Halloween – The Eve of the Devil Part 3

What do all of the accouterments represent continued – Part 3

Skulls and Skeletons

The skeleton is a form of the god of the dead, the witches’ “horned god.” The Dictionary of Satanism by Wade Baskin says this about skulls and skeletons under “skull worship”: “Skulls play an important role as sacred relics and as objects of worship among primitives. Among Polynesians and Melanesians, skulls of ancestors are worshiped in order to establish connections with the spirits of the dead. Like the head of Osiris in Egypt, the skulls of ancestors may also serve as tutelar deities. The head or its parts, each of which may stand for the whole, can be used as magical food or as a means of increasing the fertility of the soil.” Under “Skull,” the Dictionary of Lore and Legend says, “Symbol of death, often with crossed bones beneath.

“Trophy, charm, or ornament, the human head figured prominently in Celtic life. Warriors hung enemy heads on their houses as a show of prowess, and Druids, believing that the head harbored the soul, placed skulls in sanctuaries to ward off evil.”

Source: (National Geographic, May 1977, p. 603)

What is scarier than seeing the insides of a human, or in this case – human bones walking about? A bit freaky, yes. Well, on Halloween night, the image of skeletons and skulls are everywhere to be seen! They can be seen as costumes, on decorations, greeting cards and on television.

It doesn’t seem difficult to understand how skeletons became associated with Halloween. Just like ghosts, the skeleton reminds us that Halloween was once a solemn day – a day for the dead.

In Mexico, the Day of the Dead is almost like Christmas. Street peddlers sell holiday toys. And these toys,
seemingly morbid are actually colorful and fanciful. The skeletons have moving legs and painted in bright colors and many times dressed up like a Barbie. Source

Ritual Fire

Being that Halloween is a Celtic new year’s festival, many of its surviving rituals trace to the Celtic feast. The Celts worshipped fire and sun. (See:http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/idr/idr23.htm for more information)

“Culdees, the recognized successors of the Druids in Ireland and Scotland, are said to owe their name–cal, gal, or ceill–to the word meaning preserver of fire “It is still lucky,” writes one, “for the young people to jump over the flames, or for cattle to pass between two fires” Another says,” Our forefathers sent their sons and daughters through the fire to Moloch” … All Hallow Eve ceremonies are well known, and especially the passing through the fire,”

The fire rite was practiced in many areas around the world on the night before the New Year. The old fire was allowed to go out and a new one was kindled—usually a sacred fire from which the fires of the village were relit. The fires were thought to rejuvenate the waning sun and aid in banishing evil spirits. The Druids built hilltop fires to celebrate important festivals. Ghosts and witches feared fire, it was thought, and so fire became the best weapon against evil spirits. Witchcraft was punished by burning at the stake, fire being used as a means of purification. The light that fires gave off was a sign of sacredness.

Fire-worship may be the purest form of idolatry; flame, so nearly immaterial, ever moving, always aspiring is a type of the spiritual,–is useful, although dangerous. But no form of idolatry could be more cruel than fiery adoration of the grim Moloch Symbols are agreeable to fancy, and often helpful; but they may, and repeat do, lead men to crass idolatry. Source

You can see that we are not talking about just any fire, we are talking about “sacred fire”. Sacred fire is also represented in the carrying of the Olympic Torch. Fire that comes from the gods (demons).

Trick or Treat

Whether this derived from the ghostly spirits going door to door to demand their tribute; or the children going door to door to collect payment for their prayers for safety; or the Druids going door to door demanding sacrifices; or even the Celts just trying to fool the spirits by dressing like them; or scaring them with frightening outfits; this is where the practice began.

