As almost everybody knows, Halloween is this coming Sunday. It's a day where I'm often the "outcast" because I have chosen to have no part of this event. I refuse to call it a holiday because to me, it isn't. The reason it is not is simply because the bible tells me I should have no part of witchcraft. Yes, you can water down the day and argue it's just about having fun with the children and letting them get candy. My counterpoint? We usually go to Chuck E. Cheese or similar, have a blast and I buy a bag of candy for the girls and they are happy. It has nothing to do with halloweeen. In fact, they get to pick the candy they want so it's even cooler than begging door to door (or trunk to trunk if you go to church....don't get me started there).
In researching information on this day and the meaning of it to those who practice witchcraft, this is what I've found:
Samhain / Halloween, our next sabbat on the 31st of October, is the third and final of the three harvest holidays. Samhain is a time to take care of our dead, and to remember the past year. It is traditional on Samhain night to leave a plate of food outside the home for the souls of the dead. A candle placed in the window guides them to the Lands of Eternal Summer, and burying apples in the hard-packed earth "feeds" the passed ones on their journey. Divination is commonplace and Samhain is known as a time of year where the veil 'tween the living and the dead is at it's thinnest. As the nights grow cold, the dark half begins.. (from http://www.witchway.net/)
In response to this, the bible tells this story in Acts 16:16: And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Notice the bible refers to this "talent" as being POSSESSED WITH A SPIRIT.
In reading an example of a coven initiation ceremony (© Starhawk; "The Spiral Dance: Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess"; HarperRow 1979 Valiente, Doreen; "Witchcraft for Tomorrow"; Phoenix Publishing 1985), this is an excerpt. At this point where we pick up, the participant is naked after her clothes have been cut away :
The candidate is brought back to the altar. The High Priest kneels and gives her the Five Fold Kiss; that is, he kisses her on both feet, both knees, womb, both breasts, and the lips,starting with the right of each pair. He says, as he does this:
"Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways. Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar. Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be. Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty. Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names."
For the kiss on the lips, they embrace, length-to-length, with their feet touching each others. When he reaches the womb, she spreads her arms wide, and the same after the kiss on the lips.The candidate is then measured with the other piece of cord, from head to toe. The cord is cut. She is then measured around the head and chest and knots are tied to mark these lengths."
**So....she's naked in front of the whole coven and kissed by the "priest" It goes on to say:
"The High Priest then makes an X mark on the initiates forehead,breast and genitals while saying:
"May your mind be free. May your heart be free. May your body be free.
I give you the Craft name of ______"
The rest of the Coven members grab her suddenly, lift her if possible and carry her three times around the Circle, laughing and shrieking. They then lay her face down before the altar and press her into the ground. Gradually the pressure changes to stroking. They chant her new name, raising a Cone of Power over her."
So.....genitals? Breasts? They all press her face first into the ground and then fondle her? Orgy anyone?
This is how witches view halloween:
"Halloween, plain and simple is our favorite time of year. A true time for witches, Witchcraft itself, and Wiccans alike who feel that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is it's least guarded and it's veil the thinnest. It is a time for dimensional openings and workings, it is a somber holiday, one of dark clothes and thoughts for the dead, it is said to be the time when those of necromantic talents can speak with the dead and it is certainly a time to remember ones own dead. Witches believe it is a time of endings of relationships and bad situations and it is the time when one can see the glimmer of hope in the future. There are as many concepts attached to this holiday as any other, truly a time of remembrance of our ancestors and all those who have gone before."
Quite honestly, the only defense I should need to make for why Christians should not be a part of this "celebration" is found in Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (MSG): "When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you, don't take on the abominable ways of life of the nations there. Don't you dare sacrifice your son or daughter in the fire. Don't practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery, casting spells, holding séances, or channeling with the dead. People who do these things are an abomination to God. It's because of just such abominable practices that God, your God, is driving these nations out before you. Be completely loyal to God, your God. These nations that you're about to run out of the country consort with sorcerers and witches. But not you. God, your God, forbids it."
You may argue that you aren't practicing any of these things yourself, but notice in the last verse it mentions those that CONSORT with sorcerers and witches. A definition of consort is to associate with. By participating in the high holiday of those who do practice these thing, would you not say it is being associated with them? I know this may seem harsh, but it's time we wake up to all the ways the enemy uses to attack us. By watering down the truth of this day just so we can not be different, we are giving him a foothold into our lives. The truth is, we are CALLED to be different. What kind of witness are we to those living in darkness if we claim to walk in the light of Christ, yet participate in the most "holy" of days for those walking in the dark? Seems like an oxymoron to me.
This is something I am really writing for those who are Christians. Before any of you comment in defense, please take the time to research more, read what the bible has to say about these topics, spend time with God and see what He may want to reveal to you. We each have the option to choose as we wish for our families, but God has clearly told me to have no part in it.
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