All Hallows Eve Divination

We are only a few short days away from All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. This week’s blog explores some ancient All Hallows Eve divination practices. Read on to find out more about apple bobbing, tarot cards, hazel nuts and candles.

All Hallows Eve: Ancient Practices

Samhain was celebrated at the end of October and beginning of November. It was a way to celebrate the end of summer and beginning of winter. It was believed that the veil between the living world and the world of the dead thinned during this time. Celebrants would light bonfires and dress in costume. The costumes, mostly animal skins and heads were to confuse the ghosts roaming the land.

Due to the veil being thin, it was also supposed to be great time for divination. By 43 A.D., Rome had conquered the Celtic peoples. Over the years, some traditonal Roman festivals were blended with Samhain. One festival was in honor of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Her sacred fruit was the apple. The use of apples in Halloween practices can still be seen today. Bobbing for apples is one popular example.

In 609 A.D. Pope Boniface IV created a festival for all Christian martyrs. Later, Pope Gregory III added to the festival. His expansion included all the saints. He also moved the day from May to November first.

In 1000 A.D. the church created All Souls Day and moved it to November second. By this time, most of the region that had been inhabited by the Celts was now Christian. As with many peoples who converted, they maintained some of their old traditions.

The tradition of Samhain remained, now with Christian influences. Celebrants dressed as saints, angels and devils. All Saints’ Day, November 1st used to be called ‘All-Hallows’. The original Middle English was ‘Alholowmesse’ which meant All Saints’ Day. The day before was refered to ‘All-Hallows Eve’. Eventually this became Halloween.

All Hallows Eve Comes to America

As immigrants made their way to America, especially the Irish in the 19th century, they brought their traditions with them. During the Victorian Era the practice of Spiritualism became quite popular.

Spiritualism is a broad subject. At its core, it is the belief that spirits can communicate with the living through a medium. The word was first used around 1796. Spiritualists hosted seances, used talking boards and worked with pendulums. Let’s find out about some more of these traditions.

Tarot

Tarot cards today are a specialized deck of cards used by readers to “tell our fortunes”. Around the mid-fifteenth century, people began taking playing card decks and using them to divine the future. Over time, people began to add extra cards and developed more standard meanings. Many readers use the specialized tarot deck, but some use the standard playing card deck.

Unlike tv shows and movies, any decent reader will tell you that doing a tarot reading is just a suggestion and not guaranteed to happen. Also, the Death card does not necessarily mean anyone is going to die. In almost every case, it is the representation of change. Interested in having a reading done? You can find readers all over the place, but I recommend Tracy. You can contact her here.

The Apple of Knowledge

Apples have long represented knowledge. So, it isn’t a surprise to find them linked to divination. There are multiple ways in which apples were used to foretell a future spouse or love. Let’s look into a few.

Bobbing for Apples

Possibly related to the old Druidic divination rite known as ‘Ordeal by Water’, bobbing for apples was used by the young. Groups of young unmarried couples gather apples and place them in a barrel or tub of water. They stir the apples and then try to pick up the apples using only their mouths. Often their hands are clasped or bound behind their backs. Sometimes they may even be blind folded.

If someone could retrieve the apple with their mouths, they would place it beneath their pillow and receive visions of their future spouse.

Apple Peels

Any single person wishing to learn the initials of their love can peel an apple in one long piece. They would then toss the peel over their shoulders and see what form the peel took. This would be the initial of their first name. If they wanted to learn the initial of the last name, they could peel another apple and follow the same steps as above.

Ouija Boards

Ouija boards, talking boards or spirit boards have a hidden past. It is suggested that they came from ancient Egypt or Greece. However, it is also thought that it came from ancient China. Automatic writing was more common initially. Spirits would guide the pen or writing utensil to write out a message.

During the rise of the Spiritualist movement in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, the precursor of the Ouija board was created. In 1853 a French Spiritualist named M. Planchette created a small triangular shaped device to help with automatic writing. This device became known as a planchette. The planchette could also be used to move over words or letters written out on paper.

Two American businessmen, Elija Bond and Charles Kennard, patented the idea of a board printed with an alphabet and a planchette together. They filed their patent on May 28, 1890. They were issued the patent on February 10, 1891. This was the first version of the modern Ouija board. Kennard called it the ‘Egyptian Luck Board’.

William Fuld, an employee of Kennard, began to handle the talking board production. In 1901, Fuld began to produce his own board naming it “Ouija”. Kennard claimed he had learned the name from the board itself and it was Egyptian for “good luck”. Fuld later claimed that he came up with the name. He said he derived it from the French “oui” and German “ja”. Both words mean yes.

Usage

Ouija boards can be purchased in many locations such as toy stores and the internet. One or more people sit around the board and place at least one finger on the planchette. Questions are asked and the planchette moves to spell out an answer.

While this sounds harmless and like silly fun, many have negative results. I would advise great caution if you decide to use a talking board of any sort.

Crystals

People can use crystals for divination in several ways. The first may be the most famous, the popular crystal ball. Scrying with a crystal ball, or crystallomancy is an ancient tradition. Practitioners set the mood with low light and get themselves into a meditative space. They focus their mind on a particular question and gaze into the surface. The answer should materialize in the crystal ball.

This requires a good deal of concentration and practice. it is also suggested people “recharge” their crystal ball.

The second method uses a crystal as a pendulum. With the pendulum, a questioner asks questions to which they already know the answers. This helps the questioner understand how the pendulum will respond. Once they know how the pendulum will answer yes and no, they can begin to ask yes/no questions.

Scrying

Scrying can be done is several ways. Using a crystal ball is a form of scrying. Another way to scry is to gaze into the flame of a candle and a mirror. A questioner can gaze into a mirror illuminated by a candle and ask a question.

Gazing into a cauldron, pot, or bowl filled with water is another form of scrying. Sitting in a semi-dark room, maybe lit with candle, enter into a meditative state. Gaze into the surface and think about the question you want answered.

All Hallows Eve Divination

There are so many traditions in regard to Halloween divination. People use nuts, seeds, candles, water, fruits and more. Looking to find out your future spouse, career, or health issues? Or looking for some silly things to do on Halloween night? Try some of these divination methods or find some others to try.

Warning: Please use caution when attempting to contact the dead, playing with fire, going outside at midnight or using a knife to peel apples.

Interested in other things to do this time of year? Visit my page here.