Origins of Halloween Customs Part Six: Seeing the Future

Because it was the beginning of the Celtic new year and a time when the everyday and the supernatural were believed to be in such close contact....Halloween was considered the perfect time for divining the future.  The divination traditions associated with Halloween are numerous and fascinating!

MIRRORS:  There were many superstitions involving mirrors. Some believed that if a young woman looked into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, she would see the face of her future husband or true love. A smooth pond surface or wishing well reflection would also work! There were similar beliefs about looking into a pond or well at dawn on May Day (Beltane). Others might gaze into the mirror at midnight on Halloween and see their future revealed.

Mirrors and reflections were long considered magical and mysterious, because the reflection was associated with the soul of the person reflected; a mirror could capture or reveal one's soul.  Some of us are still a little superstitious about breaking a mirror!

APPLES:  Halloween divination usually involved apples, nuts, grain, or other agricultural products, combining the harvest aspect of the holiday with its magical nature. When bobbing for apples, some believed that the first person to get an apple would be the first to marry.
 Apples were particularly popular, and the apple rites seem to be the customs most often found in the United States.  To the Celts, a perfect apple was the charm by which one might be admitted to the Otherworld and gain "second sight."

Many customs involve apple peels. For example, people would peel apples trying to keep the peel all in one piece; whoever had the longest peel would have the longest life. Young girls would peel an apple and then throw the long peel over their left shoulder, believing that it would form the initial of their future husband's name! (Have you ever heard that one?)

What Halloween customs and superstitions did you have at your house?

To be continued..... more to come about Halloween and Halloween customs and traditions!

Still to come:
Pumpkins & Jack-o_Lanterns
Black Cats
Witches
Bats & Owls! 

 

The vintage Halloween images in this article are courtesy Lunagirl Images!