Some Christians argue that Halloween is not Christian but a pagan myth and should not be celebrated. Well, lets agree that it is a myth that is practiced as a ritual. And people like to practice it because it is fun. Kids like it. Parents like it. Adults like it. The ritual has legs.
But what does it mean? Everyone gets something from this bag of treats. For the candy companies, Halloween is their Christmas. For the costume makers, it keeps them alive. For the parents its a great night out that they remember as kids and want to pass on to theirs. For the kids…well it gives them a chance to get to grab and eat all the candy they can, something that might be forbidden during the year. Kids get to legitimately break the rules. Adults who go to costume parties get to pretend they are someone else and take off their persona or worldly mask they must wear every day. Adults get to break the rules and act like kids.
But what about the spiritual person, or the person who is suffering from the demons of their own unconscious. (they are the same really). What can Halloween mean for that person?
Okay, lets look at the ritual where one opens the door and welcomes demons, death, and all that is foul and evil, and then gives this ghoulish population candy. Where do these demons come from? From the night, from the unseen, from beneath the earth, from hell, from anywhere but the daylight world where we like to keep everything in order and safe from these demons that can only bring death and chaos to our world.
A myth (according to Joseph Campbell) has the function of putting us in accord with reality so that we can affirm life and fulfill our potentials. How can the myth of Halloween put us in accord with our own True Nature? We have to really enter into the ritual and play all sides to find out— as if it were a dream and we are all he characters. In the dream of Halloween, you are you and you are the demons also. These scary creatures are your own fears coming up from your own unconscious where you have buried them, hoping they would stop haunting you. You must suspend disbelief here, as if you were watching a movie or play or a book and really got lost in it.
So Halloween is like a play in which you are playing all the characters. Okay, that’s the first step. The second step is to have the intention of letting your demons come up for air, so you can see them face to face. So you ask them to come up. You welcome them as you welcome the kids at your door. THESE ARE YOUR DEMONS. You can feel this. You can see yourself in these masks. These are your masks…these are your children.
Now the next step is when you give each of your demons a piece of candy, you are giving them your kindness. Your demons are your own fragmented and buried childhood, your lost innocence that you have forsaken and buried alive in the grave of your own mind—so you could wear the mask of your adult persona. They are the unborn crying for deliverance from the living grave you put them in.
See that. Accept that. Tell you them you are sorry. Tell them that you love them. Love your enemies…for they are you. Mentally and in your heart with each piece of candy you give to these children, ask them for forgiveness and tell them they are free now. You no longer fear them. You no longer bury them. Let them go in peace. And you will be at peace.
Have a blessed Halloween. Thank you for walking with me in this valley.
Posted under General Observations
This post was written by ed on October 31, 2011
