up in costumes to perform songs, poems, or tricks for treats.

The Immigrant Influence: Halloween as we know it today found its way to North America through Irish and Scottish immigrants during the 19th century. In the United States, these traditions merged with Indigenous harvest celebrations and other European customs. The result was a uniquely "American Halloween"—a time of community gatherings, parties, parades, and spooky festivities that captured hearts across the nation.

Modern-Day Celebrations: In recent decades, Halloween has gained immense popularity worldwide. It has evolved into a holiday celebrated by people of all ages—both young and old. Festivities range from creatively carved pumpkins to haunted houses, costume parties to horror movie marathons—all embraced as part of this spirited celebration.

As darkness descends on All Hallows' Eve each year, we're reminded of the fascinating history behind Halloween's enduring magic. From ancient Celtic rituals to religious adaptations and cultural exchanges, this captivating holiday has grown into an enchanting blend of tradition and fun.

So whether you find yourself mesmerized by ghostly tales around a bonfire or joining the chorus of tiny witches and superheroes chanting "trick-or-treat," remember that Halloween is more than just costumes and candy—it's a bewitching journey through time connecting us to centuries-old customs and shared human experiences.

[maypoleman1]

13th December

St Lucy’s Day

Saint Lucia’s Day. Source: The Book of Christmas, The Enchanted World, Time-Life Books

Today is St Lucy’s Day. Lucy, or Lucia, was a devout Christian virgin on the island of Sicily in the fourth century AD who was pursued by an ardent suitor who told her he was in love with her eyes. In a desperate attempt to get her admirer to lose interest, Lucia plucked out her own eyes and handed them to the horrified man with the words ‘Now let me live in God’. God recognised her sacrifice and restored Lucia’s eyes soon afterwards. Lucia however was eventually executed by the pagan Roman authorities who burned her alive.

Lucia’s death by flame is the only discernible link between her and the festivities in Scandinavia to celebrate her day. These celebrations have entirely pagan roots and derive from winter sun festivals held on the northern solstice to brighten the darkest nights of the year. On the morning of 13th December, girls would dress as Lucia in a plain white shift and bring their parents festive cheer, their heads crowned with a wreath of lingonberry or holly mounted with the four Advent candles. St Lucia’s Day traditionally marks the beginning of the Christmas season.

St Lucia’s Day coincided with the Norse festival of Yule and was marked by the old rhyme : ‘Lucy light, the shortest day and the longest night’ . St Lucy was also the patron saint of people suffering poor eyesight which is partially a reference to the saint’s self blinding but also to the long dark night of her named day.

[misspjsuperior]

Lussinatt is a Scandinavian tradition observed on the 13th of December, considered the darkest (although not necessarily longest) night and one of the most haunted nights of the year. 👻

According to tradition this night belongs to Lussi, a feminine spirit of light, as her name reflects. She is also said to be a Queen among the ghostly spirits and of fairy like entities featured in Northern European folklore including gnomes, elves, and trolls. 👑

On this night these creatures could be found, according to folklore, following Queen Lussi in a kind of haunting parade between worlds. 🧚 The ‘Long Night’ of Lussi was transformed under Catholicism to the feast day of St. Lucia, patron saint of the blind, who is often adorned with a wreath of candles, typically 4 or 12, symbolizing her as Bringer of Light. Young ladies have been dressed in these candle vriend in processions as part of folk Catholic practices.

🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

𝕾𝖙. 𝕷𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖎 𝖆𝖗𝖙 𝖇𝖞 𝕻𝕵 𝕾𝖚𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗

[lady-0f-the-wood]

[scotiaeire]

THE PAGAN ROOTS OF ST. MARTIN’S DAY, 11TH NOVEMBER

(PLS EXCUSE CAPS, SIGHT ISSUES)

“ St Martin’s day (and St Martin’s Eve) customs perhaps unsurprisingly share similarities with those of Hallowe’en: In Germany, for instance, the Gripschen or Heischebrauch customs of children going from door to door begging gifts of food, sweets etc in return for songs (Martinsleid) is associated with St Martin’s day (Martinstag). In Germany – as elsewhere in Europe – this custom was also associated with the medieval ‘souling‘ traditions observed variously on All Hallows day (1st November) or All Hallows Eve (31st October) as well as All Souls’ day (2nd November). In ‘souling’ people would go door to door offering prayers for the dead in return for the gift of ‘soul cakes’. “

ARTICLE SOURCE HERE: https://atlanticreligion.com/2014/11/09/the-pagan-roots-of-st-martins-day-11th-november/

[carpenoctemarts]

Pagan holy days pages in a big leather book with an iron bat on it. I had to paint something, even ruff, the book is too neat to keep it simple.

Yeaaaah you wanna see the book itself 😜 my BF brought it back from London for me 🖤

[dowsingfordivinity]

Pagan Words Challenge 2025

The Pagan Words Challenge 2025 invites you to pick a word you’d like to explore the connotations of, and look at its use in poetry and prose, its etymology, its history, and/or what it means in your spiritual practice. This challenge is a bit different from the previous ones (Changing Paths challenge 2023 and 2024), as it doesn’t have daily prompts. It can be exhausting producing a blogpost…

Pagan Words Challenge 2025