SAMHAIN DANCE

Artist Unknown

"I will dance

the dance of dying days

and sleeping life.

I will dance

in cold, dead leaves

a bending, whirling, human dance.

I will dance

as the horned god rides

across the skies.

I will dance

to the music of his hounds

running, baying in chorus.

I will dance

with the ghosts of those

gone before.

I will dance

between the sleep of life

and the dream of death."

There are many kinds of dances to be done on Samhain, or Halloween Eve. For instance:

There's the Spiral Dance:

Actual Spiral Dance in Asheville, NC in 2007.

Notice all the orbs, which are fairies or spirits!

The Spiral Dance, also called the Grapevine Dance and the Weaver’s Dance, is a Neopagan group dance emphasizing community. It is especially popular at festivals due to its accommodation of large numbers of people.

The first Spiral Dance was performed in Berkeley, CA, in celebration of the publication of the book The Spiral Dance by Starhawk. It melded art, music, ritual and politics. It turned into a yearly celebration, although a large portion of the politics was removed for later versions. It currently exists as a Samhain celebration to honor the dead and celebrate rebirth.

There's the Celtic/Pagan Bonfire Dance:

With a huge community bonfire ablaze, the ancient Celts would extinguish all household fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.

The bonfires held at Samhain, the Celtic New Year's Eve, were meant to warm friendly spirits and ward off evil ones, and also represented the sun which they wished would return, bringing heat and growth. The bonfires of the Celts continued to blaze down through the centuries, and will again be alight in Britain on Monday night.

There's the Witch's Dance:

Vintage Halloween decoration

What self-respecting witch and her black cat familiar would not dance on Halloween evening?

There's the Halloween Costume Dance of the early 20th century:

There's the Monster Mash Dance:

 

There's the Solitary Dance:

"Samhain Dance", copyright

Greta M. Margherita

 

There's the Full Moon Dance:

"Halloween Dance" by Holly Stokes

There's the Faeries' Dance:

"Spiral Dance" by Naze-Melnyk

At Samhain the veil between this world and the next grows thin. The fairies come out to dance and make mischief. Beware, the Queen of the Fairies may capture you and spirit you away to her home in the hollow hills.

There's the Midnight Madness Dance:

Vintage Halloween Image

There's the Dancing Jack O'Lanterns:

Vintage Halloween Postcard

Which dance will you be dancing on Halloween/Samhain Eve? For me, there will be no full moon and no firelight, just a small solitary dance across the crunchy leaves.