Spirits in the night Pagan ceremony puts spiritual element back in Halloween By CRIS LEYKAUF AN HOUR BEFORE mid- night on Halloween they gather around a medicine wheel in a yard in Thornhill. Four symbols mark the directions of a compass — a tree, bowl, candle and feather. In the middle of the circle is a cauldron. With drumming = and chanting, the circle participants celebrate the eve of the new year accord- ing to the earth religions. It's a very spiritual time, says Laurel Gregg. She's co-owner of the Nirvana Metaphysic and Healing Centre, and also a spiritual leader in the earth religions, She celebrates eight festi- vals throughout the year, in- cluding Halloween, which is called Samhain, the fire fes- tival, Samhain is a Celtic word meaning new year, However, these pagan rituals can make others ner- vous. Gregg says she is harassed on a regular basis by ministers and supporters of mote traditional religions. She’s even been accused of devil worship, “It’s nothing scary. It’s the new year. The four sacred tools that surround =s ihe ~—s medicine wheel — the tree, bow! of water, candle and feather — each have meaning. The tree al the north end of the circle represents the mother earth and growth of human kind. Water, at the west, is the ebb and flow of emotions. A candle is placed at the south end and represents faith and courage. Finally, a feather in the east is for freedom of spirit. The medicine wheel itself is a circle of stones, permanently laid out in the yard beside the Nirvana centre, For Samhain, the wheel is decorated with branches. Inside the centre of the circle is a cauldron. Gregg says it represents inspira- tion, and will be decorated with fall [caves and apples, The 15-25 participants — more come each year — will each bring an orange or a black candle. Orange for the harvest of ideas and black for contemplalicn. “Then we will drum and “It’s a very powerful but very loving ceremony.’’ — Laurel Gregg on Samhain not what people think,”’ she says of the Halioween ceremony. ‘“We don’t have anything to do with any- thing negative. We're not sacrificing cats.’’ Gregg has also been called a witch, and admits she is, ‘in the context of being a healer.’ On Halloween the witch's purpose was to mix up the healing herbs, explains Gregg. According to the old reli- gions, Halloween is a highly symbolic occasion, when people celebrate the start of were being neglected, Woman's}. ‘holiday | HALLOWEEN belongs to women, not ghosts and goblins. For Karla Hennig, Hal- loween is a woman’s remembrance day. It’s a time to remember the 100,000 women tortured, hanged and burmt since the 1680s, accused of witchcraft. The overwhelming ma- jority of people accused of witchcraft were women. Usually, they were old and poor and unmarried, says Hennig, and occasionally they were healers. There were men killed for being witches as well, but his- tory puts their numbers as about two per cent of the total. “Usually they were women who had no status. They were the dis- enfranchised,’’ says Hen- nig. Being a witch meant different things in dif- ferent countries, she points out. In Germany, witches were accused of drying up cow’s milk. In France, they were persecuted for making men impotent. In England, the accusa- tions were a bit odder -— there witches supposedly kissed the devil under the tail, How could you tell a witch from your average woman? Hennig says one way to tell was to check for moles, Moles could be a familiar’s teat — a place where the familiar could suck nourishment from the witch. Accusations of witchcraft reached new highs in New England during the Salem witchcraft trials. There were so many people in prison for witchcraft that the crops coulda’t be brought in and children says Hennig. Every Halloween Hen- nig sels aside some time to think of those who suf- fered in what she calls a woman's holocaust. chant as the old year goes to sleep,” says Gregg. The candle in the south will then be lit, and participants will say a prayer or blessing for others who've passed over into the spirit. Sometimes the participants will write on a scrap of paper something they want to banish from their lives, such as smoking, an illness or bad rela- tionship, They walk around the cir- cle counter-clockwise three times, focussing on the DURING A CEREMONY called Samhain, which takes place on Halloween night, participants will light candles as they stand outside around a medicine wheel. If they have anything they wish to banish from their lives, such as an illness, they will write it on a scrap place of paper and burn the paper in the candle. Laurel Gregg, pictured here, willlead participants during Samhain. paper. This releases the hold smoking, for instance, has on their physical, emotional and mental self. Finally each person lights his or her own candle, and bums the slip of paper. Some participants may want even more help to rid themselves of negative in- Quences. They'll use a bes- om — a sacred broom — to brush away negativity. “It has nothing to do with witches,’” says Gregg. And ho one goes cavorting off on