Beyond The Walls

Samhain being the feast of fire, has also held a place in some minds as the feast of the dead as well. With some holding that it is seen as incorporating the cult of Donn (Lord of the Dead we referenced in Part 1) into its celebrations but whether this is accurate, or how they did so remains uncertain. The idea that Samhain is a juncture between the two halves of the year placed it in the unusual realm of being suspended in time - it did not belong to the old year not the new. We view the year in modern times as being comprised of four parts, Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter. While, for the ancient Celts, it was primarily viewed as two seasons; winter and summer. So, the night of Samhain held a weird place of not being part of summer…. But, it had yet to become winter. Many believed that It could be said that time stood still on this night and the implications of this could be, and were in some cases, terrifying. During this night and the limbo that it was believed to represent, the natural order of life,