Hallowe'en: a vital holiday
Sunday Missive
"How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also, if I am to be whole." -Carl Jung
Hallowe’en is my favorite holiday. Yes, I love the season of blustery days, cooler temperatures, colorful leaves, and the renewed energy of what to me has always felt like the start of new things: a new school year, new projects after the languor of summer, the upcoming holiday season, new friends.
But there is more to it than the rhythms of my cultural upbringing. As an adult pre-parenthood, work was an all-year reality, life did not revolve around children, and so for some years, Hallowe’en wasn’t as prominent. As a parent, however, there was excitement about costumes, school celebrations, kid parties, and trick-or-treating. It inspired decorating the house, baking, and activities with friends. In the northern parts of the northern hemisphere, strong seasonal shifts require cleaning up from summer and preparing for winter. Tasks at this busy time of year were plentiful enough. It didn’t take me long to realize that Hallowe’en did not require housecleaning, planning for company, special meals, endless lists, packing, travel, long-distance visits, “nice” clothes, or an expected culturally-appropriate attendance at one or another religious service.
Instead, Hallowe’en meant that dust and cobwebs were decorations, unraked leaves were ambiance, and branches blown down in the blustery October winds were the perfect setting for skeletons and tombstones stuck haphazardly in the ground. Perfection? Order? Pssssssht, begone! Darkness and mystery fit perfectly with an unswept porch and sidewalk, a shoe-strewn entry, randomly scattered kid and dog toys, and the general disarray of a busy life. Holiday? Bring it on, I’m ready!
One year, it really struck me as I climbed a stepstool to anchor a purchased cobweb on the corner of a bookcase, then stretched it across the living room, that this was my kind of holiday. Finally—temporary relief from the struggle to keep up with neatness, cleanliness, and order. It was the embodiment of a sign which hung in the house I grew up in with five siblings and a single parent:
Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.
YES!
But behind all the conscious relief from expectations—which, in a patriarchy, are more heavily placed on women to perform by default—are much larger and darker elements. Even before the Middle Ages in Europe and continuing through the infamous 1692 Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, midwives, herbalists, healers, and cats were burned and hanged by the thousands. Even now, the specter of “She’s a witch!” rears its insane head as deluded christian nationalist nutcases accuse Taylor Swift of witchcraft.
Aside from abject idiocy, however, the inextricable dark side of humans—as we evolved over millions of years from our simian roots—has not left us. It is a fact of existence as surely as the earth is spherical and revolves around the sun.1 It is not to be argued that humans have darkness within, looking at the events in the world today and throughout our history. In fact, we are the most monstrous of species when compared to all the other animals.
So why celebrate and emulate monsters, ghouls, murder, death, ghosts, demons, and other frightful matters on Hallowe’en? All cultures have, throughout history, had connections with the dark side of existence, whether to explain or mollify the source of terrors that come with being alive. Certainly we live in alarming times, as we always have, so doesn’t it make sense to designate a specific date to look at and embrace those parts of life, especially in ourselves, that scare the pants off us? Indeed, it is a very healthy way to cope. The Society of Analytical Psychology explains:
PROBLEMS WITH NOT RECOGNISING THE SHADOW
Jung had a deep interest in the shadow – its form and content – and in the process of assimilating “the thing a person has no wish to be” [CW16, para 470]. He saw quite clearly that failure to recognise, acknowledge and deal with shadow elements is often the root of problems between individuals and within groups and organisations; it is also what fuels prejudice between minority groups or countries and can spark off anything between an interpersonal row and a major war. Becoming familiar with the shadow is an essential part…of becoming more rounded, more whole and more colourful.
By wearing masks, dressing in costumes, and allowing ourselves to pretend, we do more than simply acknowledge our worst fears; indeed, embracing fear as the rational act it is, helps to process trauma, and move toward acceptance of our lack of control.
We are very afraid of being powerless. But we have the power to look deeply at our fears, and then fear cannot control us.
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm
We want to believe we can ward off bad things from happening, and we do the practical, sensible things in our power to mitigate what we can control, like using seatbelts and car seats, getting checkups, and minding our mental health. Ultimately, though, we know we cannot stop the harsh realities that are bound to happen, in some unknown way and form, and over which we have no control. A constant state of worry is physically and psychologically toxic, as we know from the effects of chronic anxiety.
What better way to funnel normal human angst into a focused outward expression, in community with others, complete with fun and candy, than Hallowe’en?
Carl Jung summarized this succinctly:
Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.
Wishing you a messy, spooky, and joyful celebration of whatever lurks in the shadows, and may your treat bag not fill up with rocks!
Thank you for passing the threshold into the Verbihund Café!
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This post took me back to late-night conversations with my dad when he was going through Clinical Pastoral Education. (The Carl Jung part, not the Halloween part.) My other comment is that the scene from "The Holy Grail" was funny the first time I watched the movie. Watching it again in light of MAGA, it's not funny anymore.