broomstick, cackling. As circle leader, Gregg then cuts an apple and gives a slice to each person, 4 desire thal hidden knowi- edge will come to their hearts, Traditionally the next step would be to drink wine, but Gregg doesn’t drink, so she instead uses cranberry juice, The juice is the symbol of something they wish to take into their lives. Then those around the cir- cle join hands, and send healing to the carth. Gregg follows with a blessing. “It’s a prayer to all beings that we may all be in balance and harmony with each other,”’ The evening ends with songs and shared hugs. “T’s a very powerful but very loving ceremony,”’ she Says. Students who are wun- comfortable with the com-_ mercial emphasis on events like Halloween and Christ- mas, have told her they ap- preciate these ceremonies, which help make these times more sacred. Everyone is ‘welcome to the Halloween festivities. Usually participants are stu- dents of the Nirvana centre and their friends and family. Once someone walking by heard drumbeats during a ceremony, and joined in. Often those taking part bave their own religious belicis, including wiccan, druidism and shamanism, Others belong to Christian churches, Churches leery of Halloween ‘By SALWA FARAH HALLOWEEN is a great excuse to eat candy and wear silly costumes, but there’s a lol more to Octo- ber 31 than trick-or-treating, say some Terrace pastors. ‘Tt is a night that Satan uses to get a stronger hold on people who do not be- lieve in God,” says Pastor Mercer Moye fom the Skeena Valley Baptist Church. Halloween marks the be- ginning of the darkest part of the year and the ending of the harvest season — but Halloween is not mentioned in the bible, says Moye. “The bible says we should not give place to the devil — it’s not in the best inter- est of the church to magnify sin,” he says, adding that people should magnify the Lord instead. Reverend Dean Houghton suspects the current fascination with Halloween, death and ghosts ts due to Hollywood’s influence. However, as a child Moye joined thousands of other children who go trick-or- treating. He says children aren’t necessarily approving evil, but instead go for the candy. **¥ou can’t ignore it, it’s everywhere,’’ he says about the commercial aspect of Halloween. He suggests children not dress as devils and witches, The word Halloween literally means ‘holy eve.’ It is the day before Allhallows or All Saint’s Day. All Saint’s Day is one of the principal feasts of the Anglican church, Tt is a day for the remem- brance of all the faithful who have departed, explains Reverend Dean Houghton from St Matthew’s Anglican Church, “Saints are those people believed to be in heaven be- cause of the nature of their death or ilife,’’ says Houghton about martyred individuals. All Saint’s Day is fol lowed by All Soul’s Day, a day when souls in purgatory are believed to come back to earth, Purgatory — a temporazy place where souls do penance for their sins — is a Catholic belief and Anglicans tend to focus on All Saints Day instead. Houghton suspects the ‘Mercer Moye He offers an altemative for children who may feel left out. This year, groups of children, known as Path- finders, will go door to door. Insicad of collecting loot for themselves, they will be gathering food for the food banks. ‘We ought not be self. centered,”’ he says, adding the church encourages kids to help others, *‘Our church is not against having fun,”’ says Potts. The “What do I think of Halloween? Give me Christmas carolers attempting to bring a mo- ment’s joy rather than Halloween madness any TRICK-OR-TREATING is an innocent past-time. Megan Sandover-Sly might go a princess, while Mary Wamer plans to be a hockey referee, However, some churches object to the rowdy behaviour that also ac- companies Halloween, day.’’ — Pastor Ralph Rintisch current fascination with Halloween, death and ghosts is due to Hollywood’s in- fluence. “My analysis is that our: modem society is largely sheltered from death,’’ he says. Halloween may be a symbolic way for people to confront death. While he has no objec- tions to Halloween, Houghton says if people practice evil, they will in- voke evil. Pastor Jeff Potts, of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, discourages his church members from celebrating Halloween. “Tt may-..be considered pleasurable for the kids, but it does have Satanic over- tones,”’ he says. church usually puts on a fall party for the children. Pastor Ralph Rintisch from the Alliance Church, says Halloween has become a night of destruction, and a night when the police often have to work overtime, “{ don't know of any parent who is not extremely careful about checking the candy of their children, not only to see if there is some- thing they may want to en- joy, but out of fear that someone might have put poison in their child's bag,”’ says Rintisch, “What do 1 think of Hal- loween? Give me Christmas carolers attempting to bring a moment’s joy rather than Halloween madness any day,” The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 29,1997 - AS Ee | CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD cara The Mail Bag Right on, Helmut Dear Sir: After the position taken by the B.C. Liberal caucus on the rescue of Skeena Cellulose, Liberal house leader Gary Farrell-Collins has « lot of gall criticizing Helmut Giesbrecht. Let me see if 1 have this straight, Gordon Campbell says the Skeena deal is ‘‘bad news for B.C, taxpayers”’ and it is supposed to be the NOP MLA that is not representing us? What about the taxpayers of Terrace, Smithers and Prince Rupert? Do they not count in the Liberal world? As the local representative for [WA Canada Local 1- 71, I watched the Skeena Cellulose situation unfold very carefully. Helmut Giesbrecht was always avail- able, always working on a solution and always fighting to protect jobs in the northwest. By contrast, look at what the Liberals had to say on the subject. During debate in the legislature, Liberal MLA Paul Nettleton, who is from the north, had this to say on the subject: “Tt do not believe that anyone, including the employ- ees of these companies, seriously thinks that it is good for British Columbia in general to save these com- panies and these jobs, when it means the creditors are forced to accept a fraction of what they are legitimately owed,’” Hansard. April 3, 1997. This is the Liberal idea of good representation. They represent the banks. Helmut Giesbrecht fought for the families of Skeena Cellulose employees. I think he deserves better than to have to hear a lecture on repre- sentation from a party that would have been quite happy to see ourjobs and our community disappear. *., Helmut, thank you for saving our jobs. Mr. Farrell- Collins, please take your northern tour elsewhere until you are ready to represent the north, not destroy it. Surinder Malhotra, Second Vice President, . IWA-Canada Local 1-71, Terrace, B.C, The MLA fights back - Dear Sir: I rarely ever crack open a copy of B.C. Report. Its style of journalism is — to be very kind — slanied. When I saw myself on the cover as one of B.C.’s Most Unwanted, I was forced to see if they got anything right. There were ample quotes, but only from Lome Sex- ton. Research has never been the magazine’s forte but on Page 9 | found something interesting. The article says Liberal leader Gordon Campbell wants an end to “taxpayer funded business perks like the NDP’s recent $250 million bail out of Skeena Cellulose.’” We all know he said something very different here in Terrace at the Loggers’ rally last spring. Then there is Troy Lanigan of the Canadian Tax- payers’ Federation who is critical of Liberal leader Gordon Campbell. It quoted Lanigan saying ‘‘ ‘slash and spend’ Liberals ialk out of both sides of their 4 © mouth: Piey etiticize the‘ Skééna Cellilosd Balout bub forests critic Ted Nebbeling praised it in Terrace,”' ‘If, this is Lanigan’s position, why has he travelled from Victoria to recall government MLAs when this will clearly benefit the Liberals? We recently had the Liberals in town and all they could think of was that I had not done enough for my constituents. Skeens mill workers are back at work without any wage or contract concessions and the dis- cussions for an arrangement with contractors is con- tinuing, I’m still in regular contact with the Hon, Dan Miller and his office on this issue. I could draw some conclusions out of all this. The Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, and more recently Campbell, don’t like what the government has done for Skeena Cellulose workers. Lanigan also thinks the Lib- erals are being dishonest or at least talking out of both sides of their mouths. Of course, B. C. Report could have it wrong again. I do know that both of these groups that now don’t like the government helping the northwest want me recalled. Go figure! Helmut Giesbrecht, MLA for Skeema She’s a good choice Dear Sir: In your Oct. 22 issue, MP Mike Scott dismisses Rhoda Witherly’s appointment as chair of the Prince Rupert Port Corporation as ‘pork barrel politics.’ His attitude is surprising as Ms. Witherly had already served as Vice chair of the corporation and so logically would be the successor. In addition, Ms. Witherly has had many years of business expericace as owner/operator of Prince Rupert Tide Search. She has also served Prince Rupert as a city councillor. Her ability to communicate was demonstrated during her years as a CBC broadcaster. She also gave many years of service to Community organizations. With this history of community service, business acumen and familiarity with the port, could a belter candidate be found for this position? I think not. Although I did not support Ms.,Witherly in the past election, I certainly recognize the qualities which make her suitable for such a responsible position. This example of Mr. Scott’s biased thinking is an eye-opener for all of us, Marguerite Clarkson, Terrace, B.C. "More letters on Page AG The Terrace Standard welcomes let- ters to the editor. Our mailing address fs 3210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or send us an email to standard@kermode.net