Source: North Jersey
Photo Source: Unsplash, Robin C.
Since the COVID pandemic began, Melanie Wilbur of Mount Holly has celebrated the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain with small, muted ceremonies.
Last year, Wilbur and the other members of her coven — her community of witches — sat around a bonfire while wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to celebrate the pagan festival. "We recited prayers and spells to honor the dead," she said this week, recalling her "small, quiet celebration."
But not anymore.
This weekend, Wilbur's coven will host a masquerade party and traditional Samhain "dumb supper," a meal eaten in backward order and in silence to allow participants to interact with the spirits. The event is open to the public, and Wilbur hopes to attract dozens to the festivities, with proceeds going to local animal rescue operations.
"It's the first mass gathering for Samhain we've had in three years. It will be really special," said Wilbur, who discovered witchcraft at age 9, when she began practicing in secret.
Samhain, celebrated on Oct. 31 and pronounced "SAA-win," marks the end of the fall harvest and the impending arrival of cold winter months. To those who celebrate, it's a time when the veil between the living and the spirit world is thought to be especially thin, and participants take time to remember and interact with the departed.
The holiday has gone more mainstream in recent years as increasing numbers of Americans leave organized religion to pursue their own spiritual path. Some are embracing the supernatural, witchcraft and pagan sects like Wicca.
"The pandemic left many feeling unempowered, and witchcraft provides empowerment," said Niki Somers, the high priestess of the Wiccan & Pagan Group in Lincoln Park. Her coven will mark Samhain with a small, private gathering but is also holding events for the public such as meditation gatherings. A Wicca gathering at 'summer's end' This year's celebration will be particularly meaningful, Wilbur said, as witches, Wiccans and pagans are able to gather in large numbers for the first time since before the pandemic and honor those lost to COVID-19.
The owner of Cerridwen's Hearth, a Mount Holly shop for witches that specializes in tarot readings, energy healing and spell ingredients, Wilbur said business has been brisk recently as followers prep for the holiday.
Samhain means "summer's end" in Gaelic and is believed to have been a precursor to Halloween. Witches usher in the holiday, which traditionally begins on the evening the 31st, with bonfires, feasts and altars honoring the dead. It's a far cry from previous centuries, when women accused of being witches were punished or put to death. Today, with witchcraft a fast-growing spiritual path, adherents are forging a new identity no longer associated with pointy hats and evil hexes.
Now, witches appear to be in vogue, with a growing number of Facebook groups, TikTok videos and Instagram influencers who share magical content.
The number of Americans who identify with Wicca or paganism has risen from about 134,000 in 2001 to over 2 million today, said Helen Berger, an affiliated scholar at Brandeis University's Women's Studies Research Center who has authored four books about witches and pagans.
Those who study the movement credit the COVID pandemic with bringing in newcomers. Witchcraft gives people a sense of control over life and spirituality at a moment when the world seems out of control, said Berger.
Pagans seeking meaning after COVID Jimmy Clark, a pagan from South Amboy, said he's seen a influx into the community post-COVID. When people were stuck at home during the lockdown and suddenly had a lot of free time, "all of their previously held spiritual beliefs, practices and constructs were suddenly challenged," he said. "What do you do when 'normal' life suddenly stops? When everything you knew was turned upside down and put into question? "Many people started searching for new ways to cope, grow and stay sane," he said. Clark, who is 38, became active with paganism at age 12 after growing disenchanted with his spiritual upbringing. "I knew there was something more out there for me than what organized religion could provide," he said. So he found his own way with a spiritual tribe whose values aligned with his.
After celebrating Samhain very differently since 2019, Clark will have an active holiday this year. The singer and musician is performing at several events around the tri-state area, and in Indiana with his partner, who is a harpist.
"This year is very different from the last few years," Clark said. "We can gather with more confidence, and in more comfort.”
But it won't be the same as it used to be, he admits.
"Many of our elders have passed away, or have retired during the pandemic, and events are not as robust as they were before COVID," he said.
On Samhain, Clark will remember those he lost over the past few years, including both of his parents, and his musical collaborator, who suddenly died in August at age 35.
In the past, he's celebrated lives lost at silent Samhain suppers, and by meditating and speaking the names of loved ones around a bonfire. This year, he said, he will honor the dead through his music.
There's a survival element to Samhain, Clark added.
"We have completed the final harvest, so now, we warm ourselves around fires, fill our bellies, stock up our pantries and prepare for the long, cold winter ahead," he said. "We mourn on this holiday, but we also celebrate. It's very reverent."
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