The Ancient Origins of Halloween

After Skool Episode: The Ancient Origins of Halloween
Presented by Randall Carlson

Introduction

Welcome to another episode of After Skool. I’m Randall Carlson, and for many years, I’ve researched the ancient origins of modern customs, holidays, and celebrations. Halloween has particularly intrigued me due to its profound and mysterious roots in an ancient, universal tradition tied to catastrophe and a global reset. Join me as we dive into this primordial rabbit hole to explore the deeper significance of Halloween.

Ancient Knowledge and Symbolism

As we begin, consider this quote from J. Ralston Skinner’s 1875 book, The Source of Measures, which I read over 50 years ago:

“The ancient knowledge will again abound and overflow as water upon the Earth. The remains of this knowledge are everywhere about us, in everyday use and perfect.”

This quote, from a work on Kabbalah, geometry, and mystery religions, has stayed with me and will guide our exploration. We’ll revisit it to uncover deeper meanings as we proceed.

Fire and Water: Universal Destruction Myths

An old English proverb states, “Fire and water have no mercy.” Myths and legends worldwide describe periodic global destructions by flood (cataclysmos in Greek) and fire (ekpyrosis, from pyro meaning fire). Some traditions suggest these destructions alternated, while geological and biological records, such as the Younger Dryas boundary, show evidence of simultaneous floods and fires. These events left lasting impressions on human culture, encoded in traditions like Halloween.

Merlin’s Warning: The Doom of Forgetting

From the Arthurian tradition, Merlin the magician said, “It is the doom of men that they forget.” Many modern customs and ceremonies conceal deeper meanings lost in secular contexts.

Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, is one such tradition. Let’s explore its origins and challenge popular misconceptions.

Misconceptions About Halloween

A 2010 article in Parade magazine, titled “Lessons from the Great Pumpkin,” dismissed Halloween as a holiday “empty of moral or historical significance,” existing solely for children to dress up, eat candy, and scare each other. This view, reflecting a rationalist outlook, overlooks the holiday’s rich historical and spiritual roots.

Halloween and the Festival of the Dead

Halloween is part of a three-day religious festival including All Hallows’ Eve (October 31), All Saints’ Day (November 1), and All Souls’ Day (November 2). A 19th-century commentary describes it as a night when “the spirits of the dead wander more than at any other time,” with “devils, witches, and mischief-making beings” abroad. The 1963 Encyclopedia Britannica connects Halloween to pre-Christian Druidic practices in Ireland and Scotland, where the Celtic year ended on October 31 with the festival of Samhain. This marked the end of summer and honored the dead, with bonfires lit on hilltops and beliefs that spirits sought warmth as winter approached.

The 20th century’s rational outlook diminished Halloween’s religious and folk significance, but children continue to embrace its traditions, preserving its vitality.

Global Traditions of the Festival of the Dead

Robert Grant Halliburton, a 19th-century Canadian scholar, documented the global observance of a Festival of the Dead around early November. In his 1868 work, New Materials for the History of Man, he noted striking coincidences in its timing across cultures, including:

• Ancient Peruvians, who celebrated on All Souls’ Day (November 2) with solemn rituals for the dead.
• Hindus, Pacific Islanders, Tonga Islanders, Australians, Egyptians, and northern Europeans, who observed similar festivals in late October or early November.
• Mexicans, Egyptians, and Jews, who associated this time with flood myths, particularly tied to the Pleiades constellation.

Halliburton concluded that this uniformity could not be explained by known calendars and must have been regulated by a natural, visible sign—likely the Pleiades, a star cluster in Taurus, which rises at sunset and culminates at midnight in late October.

The Pleiades and Taurus: Cosmic Significance

The Pleiades, located at the shoulder of Taurus the Bull, are central to these traditions. Ancient cultures, from the Egyptians to the Mexicans, regulated their calendars by the Pleiades’ rising or setting. For example:

• In ancient India, the year began in November, named Kartika after the Pleiades.
• In Egypt, the month of November (Athyr) resembles the Arabic name for the Pleiades (Ataria), suggesting a linguistic connection to Taurus (Taur).
• In Mexico, a major festival on November 17 was regulated by the Pleiades, with rituals to avert a dreaded calamity tied to a past world destruction.

