Introduction Article of this month:

Welcome to the Realm's Halloween issue! Look out for our special feature this month - Auden's article on Samhain. We hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

In the Light,
The Gazette Staff

P.S. You can still access the Gazette issues published between October 2005 and September 2006 here. Please ignore our dust and clutter on this page - some of the sections have been switched around/changed, and new sections have been added that aren't reflected in the main titles, so try not to get too lost ;)

Community news:

Salome Aviye, Editor

After a wonderful Halloween celebration, we held a vote for the costume awards! Best Ajah/Group Theme went to the Browns as EVIL KITCHEN APPLIANCES! River won Scariest Costume and Least Accurate Portrayal for his act as Catherine Zeta Jones as Virginia Baker in Entrapment. Mother as the Flying Spaghetti Monster took home the Funniest Costume award and the Best Impersonation award. Niamh and Xoyara tied for Hottest Group/Individual - Nia as Captain Jack Sparrow and Xoyara as one of the Boondock Saints. Congratulations everyone! Thank you to all who made the Halloween celebration possible with your wonderful planning.

During the month of October, Xoyara, Tessa, Vahn, Felicity, and Arbathon were raised to the esteemed rank of Accepted! Jaydena McKanthur took up the shawl as a sister of the Green Ajah. Bren Gaidin took up the position of Captain of Dieb Company. Congratulations to all of them! We celebrated the birthdays of Krystiana, Meilis, Cyria, Tori, Tsuki, Braelyn, Cerena, Jaydena, Benkhar, Cirtolthiel, Shael, and the amazing Robert Jordan, as well! Happy Birthday :)

Interview of the Month:

Samhain
by Auden Magala, Staff Writer

On October 31st you're bound to see several witches, goblins, vampires, princesses, super heroes, and pirates roaming the streets. At the Realm of Tar Valon you'll be seeing some ninjas, vampire dragons, pirates, and killer kitchen appliances. No matter what you are dressed up as, you're celebrating the holiday Halloween. What you may not know is that this holiday isn't just a modern day secular holiday, but a holy time of year that predates Christianity for thousands of pagans across the globe.

Often times decorations consisting of pumpkins, broomsticks, apples, and cauldrons will decorate homes, offices, and shops. All of these symbols originate not only from the various pagan religions, but from the holiday known as Samhain (pronounced Sow-in, Sah-vin, or Sahm-hayn). To put it simply, Samhain is the celebration of the life cycle. This festival marks the end of summer, the beginning of winter, and the death of the Sun god. For the next six weeks He will be mourned by the Crone Goddess (the third image of the Goddess. Preceding the Crone comes the Mother and Maiden). Perhaps you have seen images of the Crone at this time of year. She often appears as an ugly, old, fearsome witch stirring her cauldron. It is the Celtic religions that believe that all dead souls return to her cauldron to await reincarnation.

Unfortunately, with the rise of Christianity the Crone has become a figure to be feared. Early Christians made her ugly and fearsome in order to win pagans over to the Christian religion. The cauldron that the Crone sirs became popular amongst European pagans because it could easily be disguised as an ordinary household object. The Church also tried to convert pagans by renaming the holiday to Michaelmas, the feast day for St. Michael. When this failed, the Church renamed the holiday to All Hallows Eve. This is how we get the word Halloween. It is a contraction between the words Hallowed Evening. With time the pagan holiday became diabolized. The Church spread the image that All Hallows Eve is a night where evil spirits roam the earth.

Halloween is the night where witches hop on their broomsticks and fly hidden by the shadows of the sinister moon. In actuality the broom is a tool used in many rituals. Its purpose is to clear away negativity from the site of the ritual. Just like the cauldron, it was also used because it could be disguised as a simple household object. Brooms, or besoms as they are sometimes called, are also placed in the home near doorways to keep evil spirits from entering the home. You will also find a broom in handfasting ceremonies (pagan marriage ceremony). The idea that witches could fly on broomsticks may have originated from a misunderstanding about astral projection. In astral projection one can move their consciousness to other places. The idea has been misinterpreted and changed to the image that the broom was a tool of transportation.

