Samhain literally means “summer's end.”  It marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year; the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, which is at Beltane and Samhain.

It's the old Celtic new year - sometimes called the Witch's New Year, is a time for honoring those who have crossed over into the spirit world.

Samhain is not 'evil' as some would like to think--it's simply the time of year when the veil between our world and the spirit world is the thinnest, therefore it is an excellent time to make contact with those who have passed on. It is also a time to honor and remember our ancestors.

Of course Christianity decided to change Samhain to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been revered that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, or  All Hallows Eve and November 2nd became All Souls Day.

Celtic based traditions recognize this Holiday as the end of the "old" year -- almost like a New year's Eve, yet some groups do not celebrate the coming of the "new year" until Yule. Some consider the time between Samhain and Yule as a time which does not even exist on the Earthly plane. The "time which is no time" was considered in the "old days" to be both very magickal and very dangerous. This is why even today Samhain, or Halloween, has a touch a fear for some.