It depends what Pagan path you follow.
Samhain was originally the Celtic new year and festival of the dead.Celtic Pagans-such as myself-believe that reincarnation can happen but doesn't much-most go to the spirit world.It has a number of names depending which Celtic language you look at-I call it Mag Mell.
2007-10-01 18:13:51
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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I've always understood Samhain to be the time when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest, meaning those who have passed on are more readily accessible, those who are trying to connect with us as Spirit Guides have an easier time doing so, and those who are stuck between the worlds are more noticeable in their torment. Seems like there are souls who have not successfully transitioned into the "processing area" and souls who have been processed. Whether you believe in reincarnation or not would probably help you define what that "processing" consists of. Personally I do believe in reincarnation and I believe the soul (assuming it transitions away from being earth-bound) goes through a transition phase and then works towards understanding, reviewing the lessons learned and the grand scheme and seeing the Path in front of them, and then chooses the best vehicle for the next steps along the journey. I'm also extremely skeptical of anyone living who can speak with "authoritay" about the nature of dying and rebirth. Any tradition with a firm opinion and explanation is welcome to it, but I always remember that explanations were conceived by living humans and therefore suspect. I enjoy reading the words of channelled entities like Seth and Michael and listening to a non-living perspective. I resonate very strongly with the teachings of Michael. And I believe that each of us has an individual perspective which makes sense to them and should be honored. I have yet to meet anyone from a "traditional" Wiccan system who wholeheartedly accepts every grain of wisdom without question.
2007-10-01 23:20:23
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answer #2
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answered by Brigid's Priestess MorningSt 3
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To my understanding, Samhain is the time that all the spirits of the people who have died during that year will have to pass into the "other side". So, Samhain is supposed to be a special time to honor them.
I've come across another belief that states that when we reincarnate, only a portion of our spirit is actually reincarnating. Its like every one of your incarnations has a thread of your spirit and they all lead back up to the main, thick rope of your spirit. When you die, you go back into the main "rope" until another of your threads is ready to dip back into the material world.
So, really, even though you have reincarnated, all of your past incarnations are still present in the spirit world, as are all of your future incarnations, all intertwined together into the full spirit which is the "real" you.
Another approach is the idea that time really only has existence and meaning in the material world. In the spirit world, everything is "alway there" because there is no time and thus, no way for something to not be present for some set period.
2007-10-01 12:40:30
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answer #3
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answered by Azure Z 6
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Like LabGrrl said, what you describe is one of the serious flaws in this new trend of "ecclectic" Paganism/Wicca -- it's cool and good to *learn* about the different paths, but when you start building a crazy-quilt religion around the different paths and traditions that you learned about, you run into these contradictions and confusion.
As far as whether or not this is a contradiction, to put it simply, either you believe in absolute reincarnation or you do not. Some traditions (specifically some Hellenic mythos) state that especially pious souls are offered the choice of reincarnation -- but certain Hellenic "mystery" religions offered an afterlife to those inducted, and the earliest written mythos of the Hellenic afterlife simply stated that when we die, our souls simply go to the Kingdom of Hades, where nothing that exceptional happens. British Traditional Wicca (the original Wicca that all subsequent Wiccas budded off from or simply took the name from) does not offer reincarnation to its adherents, thus making the "thin veil" to the portal of this world and the netherworld non-contradictory. Some Hindu sects (and Hinduism is only "pagan" in the sense that it is non-Abrahamic and polytheistic -- most religious scholars reserve the term "pagan" for European polytheistic religions) believe in absolute reincarnation for many, if not all adherents -- but the concept of Samhain is of Keltic pagan origin, so there's no room for contradicting the two concepts there since, if you're Hindu, chances are pretty good that you only acknowledge Samhain as a religious practise of those practising some kind of Keltic or Keltic-inspired polytheism (such as Wicca) and don't celebrate it yourself.
Just because it's "paganism" or polytheism does not, in any way, mean it's the same. Kind of like how Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Quakers will insist that just because they're Christian does not mean that they're anything alike. In fact, Paganism, as it is known to both the academic and modern "alternative religion" movements, is even more diverse than the different kinds of Christianity. The different Paganisms may all or at least somewhat be polytheistic, but Asatru (Norse paganism) is different from Hellenismos (Greek paganism) which is different from Paganacht (Irish paganism) which is different from Wicca (modern witchcraft inspired and influenced by ancient British Isles traditions), and so forth. The different kinds of Christianity all have one group of texts that bind them together and make them similar -- pagans don't have that, instead they all have one concept (ancient European polytheism) that binds them together.
2007-10-01 13:58:01
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answer #4
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answered by Ruadhán J McElroy 3
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Samhain is a time of rememberance. It's true that those who have passed to the Summerland can visit on this night, as the veil is at it's thinnest. Souls do indeed reincarnate, but not before resting between lives in the love and beauty of The Other Side. So, your loved ones could certainly visit on Samhain Eve...and if they have decided to return to Earth for another incarnation, your honoring their spirit as you knew it in this life is not harmful, and can probably felt in their next life as a warm astral hug! :)
Merry Samhain to you love!
xo/fin
2007-10-01 13:08:44
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answer #5
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answered by fin 1
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Your soul is existing on many, many levels, in many different realms, simultaneously. There is no physicality in the spiritual realm, and there is no "beginning" or "end" to you. You are eternal, without beginning and without end. While you are sitting at your computer reading these words, you are also existing in other realities. Your life force is not confined to a body; only a very small portion of you reincarnates. Past lives you have lived continue eternally to reverberate through time; you exist in those lives as well as here. Those you love who have died continue to exist in a spiritual realm even though a portion of their eternal being may have incarnated into a new body.
2007-10-02 14:46:55
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answer #6
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answered by Emerald Blue 5
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Congratulations, you've discovered one of the problems in mixing traditional Wicca with the newer forms.
Reincarnation, in traditional Wicca, is for OTHER people.
Some eclectic traditions are quite happy to mention that the actual beliefs of the afterlife aren't really important, but strict reincarnationist Wiccans should not be performing a November Eve rite based on traditional Wicca, because reincarnation (as commonly understood) is not traditional Wicca.
This, by the way, is why I encourage Wiccans, specifically, to find a tradition, ANY TRADITION, because these kind of contradictions aren't going to be in the good ones, and will be immediately apparent in the bad ones.
2007-10-01 12:34:01
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answer #7
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answered by LabGrrl 7
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I thought of that myself recently. People die at different times and, supposing there is a 'Summerland' (or resting place between incarnations), there could be spirits that have not yet gone tio a different body. Plus, some hauntings are supposedly a 'left-over' energy 'fingerprint' where the person dies tragically and doesn't realize they're dead so they keep repeating the same event over and over. There are some who linger around b/c they're too scared to see what's 'beyond the light' (especially if they believe that Hell's waiting for them)
2007-10-01 12:39:59
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answer #8
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answered by strpenta 7
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There is diversity of belief in this among pagans. Perhaps not all reincarnate, perhaps Summerland or Valhalla is an alternative, perhaps the soul and chi are not one indivisible thing, perhaps time itself thins/bends.
Light can be a particle AND a wave. :)
Does that help?
2007-10-01 12:37:16
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answer #9
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answered by SC 5
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Reincarnation may not be immediate. Therefore, spirits would reside in an afterlife-type realm for a while before coming back to earth. Not all choose to return.
That's my personal belief.
2007-10-01 12:37:27
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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