Have you ever wondered why pumpkins are carved to represent faces or other images? The jack-o'-lantern is actually a two thousand year old practice. Originating in Ireland, the carved pumpkin (or other gourds) were designed to frighten away evil spirits who followed deceased loved ones onto this plane of existence. Lighted jack-o'-lanterns were also tools to guide deceased loved ones back to their home. The reason that faces were carved into the gourd was because the Celtic people believed that the soul dwelled inside the head. It is also the center of learning and knowledge. The representation of the face is meant to protect all who carried a jack-o'-lantern.

In modern days pagans still celebrate this ancient festival. While most do their best to dispel the negative stereotypes of witches and the evil stigma attached to the day, costumes are still donned and treats are still handed out. It is still a time for ritual so bonfires will be lit and the death of the god will still be celebrated. Likewise, Samhain is an excellent time for divination due to the weakening of the veil between worlds.

So this year as you carve your pumpkin, or put up your decorations, think about the ancient holiday from which Halloween has evolved. Perhaps you'll even light a few candles to guide your ancestors back home. And as you bite into a nice crisp apple, or dig into a pumpkin pie, remember the harvest and think about the upcoming winter.

For more information on the various pagan religions or holidays I recommend checking out Witchvox.

Book Review

Gracefully Fit
by Jaydena McKanthur, Columnist

Wow, is it October already. I must say I am a little shocked about how fast this year went. It seems like just yesterday it was December and I was planning for my vacation and now that vacation is come and gone. As I write this I gaze at the Autumn leaves outside my window in their variety of colors and think about Halloween Candy. That’s right ladies and gents, this issue of Gracefully Fit will be about how to deal with Halloween. It dosen’t matter what holiday you celebrate it as or whether you do or not. You still deal with the same issues everyone else does. Halloween is the first of many holidays that start this time of year and how it developed into a candy fest I will never understand. Here in America we go around and knock on peoples doors to get candy. I remember when I was a kid how exciting it was to get candy and how I would fight over it with my brothers and sisters. Now I find myself wishing that I hadn’t eaten all that candy as a child and that I didn’t have to worry about my daughter eating it. So we will talk about how to deal with it. I am sure by now you have noticed the candy hanging around in all the stores, heck it started showing up here at the end of August. That’s a sales tactic by the way, they want you to buy as much of it as you can. They know that if you buy it early for the trick or treators it isn’t going to last until that time and you will just have to go buy more. Come on answer honestly, how many of you have guiltily gone back to the store to get candy right before the trick or treating day is about to start. *G* I know for sure that I have done just that at some point in the past.

So ways to deal with the problem, first of all don’t buy it unless you totally have to. If you do need to buy it because you just love to have those children come to your door, than don’t buy it until the last moment. I know that means there isn’t as much selection, but honestly as a child did you really care what kind it was? If you are one of those people that has to have some candy during this season, than buy one bag and that’s it. Another great thing I have learned is freezing it, yes that’s right, freeze the bag and enjoy it that way. It takes longer to eat and you really get to enjoy the taste for longer. One thing I do and I suggest this if you are a parent. Your child dosen’t need all that candy, this is what leads to overweight children and rotting teeth. Plus do you really need your five year old bouncing off the wall every night for two weeks. Just save them one or two of each kind and take the rest to work or give them to a homeless shelter or other organization where those less fortunate might like some.

Tonight I took a look at the candy aisle and was totally shocked at what kind of variety there is on the market. There is actually some stuff that is healthy and not so bad. I just love candy corn and I only eat it right before Halloween, so I bought myself a bag and that’s all I allowed myself to have. I know there are many people here that don’t need to worry about their pants size or any of this stuff but we should all take care of ourselves. Did you know that a regular sized Twix Bar has the most calories of any candy, followed up by Snickers, and Reeses Pieces. One of those small candy bars has 50 to 100 calories and if you through out the day eat six or seven of them than you have eaten more than one of the big candy bars. It's not good for your body or your teeth, plus it causes you to stay awake. Chocolate of course has some great benefits and I honsetly believe we should all have some once in awhile, and that means once in awhile.*wink* The Holidays is a horrible time in regards to food for those of us who are working on their eating habits but I think that if you follow some of these easy tricks than you will find yourself feeling not so guilty. Until the next edition of the Gazette, have a great October.

Wheel of Time news:

Fun and Games:

Tales of the Realm, Episode Five
by Mearlynn Coryth, Comic Artist

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Realm Art
by Bren Keniobi, Artist