Samhain Night
When the moon on a cloud cast night
Hung above the tree tops' height
You sang me of some distant past
That made my heart beat strong and fast
Now I know I'm home at last
You offered me an eagle's wing
That to the sun I might soar and sing
And if I heard the owl's cry
Into the forest I would fly
And in its darkness find you by.
And so our love's not a simple thing
Nor our truths unwavering
Like the moon's pull on the tide
Our fingers touch our hearts collide
I'll be a moonsbreath by your side
Loreena McKennit
My background is Gaelic and although my grandmother was a strong Scottish Presbyterian, there were broad swathes of the ancient and mystical Gaelic traditions woven into my upbringing. A firm believer in spirits and ghosts, my mother told stories that left me breathless when I was sent down a dark hallway to an even darker pantry, to fetch preserves and supplies for dinner!
In the Celtic culture, Samhain was one of the main pastoral celebrations of the year and was held the night before first of November. It was thought to be a time of malevolent spirits, often in the form of birds, when all the forces of the other world were loosened. Then, countryside and human were believed to be threatened. The god sun mated with the raven-goddess and ceremonies had to be most solemnly performed to ward off the evils that came with the decline of the sun.
(The photograph is one I took several years ago but I’ve overlayed it with a texture of birds in flight which I found at Michelle Black’s website, via the lovely Georgianna Lane . I am so in love with Georgianna’s beautiful floral photography.)
May bonfires burn brightly for you on this night…







