Hallowe’en, the Day of the Witches, All Hallows’ Evening, Samhain. Day of the Dead. Pumpkins, chestnuts, new wine, mulled wine. A bonfire, to keep away the evil spirits, the Aos Sí and to bring the community together, the first festival of light in the dark winter with little or no agricultural produce. What is the meaning of all these symbols? The end, or death, of the agricultural year... 

So why has Wicca become so explosively popular in America and elsewhere around the world? If you are a witch, Halloween is not just another holiday. For Wiccans, the festival known as “Samhain” is the time when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest, and so communication with the other side is the easiest. And as you will see below, it is also the time “when the god dies, to...