Taurus has been recognized as a constellation for at least 16,000 years, as seen in cave paintings depicting the bull with the Pleiades as a star cluster.

The Taurid Meteor Stream: A Celestial Connection

The Taurid meteor shower, peaking from November 1–3, originates near the Pleiades, creating a striking visual alignment. Its cometary source, Comet Encke, is part of a larger meteor stream, the largest in the inner solar system, resulting from the disintegration of a massive comet 20,000–30,000 years ago. The Taurids are also called “Halloween fireballs” due to their timing.

Astronomer Fred Whipple’s 1948 study confirmed that Taurid meteors follow elliptical orbits, converging on Comet Encke, indicating they are fragments of a single object. The stream’s diffuse nature suggests great age, taking Earth weeks to cross, from October 26 to November 22.

Historical records show the Taurids were far more intense 1,000 years ago, with Soviet astronomers noting 42 fireballs in the 11th century, outshining other showers. Modern studies suggest 100–200 asteroids over a kilometer in diameter may orbit within the stream, posing a potential collision hazard.

The Tunguska Event and Taurid Connection

The 1908 Tunguska event, a massive explosion in Siberia caused by a 150-foot meteor, is likely linked to the Taurid stream. Occurring on June 30, when Earth crosses the Taurids’ summer branch, the object appeared to come from the Sun’s direction, consistent with the stream’s orbit. A kilometer-sized object in the stream could produce over 1,000 Tunguska-like events, causing regional or hemispheric devastation.

Ancient Flood Myths and Celestial Events

Many cultures associate the Festival of the Dead with flood myths. For example:

• Mexican traditions link the Pleiades’ culmination to a world-destroying flood.
• Peruvian stories describe a flood accompanied by a five-day solar eclipse, with llamas warning of six stars (the Pleiades) signaling destruction.
• A Sumerian clay tablet from 3123 BC, deciphered by British scientists, records a mile-wide asteroid impact on June 29, possibly linked to the Taurids.

These stories suggest a collective memory of catastrophic celestial events, possibly meteor showers or impacts, preserved in cultural traditions.

Symbolism in Art and Mythology

Ancient art and mythology reinforce these connections:

• In the Mithraic tradition, Mithras stabs a bull in the shoulder (where the Pleiades reside), with blood pouring forth, symbolizing a cosmic event. Seven stars (the Pleiades) accompany him.
• Mexican codices depict Tzitzimime, falling stars (Taurid meteors) with a rattlesnake glyph for the Pleiades, associated with the end of the world.
• Christian and medieval art shows diving figures or Lucifer falling, possibly symbolizing meteors or comets.
• The myth of Phaeton, who lost control of the Sun’s chariot and set Earth ablaze, parallels flood and fire narratives, often depicted with Taurus imagery.

The Broom Star and Halloween Imagery

Chinese texts from 602–667 AD describe comets as “broom stars,” sweeping away the old to usher in the new, often heralding war or calamity. A 1666 drawing shows a broom star with lightning and destruction, resembling a witch-like apparition. This echoes a Halloween tradition: “If you put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night, you will see a witch flying in the sky at midnight.” This likely refers to the Pleiades and Taurid meteors visible at midnight on Halloween.

Conclusion: A Deeper Meaning to Halloween

Halloween is far more than a frivolous holiday. Its roots lie in a universal Festival of the Dead, tied to the Pleiades and Taurid meteor shower, which ancient cultures associated with catastrophic floods, fires, and celestial omens. These traditions, preserved in myths, art, and rituals, remind us of humanity’s shared memory of cosmic events that reshaped the world.

As Merlin warned, it is our doom to forget, but archetypal imagery endures to help us remember. Halloween invites us to reconnect with this forgotten history, encoded in the stars and our collective past.