...SAMHAIN Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives, friends and even former pets. For these friendly spirits, they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Samhain (pronounced sow-in) is the traditional Celtic holiday from which Halloween was born. Samhain is the time of the dying of the crops and of life itself. It is the time of year when many members of the pagan community celebrate the cycle of life and death. This particular sabbat is about the end of the harvest, the calling of the spirits, and the changing aspects of the god and goddess. It is the time when the veil between our world and the underworld is thinnest and the spirits of the dead can enter into our world. Many pagans of the Wiccan path