“This another Druid inspired custom. Every year on Halloween, many children throughout the world dress up in costumes and go door to door in a ritual known as trick or treating . . . unaware that their innocent masquerade is actually the remnants of a Druidic religious practice from times most ancient. (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 11)

Whatever the wrinkles, the root assumption is the same: trick or treat had its beginning in the Celtic dawn. (Santino, Jack. Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, p. 82)

Apple Bobbing

Popular at Halloween parties is the custom of apple bobbing. Apple Bobbing is a means of divination passed down from the Druids surviving in our current cultures, influenced by the Celts. Because the apple is also a common love charm, the practice of bobbing for apples has come to be associated with the selection of a lover. In ancient times it was a form of ritualistic torture employed by the Celts, as well as a fertility rite as it is commonly used in Christmas observance.

“Apple bobbing probably comes from the Roman festival of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. This festival was merged with the festival of Samhain after Rome conquered Britain. In honor of Samhain, subjects were forced to bob for apples in boiling hot water. Those who lived through this ordeal were set free.” Source

Masks & Costumes

Mask: meaning and etymology of the word.
from French masque, from Italian maschera, mascara, probably from medieval Latin masca ‘ witch, specter, nightmare’ but influenced by Arabic masḵara ‘buffoon.’ Old Occitan masco “ witch,”

I submit to you that the Celtic people did not just put on masks and costumes for fun, or even just to scare off the evil doers. It is apparent that there is a ritualistic and symbolic purpose for their costuming. It was another part of their worship to these demonic entities to whom they offered their own children as sacrifice. You can learn more about this subject here: http://www.anymask.com/historyofmask.html

The following are just a few excerpts from that site:

The Maker
A spirit power is also often believed to inhabit the artist’s tools so that even these have to be handled in a prescribed manner. As the form of the mask develops it is usually believed to acquire power increasingly in its own right, and again various procedures are prescribed to protect the craftsman and to ensure the potency of the object. If all the conventions have been adhered to, the completed mask, when worn or displayed, is regarded as an object suffused with great supernatural or spirit power. In some cultures it is believed that because of the close association between the mask maker and the spirit of the mask, the artist absorbs some of its magic power.

The Wearer
When he is attired in the mask, there is a loss of his previous identity and the assuming of a new one. Upon donning the mask, the wearer sometimes undergoes a psychic change and as in a trance assumes the spirit character depicted by the mask… He loses his own identity and becomes like an automaton, without his own will, which has become subservient to that of the personage of the mask.

Masks are used to take one beyond their own persona to a reality that transcends body-ego boundaries. The resulting altered states of consciousness allow communication with the spiritual reality. This was the goal of most ancient tribal rituals. Masks became the mediators between the physical and the spiritual world. Mask making itself had its own spiritual significance as a ritual in which the energy of the mask’s creator was projected onto the mask. Source

Masks and Rituals: SohKiDo Pathways III and IV of the Seven Pathways of Transpersonal Creativity

Masks and costumes carry a long history in the occult and demon possession. Masks are a point of contact to the spirit world used, to invite the spirit to “possess” the wearer.

“In rituals, a person wearing a mask of a god or spirit often feels possessed by the supernatural being. . . (World Book 2005, p. 263)

“The person wearing the mask feels internally transformed and takes on temporarily the qualities of the god or demon represented by the mask. (Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 218)

Check out these photos of some of the types of costumes people’s like the Druids wore…http://www.demilked.com/european-pagan-costumes-wilder-mann-charles-freger/

Can you believe that this stuff is being revived? The pagan religions are all coming alive again, it’s incredulous. How far we have fallen.

Colors
Orange, black, and red, the devil’s colors, are the colors associated with Halloween. Black prefigures black magic and demonic influence. The black of night is when these forces of evil are busiest, using the cover of darkness for their sinister works.

