Rain has arrived this week, along with an as-yet-unnamed storm that will surge in on Friday. So I think it's safe to say that Autumn is truly here. The skies are grey; it's definitely colder, and although it's not yet time to turn on the heating, it's not too far off. I can feel a shift in my demeanour, and the light box is already out and shining in my eyes when I'm in my studio upstairs.
This time of year has so much magic, depth and emotion. Whether the Veil thins or not is a personal belief, but my mind turns to memory. To reflect, over the past year, on what I've done, how life has been, the changes that have happened, and what has remained the same. Taking stock of my Harvest. Marking this moment in time with ritual. In that memory, there are my thoughts of people I have loved who have died. Parents and friends. And being thankful that I am still here to breathe the air, drink ale, eat, and be with friends and my family. It's time to light candles, rearrange my altar and bring out the photographs I place each year of my ancestors so I can see them each day and speak their names, so they can hear my voice and know they are remembered.
For years I have called this festival Samhain. Those amazing visionaries, Gerald Gardner and Ross Nichols, placed it in the modern Pagan Wheel of the year. An absolute gift to us as we walk forward as modern Pagans. But it is an Irish word. The actual Irish name for the month of November. My Welsh friends have been using Calan Gaeaf, the Welsh name for the festival, taking inspiration from their language, and this got me wondering what an English name might be.
My research took me to the writings of the Venerable Bede, who left us the names of the months in Old English, with a little addendum about what the Old English Heathens/Pagans held sacred at the time of year. As with the Celtic peoples, the Germanic tribes worshipped in Sacred Groves; for centuries, they did not anthropomorphise their Gods - they were personified by the Earth, Sky, Weather, Sea, etc. They worshipped at wells and springs, and, as with the Celtic tribes, they had only two seasons: Summer and Winter. Old English had no words for Autumn and Winter. Autumn was simply Harvest, and was the last few gasps of Summer. We are coming to the very end of Harvest right now here in the UK.
So what did the Old English call this time of year? The month of October was called Winterfylleþ (in our modern English alphabet, Winterfylleth), which means 'Winter Full Moon'. I love that. That Winter began on the Full Moon of October. It makes sense, of course, because the root of the word 'month' holds the word ' moon '. Samhain means 'Summer's End'. The more I read, the more I find that the Germanic and Celtic tribes' beliefs and relationships with Nature were so similar. Winterfylleth led to Blōtmōnaþ (Blood Month), when people slaughtered the cattle they needed to survive the Winter months, and you can guarantee that provided a great feast, too. Celtic lore also suggests Samhain was the time to slaughter and salt cattle.
Winterfylleth is on October 26th this year. So close to Samhain, and calendar dates are a bit mixed up because of the date changes over the centuries. I like a festival being marked on a phase of the moon. The name means Winter Full Moon, so it's quite clear when it occurs. October 31st will still be a time of celebration and reflection for me, but it is nice to have a name from the roots of my own language to use for this time of year. And thank you, Bede! I'm sure you didn't write your words to be helpful for a Pagan living 1300 years in the future. Without you, we wouldn't have these names, and I am so grateful. I know all the arguments about why Bede isn't 100% reliable, but I'm happy with what we have and can go from there.
So my friends!
Have a blessed Samhain, Calan Gaeaf and Winterfylleth!
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