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by Chad Koons

When I was a kid, there was no better feeling than the thrill of Halloween! It was the time of year that I looked forward to the most. While not nearly as profitable as Christmas (random candy vs. cool toys), Halloween was certainly much more alluring. There were ghosts, ghouls, monsters, the supernatural, spooky stories, scary movies, parties, naughtiness, danger, dressing up in costumes, and let’s not forget the candy! Everyone seemed to love it, kids and adults alike. It was a feeling so surreal that it was almost intoxicating. Though it never really made sense to my young mind… why did we celebrate this spooky holiday?!

The other major holidays were quite clear. Christmas centered around the birth of Christ, Easter centered around the resurrection of Christ, Thanksgiving centered around thankfulness to God, you get the idea. But… Halloween? What was the deal with Halloween?! I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought as a kid, but now as a dad of two young children, I needed to know what Halloween was really about. If Halloween was just innocent fun, then I wanted my kids to love it like I did. But if Halloween was not innocent, if it was of evil origin and practice, then I needed for my kids to honor the Lord and have nothing to do with it.

So, I began studying Halloween. Perhaps not surprisingly, I quickly realized that internet articles, Christian magazine write-ups, and Facebook posts failed to agree with one another and seemed to be based upon sketchy, shallow, and/or biased research. If I was going to find the truth, then I needed to begin by digging into history. And so I did.

The Seeds of Halloween

The very first thing I discovered was the Halloween/Samhain connection. Halloween finds its roots in an ancient holiday called “Samhain” (pronounced “sow-win” or “sah-win”). Therefore, to understand Halloween, we need to understand Samhain.

Despite what many well-meaning Christians will tell you, Samhain is not a mythical “God of the Dead” or “Dark lord.” Samhain is actually a very real pagan holiday. It was originally practiced by Celtic peoples perhaps 2,000 years ago. At its heart, the Samhain holiday is a celebration of death (and the life that comes through it) and may have originally marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year, or marking a new portion of the year. Now all of this may sound innocent enough, so what’s wrong with that? Well, this is where it gets interesting.

Regarding its origin and practice, Samhain is both natural and supernatural. It was believed to be the time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest. Witchcraft and divination are part of its makeup. It is important to note that Samhain is not merely an obscure ancient holiday; it is actively celebrated by the witchcraft and pagan communities today. We don’t often hear of the Samhain celebration nowadays, and there is a reason for this: Samhain is popularly known today under a different name. Any guesses? Correct, Samhain is known today as “Halloween.”

Origin and Meaning of Samhain

Upon learning that Samhain is a pagan holiday, I realized that I needed to refer to pagan sources. As much as I didn’t want to, into the pagan sources I went, and here’s what I found out.

Samhain is celebrated on October 31st. It is the final harvest, a celebration from the light and warmth cycle into the cold and darkness of winter, a celebration of life into death, a celebration of death and spirit, celebrating that all spirits are “as a whole” and eternal. The veil is believed to be at its thinnest at this time, so as to connect the earth with the dead and to honor and commune with the dead and the eternal cycle of “reincarnation.”

Samhain happens to be one of the four greater “Sabbats” of the year (Sabbats are pagan holidays), and it is considered by most Wiccans the most important Sabbat. Interesting… Samhain, which is known today as Halloween, is the most important pagan holiday of the year. If this doesn’t alarm you yet, just keep reading.

Deity of Samhain

Uncovering the holiday of Samhain got me thinking. Many major holidays of the world are centered around a deity of some sort. For example, Christmas revolves around Jesus (His birth), Easter revolves around Jesus (His resurrection), and Thanksgiving revolves around gratitude towards Him. Ramadan revolves around Allah and the prophet Mohammed. So, this made me wonder if there was there a deity, a god or goddess, behind Samhain? It seemed a good question to investigate, so I did. According to the pagan and witch communities, the answer is… yes, Samhain does revolve around a deity, a “dark goddess” by the name of Cerridwen, the Keeper of the Cauldron (pronounced “Kare-ah-dwin”).

Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving = Jesus
Ramadan = Allah and Mohammed
Samhain/Halloween = Cerridwen

Who is Cerridwen? Cerridwen is the Goddess of Samhain. She is a dark goddess of the underworld, associated with witchcraft. She represents the ”crone,” which is the dark aspect of the triple goddess (a trinity within one goddess, or three aspects of the one goddess, of which Cerridwen is the Dark aspect). She is often called “The Cauldron Goddess” or the “Goddess of the Witches.” She is symbolized by the cauldron, which appears in force during Samhain (this is why we see big black cauldrons or kettles during Halloween). She is considered the destroyer and the healer, and she is to be feared. She is of things passing and moving on in the spirit, she has powers of prophecy, and she is the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge and inspiration in the underworld. She has two children, a daughter light and fair and a son dark, ugly, and malevolent. She is believed to have the powers of change, rebirth, and transformation. She is said to be the Mother and the Crone, associated with a white pig and the full moon (this is why a full moon is symbolized in Halloween). Her cauldron is believed to be the well of life; all life comes from her cauldron and returns to it after death, and all new life is born again from her cauldron (this is partially why death is symbolized at Halloween).

Have you ever wondered why we see cauldrons, full moons, and the glorification of fear and death during Halloween? The answer will blow your mind… we see them because these are the symbols of the dark goddess Cerridwen. She is the spiritual force behind Halloween! Does this sound like something you should celebrate and lead your children into?

As believers in Jesus, we are not to interact with witchcraft, sorcery, divination, omens, etc., nor are we to follow after those who do! See Leviticus 20:6. Halloween is a clear source of these detestable works, do not follow after them!

Has any of this helped you see Halloween in a different light? Make sure to look for my next post; I will uncover the cultural tradition and symbolism of Halloween in addition to sharing what a real-life Elder Witch has to say about the Samhain/Halloween connection. Walk as children of the light, and I’ll see you soon!

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