Witches in connection to the Fall
Why are witches associated with the fall?
When deciding what the write about this week, I decided to write about witches association to weather and seasons. I feel like witches are thought about more, and almost associated with the fall. This could be because of Halloween, but regardless of Halloween, there are mentions of witchcraft in fall decor. Throughout my blogs, I've posed a question of why witches are associated with ___, and the reason is normally due to some idea from thousands of years ago. So I thought for this week I will look into the association of witches and weather.
The first and probably most obvious answer is because of Halloween. Witches are always associated with Halloween because of the history of Halloween. Halloween is seen in some cultures as the ending of fall and beginning of winter, and the time where the wall between the living and the dead is the thinnest, allowing for super natural activitiy. That gives one reason why witches are associated with the fall, but then again, it's the most obvious answer.
Another reason I found is because the fall is traditionally harvest season. During this season, especially in the Pagan culture, people would perform rituals as a way of thanking the Earth for the harvest/ensuring a good harvest. Witches played a large role as being an orchestrator of these rituals, linking them to harvests, therefore linking them to fall. I saw an interesting concept as I was reading that was related to how fall is a time of change.
The article/blog spoke about how Fall is the season of change, the leaves change colors and the temperature changes (or does not if you are in Texas). The article goes on to mention how change is a fundamental part of witchcraft. Similarly, there is mention of how fall is the period right before months of darkness, and as we know, darkness is an indicator of witchcraft. While daylight savings is not the full reason witches are thought about more in the fall than other seasons, the fall has a more witchy mood due to the association with Halloween and harvests.
https://belovelive.com/autumn-welcome-to-the-season-of-the-witch/
Thanks for researching the connections between witches and the seasons, and particularly autumn. You are correct that the connections date back thousands of years, even predating Christianity by a couple thousand years. The autumnal equinox was especially a significant moment in mystical calendars. I love how you phrased it--when the walls between the living and dead are the thinnest. Druids of both sexes presided at these celebrations. Halloween derives from these ancient events.
ReplyDelete