Samhain, the ancient Celtic fire festival, is celebrated by pagans on May Eve. The word ‘pagan’ derives from the Latin word ‘paganus’ meaning ‘country dweller’. People living in rural areas continued to worship the cycles of nature long after Christianity was embraced by the towns and cities of the Roman Empire. Soon the word for "country dweller" became synonymous with someone whose spiritual beliefs were based on seasonal energies.
Samhain is the gateway to winter, and a magical time of passage between the seasons. The veil between this world and other dimensions is very thin, and divine beings, the spirits of the dead, and mortals are said to be able to move freely between one world and the next. This of course is our Southern Hemisphere Hallowe’en! This is a good time to go within and meditate and then literally and metaphorically get rid of dead wood. A backyard bonfire is a great way of doing this followed of course by a feast. Relationship planets Venus and Mars are conjunct on May Eve, so if you are pining for an old love or hooked into some negative relationship pattern, consider holding a ritual to release the old and embrace the new.