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Spiritual connections between the living and the dead
When asked what Halloween, All Saints Day, and Day of the
Dead have in common, AI tells me this:
Halloween, All Saints Day, and Day of the Dead are . . . are connected to traditions of honoring the dead, with roots in pre-Christian beliefs about spirits returning to Earth. While they are distinct holidays with different cultural meanings, their shared history lies in the transition of the seasons, the cycle of life and death, and the idea of spiritual connections between the living and the deceased.
We in Pennsylvania are at the time of year when autumn is
anticipating its relationship with winter by bringing us cold nights, colorful
leaves, and the end of life for many leaves, plants, and insects. Some animals are feasting to prepare for
lengthy hibernations, while others are storing food and sharpening the weapons
they have for the hunt. Birds have
started their journeys to the south. All
of this is informed by the tilt of the earth so we are further from the sun
with shorter days and longer nights.
These events are signs of the cycle of life and death, while,
in actuality, under the ground new life is preparing its return from roots,
bulbs, seeds, and spores. There is more
of a continuance than there is death, a fact that lies behind the ideas of
connections between the living and the dead.
At least in biology and botonny, there is a sense that interdependence
between life and death is ongoing. And
where physical facts open the way, spirit follows.
I’m trying to stay away from contemporary religious ideas of
heaven, hell, and an afterlife or lack of one when describing the spiritual
connection between the living and the dead.
I use the words “resonances” or “essences” as well as spirit to describe
the land of the living and death as neighborhoods entangled with each
other. All lives are entangled or
contingent, containing resonances of others, echoing each other’s essence. When I think of it that way, I’m surprised
that more of us aren’t aware of the spirits of the dead in our normal
lives. Some especially deep memories of
individuals may be seen as experiencing the spirit, but that isn’t enough to
explain the connection between the living and the dead.
Many strands of pagan belief point to a time of the year
when the boundary between life and death is thinnest so that even a small
amount of effort allows essences of the dead to revisit. Few stories exist of travel in the opposite
direction. In indigenous traditions of the
Great Lakes and British Columbia, in Mexican, and In Celtic and Gaelic
traditions, that time of year is the end of October and beginning of November, approximate
halfway between the autumnal equinox (September 22) and the winter solstice
(December 21. In Celtic Tradition this
time is called Samhain and is the origin of Halloween. Halloween dress-up was originally the
“wearing of costumes” to disguise the children from spirits and keep them
safe. Bonfires also helped to block
spirits.
The opposite of this is the Mexican Day of the Dead, where
spirits are welcomed back to the family with feasting and gifts, welcomed with
candles and flowers. In the indigenous
traditions of the Great Lakes region, spirits are welcomed back in a week called
Ghost Suppers. Originally held in the
spring, under the influence of Christian missionaries, they changed to the
first week of November. According to AI:
The Ottawa (Odawa) people and other Anishinaabe groups, including the Ojibwe and Potawatomi, celebrate spirits and ghosts through traditional Ghost Suppers. These fall harvest feasts honor deceased loved ones by sharing a meal, with food offered to spirits in a sacred fire. Other Indigenous communities, such as the KwakwakaŹ¼wakw of British Columbia, also hold ceremonies and rituals to connect with the spirit world.
In addition to influencing the change to a fall festival, Christianity
added All Soul’s day to honor Saints and changed the name of Samhain to All
Hallow’s Eve.
I believe I have been visited by the spirits of beloved
deceased. Deceased cats’ spirits seem to
visit on or around Halloween. A friend’s
grandmother appeared to tell me the dishes her daughter liked to eat. My grandmother also spoke of visits from the
dead. One visit from the dead in
particular, I immortalized in a poem:
The Life of Ghosts: a sonnet
(original April 2014)
Grandmother held no
opinions of death.
She had stories instead,
and the best was
her driving on 9-W Highway
from Albany to home when
her eyes closed
And her deceased husband
called Maria!
She heard My
little Maria, wake, wake!
and she did. She
experienced real truths.
I won’t be cremated, she insisted,
and you yourself should
not! The cremated
do. not. have.
visiting. power. She knew.
I have no doubt.
Hadn't she been once a
Queen of a Castle, charged
with rule while King
was out?
Didn’t she know how to find wild
mushrooms that could
beguile a hungry child?
© 2025 Susan L. Chast
Writer's Circle Prompts.
Please respect my copyright.
