Real New Zealand witches say this is not the true Halloween

Thursday, 27 October 2022

It may be the holiday of ghosts, goblins and all things spooky, but to New Zealand’s real life witches, Halloween in October means “very little”.

With New Zealand heading into summer, 37-year-old witch Tris​ Egarr​ says most New Zealand witches would not be celebrating Halloween in its traditional sense, as to do so would strike her as “a little colonial”.

“You’re doing a disservice to the land you’re in, but you’re also doing a disservice to the ritual,” she says.

At its Northern Hemisphere roots, Halloween is eve of the pagan celebration Samhain, which celebrates the coming of winter.

Massey University anthropologist of religion Amy Whitehead says the festival can be traced back to Celtic roots where it was believed to be the time when the “veil between the spirit realm and the living was at its most porous”. In other words, other worldly creatures such as goblins, spirits and fairies were free to “walk between the worlds”.

But with New Zealand winter being half a year away, so too is the festival that at its core celebrates the season, says Egarr.

That is why, to 28-year-old self-described Wellington-based witch Raine​, Halloween in New Zealand means “very little”.

Having become fascinated in all things magic as a child, Raine, 28, “went down a rabbithole” of witchcraft at 12-years old.

Now they help facilitate a local group in Wellington, where “a wide range of practitioners” meet up around full moons and seasonal festivals to connect, support each other and “work through various areas of our life where we need a bit of witchy help”.

And local witches do still celebrate Samhain, they just do not do it during New Zealand’s summer.

As winter approaches, Raine and fellow witches gather for a public ritual to remember years gone by and to remember people that have come before them or died recently, or “ancestors of bone, community and spirit”.

“We bless each other and share a meal that is contributed by anyone who attends the ritual, we share the cleaning duties as well at the end. The point of these rituals is to help build community, grow our roots and look forward to the future.”

That is not to say there is nothing for local witches in October. Beltane​ is a festival that celebrates the start of summer. Rather than the more “humble” celebration of remembrance that Samhain brings, Beltane is more lively, says Raine.

So what exactly is a real life witch? For Raine, the answer is simply someone who practises witchcraft.

“There is no real rule on what a witch should or shouldn’t be, but there are general guidelines that we should follow,” they say.

“Like not stealing from other peoples cultures and slapping a big ‘witchcraft’ label on it when in fact it is part of Indigenous practises. But that’s just my view on it.”

For Tris, the fascination with witchcraft comes from being a historian. While she dabbled in the craft as a teenager, it was “edgier and darker”. These days she loves the history of the rituals, and uses the craft to work on herself, rather than attempt to control the outside world.

“I certainly know witches who use witchcraft to affect the external world. Whether that works or not, I have no idea.”

And while October 31 may not be Halloween in the true sense for New Zealand’s witches, that does not stop them revelling in the spooky celebrations.

“There’s no one single branch for how everything is meant to be done. It changes and grows with the people that celebrate it,” says Raine.

“If Halloween [for most people] is about dressing up, running around, having lots of candy and merriment, then that is what it means to them … A lot of us enjoy Halloween because it’s just fun. We like to have fun with it and dress up and be silly. That’s all it really is.”

As for Egarr? She loves the commercial side of the holiday, complete with parties, concerts, costumes and “skull make up”.

“As a goth it’s my favourite holiday of the year.”