This time of year is said to mark the moments when the veils between the living and the dead are thinnest.
This season was the beginning of the New Year (and winter) in many rural areas of Europe. This was one of the great fire festivals and marked the beginning of winter.
The actual time of transition, from sundown on Samhain to sundown the following day, was a "thin place" in the Celtic world, a place
Moving Between the Worlds
between-the-worlds where deep insights could pass more easily to those who were open to them. In addition to inspiration, through the portals could also pass beings of wisdom, fun, and play (and some of these played rough, requiring common sense and real caution on the part of mortals).
It was believed that on this night the gates between life and death were open - or at least poorly guarded. Part of the role of the Druid priests was to protect the people from the spirits who might cross over. Placating such spirits is thought to have been the origin of the trick or treat tradition.
.jpg)
