What does Halloween really mean?
Image Copyright Mel Rose 2024
What a moon that was! I have been processing and integrating my experience this Hallow’s Eve because it went deep. Now Halloween is usually my favorite holiday. Inheerited by my mother who went all out my whole life on this holiday, for the entire month of October. Waking me up October 1st as Elvira, with blood and all painted on her face. I love Halloween because the creativity hidden in many, exposes itself and I love to see the way it expresses itself in places like NYC and London. I studied costuming in college and so this is a treat in and of itself for me. I love being in places where people take it very seriously, parties are intended for masked creatures to dance all night. This year it was warm in New York which created an extra layer of sadness to not be there. I am almost always a mermaid, and in a way I love this mask. But it is challenging in cold weather environments! Regardless, I love finding unique ways to be Mermaid and trying out new versions of Her. I have been a regular mermaid about 15 times, a french mermaid, a robot mermaid, a dead mermaid, a space, mermaid, a hippie mermaid and a psychic cowgirl mermaid. This year, living out in deep Nature, I decided I wanted at least one night as an internal Halloween. But I didn’t know why or how. But in the most spiritual year of my life, I was tapping into ancient, ancestral and sacred wisdom and this realization came right on time, for the universe opened up when I asked the question and I was delivered the information below. Information that made hosting private ceremony around this Halloween, my most important Halloween yet.
You see, the Halloween holiday that we've come to know and celebrate today is just the tip of the spiritual iceberg and celebration it prepares us to celebrate. Beneath the surface lies a deep well of esoteric significance that has been largely forgotten over time. As I've come to understand it, Halloween is actually rooted in ancient pagan traditions that viewed this time of year as a sacred threshold - a moment when the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds grows thin, allowing for a deeper exploration of the self and the mysteries of existence.
At the heart of this understanding is the concept of the "fall of the soul" into the material realm. This isn't seen as a “sin” or a punishment, but rather a necessary part of the soul's evolutionary journey. You see, the soul originates from a state of unity with the divine source, but through a process of individuation, it descends into the physical world, taking on the mantle of the "animal self" - the instinctual, sensory aspects of human consciousness. A place where most people live, inside of complexity, versus simpleness or enlightenment, where we thrive and live in our birthright of peace and harmony with nature and each other.
This descent into the animal self/the wearing fully of our mask(s) is mirrored in the four cardinal holidays of the year - the solstices and equinoxes. Each of these markers represents a different stage of the soul's journey, from the initial immersion in sensations and emotions at the Fall Equinox, to the development of thought at the Winter Solstice, and ultimately, the attainment of spiritual understanding at the Spring Equinox.
Halloween, then, is a pivotal moment in this cyclical process, representing the soul's full engagement with the animal self. It's actually a beautiful time observe the masks we wear and to come to ceremony in order to shed the masks and illusions that often obscure our true nature. By reconnecting with the deeper currents of our being, we heal, and we can step into a year to follow of living in our authenticity. Ritual and ceremony are important for human beings. Sadly the only rituals we take place in around holidays are filing our bodies with too much food and poison, instead of clearing our space and making more room for grace, love, and peace. These opportunities for rituals and symbolism, especially the deshedding associated with this holiday, have started to become a priority in my life. One ritual, carving of the Jack-o'-Lantern revealed itself to me this year. The idea of carving out the hard parts of ourselves so that the light can shine through, rituals like this are meant to facilitate this shedding, allowing the "light of our Source" within us to shine forth and come to show the shape that our important shadows have spent sometimes decades and lifetimes creating.
The modern, secularized version of Halloween has largely lost touch with these profound esoteric meanings. Instead of using the holiday as a means of self-reflection and spiritual evolution and deep connection to others, we've reduced it to mere indulgence in the material and the sensory. But by reclaiming the deeper significance of Halloween and the other cardinal holidays, we can reconnect with the rhythms and cycles of the natural world, and deepen our bond with our own authentic consciousness and life purpose.
This is not just about honoring ancient traditions and tapping into Nature and in turn ourselves, but about cultivating a more holistic understanding of ourselves and our place within the grand cosmic order. It's about shedding the masks and illusions that so often obscure our true nature, authentic purpose and reasoning for being here, our place in the collective consciousness that we are here to evolve, and embracing the transformative power of these sacred thresholds.
So I encourage you, each day to explore the depths of what you know deep inside, to explore sacred knowledge, to practice rituals that connect you to your light, and to let it guide you on your own journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth. Given the state of the world, I chose to dive into the light this Halloween, for there is enough dark and fear all year long. Many believe we are at one of the lowest spiritual points for humanity. What I can affirm from my own journey is that when you hit rock bottom, you know where the foundation is to build up from. May this spiral of life show us that even in the darkest hours, light will find it’s way through if you let it.
