In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated at the Feast of Saturnalia, to honor Saturn, the god of agricultural bounty. Lasting about a week, Saturnalia was characterized by feasting, debauchery and gift-giving. With Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, many of these customs were later absorbed into Christmas celebrations. Let’s take a moment a review some of the ancient symbols and customs practiced today and their origins.
As a practicing Witch and Sensitive, I find energy takes pride of place in my mystical toolbox, along with tarot cards, alphabetized essential oils, and a massive collection of Herb jars. Going back to our middle school science class for a moment, energy is everywhere—from the device you’re looking at right now to the floor beneath you. It’s also that indescribable feeling you get when you walk into your home and are greeted with a heavy, weird vibe that renders you incapable of relaxing and getting comfortable on the sofa.
Many of the modern practices for Halloween date to 19th century England and North America. Fortune telling and divination played a part in celebrations. Games were played intending to divine one’s future. Nuts and fruit featured in the eating and drinking games, and soul cakes were prepared.
Globally, Serpents are represented as potent guardians of temples and other sacred spaces. This connection may be grounded in the observation that when threatened, some snakes (such as rattlesnake and cobras) frequently hold and defend their ground, first resorting to threatening display and then fighting, rather than retreat. Thus, they are natural guardians of treasures or sacred sites which cannot easily be moved out of harm's way.
If you wish to start a Grimoire, I suggest using something with removable pages. This way you can add and remove pages as you need them instead of taking your entire book into a ritual where it may be damaged. This also allows you to easily move pages around if you decide to reorganize it. Some people keep their BOS and Grimoires on their computer. I find this cumbersome when I wish to perform magic, but it may work for you.