The traditional Halloween colors of Orange and Black, it is widely accepted, had their roots in Celtic lore. Black is considered the symbol of death while Orange is the reflection of the autumn harvest. Orange is also the color of fire. Source

Except from: Colors in Scripture:
Darkness – Black
Since darkness is contrasted with light in Genesis 1:4, there is obviously symbolic meaning attached to darkness. Black darkness is used to described the second death, the final judgment of the cosmic evangelist (2 Peter 2:17; Jude 13). Black darkness is associated with death of a baby (Job 3:3-11). And it is the darkness of skin that is burned (SOS 1:5-6) or diseased (Job 30:30). Thus, black refers to death. Darkness (which obviously has the characteristic color, black) refers to Satan’s Cosmic System, cosmos diabolicus, the world. The world is separated from the light (John 1:5). Rejection of the light, thinking like a Gentile unbeliever, is described as darkness in the understanding (Eph. 4:18). The world system is characterized by the love of money (monetary reversionism), which will be judged symbolically by one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (the rider on the black horse) (Rev. 6:5).
BLACK means Death (2 Peter 2:17; Jude 13; Job 3:3-11); the world (John 1:5; Rev. 6:5).

Source: http://www.biblenews1.com/colors/colors.html

The Magical Properties of Color
Black – Black absorbs, conceals, and creates confusion and chaos, new beginnings, knowledge of hidden things, the container of light, one of the most powerful of colors. Use black for self-control, endurance, and patience. Black is also a good color to use to bring discord and confusion to enemies. It can be used also for protection, binding negative forces, breaking up obstacles and blocks, reversing and breaking up negative thoughtforms. Best when applied to others. Black rules over the base chakra, the planet Saturn, the element of earth and in the original religions, it signified new beginnings. In Satanic alchemy, black represents the step of void meditation and transformation.

Orange – Creativity, enthusiasm, energy, stamina, and is a powerful color of major changes. Orange helps with adaptability, attraction, sudden changes, stimulation, enthusiasm, creativity, energy, gaining control, changing luck and inciting justice. The Sun rules orange. Orange rules the creative/sexual chakra (2nd), and is of the element of fire.

Red – Energy, passion, anger, inflammatory, lust, strength, protects against psychic attack. Mars rules red- Revenge, anger, pure sexual lust, and physical gratification, courage, determination, dealing with enemies. Red is used for inciting accidents, fires, and injuries. Red can also be used for self-confidence, athletics, strength, creating magickal energy for black magick, (Good for self-empowerment before workings of black magick) and inducing intensity. Incites lust, energy, strength, sexual energy, dynamism, passionate love, physical desire, courage, will power, athletics (especially competitive), and vitality. When used in black magick, red as opposed to black brings on sudden attacks, accidents, bloodshed, violence, and hatred. Red can also be used to incite wars, anarchy, and cruelty. Mars rules red. Red is of the element of fire. Both the colors red and black rule the root chakra.

In researching the colors, I discovered that wiccans were adding purple to the list of Halloween colors. I failed to save the sources but I looked up the color out of curiosity. Interesting that they are adding this to the list. “Can be used to incite tyranny, abuse of power…”

Purple – Psychic ability, wisdom, divination, removing curses, healing, psychic work, business success, influencing people in power. Powerful color with energies that can be difficult to handle. It can be used when applied to others to incite tyranny, abuse of power, idealism and influencing people who have power over you. Good for inciting sadness and treachery in others. Jupiter rules purple. Purple rules the crown chakra. Source

This is really not a new color for evil though. Think of The Count from Sesame Street, The Joker from Batman and countless others. Visit this site for more: http://www.comicvine.com/profile/cap…of-evil/35647/

Purple is believed to have been a mystical color, related to magic and supernatural forces — especially dark purples (usually darkened lavender; magenta not so much). That’s how purple became a Halloween color. Since Halloween matches theme with both purple and black magic, the two have become colors of darkness. Video games often follow that schema. The Halloween form of green, not so much, as it is more visible to the human eye than purple. Source: YahooAnswers

The Snake is associated with the color green, and we know that the snake represents evil/ Satan.
If you form a triadic composition of equa-distant colors on the color wheel with green as the reference, the other two colors would be viole(purple) and orange. These compose an aesthetic harmony for the human eye.

The color green is a synonym of power and strength that goes along with knowledge.

Continued in the next part – The Animals of Halloween