By Laurie Siblock
Divination
is the forecasting of the future using supernatural means. Samhain
(pronounced SOW-in) is the Celtic harvest festival that later became
Christianized as All Hallows’ Eve or Hallowmas. It was around Samhain, according
to the ancient Celts, people who lived 2000 years ago in the area that is now
Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, that the god of summer is
defeated the god of winter and death now presided over Mother Earth.
It’s
a special day when the veil between the living and the dead thins. This creates
an opportunity for communication between these worlds. During this
transformational period between light and dark, and life and death, it was
believed that there is an opening—a pause in time when magic is believed to be
at its strongest, making it a perfect time for divination, palm reading, tarot
and other methods of foretelling the future. It was even a time when fairies
were thought to be out in their strongest numbers and thus, they could more
easily be seen.
In
Victorian times in North America, divination games became popular at Halloween
parties, as upper society English attempted to discourage the more destructive
shenanigans of Halloween – the unhinging of gates, pulling up of cabbage
patches, tipping of outhouses – by moving parties indoors. These parties,
intended for young people, like any young person’s party in the Victorian
period, became an opportunity for matchmaking. Divinations that aided in
determining the name of your intended were very popular at Halloween parties.
In one such game, a ring was suspended by a hair over a cup. The number of
times it hit the side before it became still coincided with the letter of the alphabet
of the future husband or wife’s name.
At
All Hallows’ Eve on October 28th and 29th from 6 – 9 pm,
while the veil between this world and the next is thinnest, we’re anticipating
the fairies might be flitting about at the Magical Milburn House. If they are,
and if you see them, they just might bless you with a personal strength to
carry with you the rest of your life. You may also stop at the Clairvoyant
Carpenter Shop to have your future told by a palm reader or tarot card reader.
It’s not for everyone. Some would rather keep the future a mystery and that’s
okay too. You can always jump ahead and go “soul-caking” at the Feasting
Fitzpatrick House.
