October 28, 1998
With the approach of Halloween we thought we would send out some of the Spiritist Teachings on it. Here is the second installment. More tomorrow.
WHY DO WE WEAR COSTUMES ON HALLOWEEN?
By; Speaker Gerald A. Polley
Some people believe that we do this
to scare away evil Spirits, by making ourselves look more hideous than
them. But this is not the TRUE reason, though it does have a PARTIAL truth.
To understand the answer to this question we have to understand where the
holiday originated from.
It started with The Ancient Wiccans who once inhabited the forests of
Europe. It was a combination of a celebration of the harvest of the plenty
that The Lord and Lady Of The Forest gave them, and, a tribute to their
Ancestors.
The Wiccans believed that on this day their Ancestors came and visited
them to see how they were doing and praise their good works.
Each family believed they were descended from a creature of the forest,
some true, some mythical, and during the feast one member of the family
would sneak off, dress in the costume of their particular totem, and return
to the village to distribute gifts to the members of their family. Then,
they would dance a dance of brotherhood, and at the end scatter back into
the forest.
This is the true origin of dressing in costumes on Halloween. Over the
centuries other people picked up the tradition and added non-traditional
costumes until we have the great variety that we have today.
There is nothing sinister or evil about Halloween costumes. They're just
good fun.
October 29, 1998
With the approach of Halloween we thought we would send out some of the Spiritist Teachings on it. Here is the third installment. More tomorrow.
WHERE DOES THE STORY OF THE WITCH'S
CAULDRON COME FROM?
By; Speaker Gerald A. Polley
Where does the story of the witch's cauldron come
from? We must go back to a time very long ago, when the forests of central
Europe were inhabited by a kind and gentle people called the
Wiccans. It was their tradition to have a common meal at the end of the
day in which all in the village would partake. For such a large number
of people, a large cooking pot was necessary. It was also the Wiccan tradition
to give a prayer of thanks as they added each ingredient to the stew. They
believed that in doing so they blessed the plants and animals that gave
their essence to sustain them.
Visitors to the Wiccan villages thought the women preparing the stew were
making some kind of magick potion in these large cauldrons, muttering magick
incantations as they mixed it, and these strange brews gave the Wiccans
special powers and abilities. This became a part of many peoples' folklore,
and, over time, ended up the legend that we have today. It is strange that
such a thing could occur, that such a simple process as making a stew could
be mistaken for some kind of magickal rite, but stranger things have happened
during the passage of the ages....FAR stranger things!
October 30, 1998
With the approach of Halloween we thought we would send out some of the Spiritist Teachings on it. Here is the fourth installment.
THE LEGEND OF THE BROOMSTICK
By; Speaker Gerald A. Polley
On many Halloween decorations you see
a picture of a Witch flying through the sky on a broom. Where did this
legend originate from?
No one is quite sure. Many of The Ancient Peoples were aware of astral
projection, of being able to send your spirit out of your body to distant
places, and see what was occurring there and return to tell others. Some misguided
individuals came to believe that people doing this actually traveled in
a physical form, and were carried on many different conveyances.
The broom was a common object in many homes, and children running around
pretending to ride on it probably gave somebody the idea of making up the
story that those who journeyed through the night visiting far away places
flew on brooms.
Wherever it began it spread quickly and soon became an entrenched part
of folklore that could not be dispelled. To this day some young mystics
just learning to use their abilities will transport their astral form on
a broom. The tradition has become so entrenched in their minds that they
actually come to believe that this is the way they must travel during astral
projection.
This is a case where fantasy, in a way, becomes reality. But the brooms
are really unnecessary. The young psychics could travel just as easily
without them. But what to heck? It's tradition!
October 31, 1998
With the approach of Halloween we thought we would send out some of the Spiritist Teachings on it. Here is the final installment.
THE WICKED WITCH By; Speaker Gerald A. Polley
We see her on every Halloween decoration-
the wicked witch riding her broomstick stirring her cauldron, or simply
showing her ugly face. Where does this legend come from?
We must go back to the kind and gentle people that once inhabited the
forests of central Europe- The Wiccans. The Wiccans were very knowledgeable
in The Healing Arts. They knew how to mix herbs and the minerals of the
Earth to make medicines to cure many illnesses. They were highly sought
after by other peoples to cure their ills.
All was well until Christianity began to spread over Europe. The Christians
had the mistaken idea that sickness, pain and suffering was a punishment
from God for man's evil and anyone that relieved the pain that anyone was
suffering was interfering with the will of God, and did The Devil's Work.
The Christian priests especially hated the Wiccan priestesses because
their skills were so much better than theirs, and the people loved them
so much. They began to make up hideous crimes, false accusations to accuse
these gentle women of, to turn the people against them. They tortured thousands
of innocent people, made them confess to those crimes, then hung them or
burned them at the stake. These false accusations became an entrenched part
of human folklore, and some actually came to believe these terrible stories
were true.
Slowly these evil teachings were dispelled. The healing of the sick became
acceptable again and the secret knowledge kept hidden for so long was returned
to mankind. But the legend of the wicked witch still remained and became
part of the folklore of Halloween.
It is hard for us to believe today there could have been a time when the
healing of the sick was a crime, that a person could be tortured and murdered
for helping those in pain. But sadly such ignorance once existed. Let us
pray it will never exist again.
A little Halloween extra. While talking on a radio station today someone
called in and brought up Houdini and the message he was supposed to send
back from the Dead. They asked me if I had any knowledge of this. I told
them I had spoken to Houdini several years ago and he told me that he had
sent this message back to his wife, not once, but twice! But she had not
acknowledged that she had received it because of pressure being put upon
her by those around her. I cannot remember the exact message, but I do
remember that it was a code from their mind reading act that would tell
Houdini that his wife was holding a locket with a picture of the subject's
mother in it. It was something like;
"I am now holding something very precious to the one that has given it
to me."
It is too bad this message was never given, as it was intended for it
to be. But that is the way these things go sometimes.