Halloween Misgivings

Since I want to talk about more than names here, I feel like I can discus a topic that I have very complicated feelings about. As a Wiccan, how much should I really care about Halloween?

Obviously, I care about Samhain. It's arguably the most important Sabbat on the Wheel of the Year. But contrary to popular believe, they're not the same holiday. They're not even on the same day period. Samhain is on November 1.

Don't believe me? Think about it. All of the Wiccan holidays are evenly spaced in reliable month-and-a-half long increments. They're never at the end of a month, they're always in the middle or the beginning. Halloween is Samhain Eve. So technically a Pagan could celebrate both Halloween and Samhain as completely separate holidays. But most don't. They lump them together.

There really isn't much that's Pagan about the modern American Halloween. It's true that the Celts celebrated a harvest festival at around the same time, and that it was associated with the dead. But there's no clear evidence that they dressed in costumes. They did not go from door to door begging for treats. Being "scared" or "scary" had no part in it. The only detail that ties the two holidays together are the harvest foods.

I've been thinking a lot about this recently. As I've mentioned before, I'm planning on moving abroad. Apparently, Halloween is not as universal as I had assumed it was. I expected Asia and Africa to not have a Halloween, but it's not celebrated in most parts of Europe and South America either. Aside from the United States and Canada, it seems like it only has deep roots in England and Ireland (and, of course, Mexico has Dia de la Muerte). Almost everyone else sees it as an annoying, commercialist American thing. I am older than Halloween celebrations in Germany. Should I start a family in a foreign country, my children could possibly never celebrate Halloween.

I didn't used to be this cynical about this holiday. I used to love it when I was a kid. But Halloween has lost it's childlike wonder since then, and I don't think it's my imagination. Despite the fact that we are spending more money on this holiday than ever before, the number of trick-or-treaters is lower and lower with every passing year. It's evolving into more of an adult holiday. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Halloween is considered by many to be a Pagan holiday, and there is a grain of truth in that. It's also a Catholic holiday. But mostly it's...nothing. So I don't feel like I would be a bad Wiccan by not paying attention to it.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Samhain name round-up.

Scorpio the Reborn

"The Zodiac, Scorpio" by Erte

"You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question."

--Albert Camus, author and Scorpio.

Many modern Pagans prefer to pick names based on astrological signs. Yes, I know I just finished doing a series of posts very similar to this on the old blog, but this time I'm not limiting myself to thirteen names. Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names by K. M. Sheard is an excellent resource for finding names to go with specific astrological signs, so if you want even more options than the ones I list here go find that book.

Today the sun switches to a sign that is very dear to my heart since most of my astrological chart is almost nothing but Scorpio and Aries. Scorpio lasts roughly from October 23 to November 23. This sign is symbolized by the scorpion, but also the eagle. In the olden days, Scorpio was associated with death and was therefore an unlucky sign to be born under. It's not for nothing that the height of Scorpio's power is on Samhain. Since then, we've become more enlightened and Scorpio now represents rebirth. Scorpio is the most fiery of the water signs. People born under this sign are known for their intense emotions and for embracing the darker side of life. Their personalities can be very catlike in that they do what they want to do when they want to do it. Scorpios also have a tremendous amount of power, and are not easily intimidated. On the negative side, they can be pessimistic and overly serious. Once they learn optimism, they can have amazing regenerative energy.

Death/rebirth names:

Phoenix
Wren
Viva ("live")
Osiris
Pluto
Persephone
Dusk
Dawn
Chrysalis
Jivan ("life")
Ambrose ("immortal")
Raven
Zoe ("life")
Valkyrie
Anastasia ("resurrection")
Isis
Isadora
Isidro
Serpentine
Vivienne ("alive")

Water and (to a lesser extent) fire names:

River
Ocean
Oceanus
India ("river")
Rain
Delphine ("dolphin, womb")
Delphino
Coral
Coraline
Tempest ("storm")
Rosmerta ("great provider")
Coventina
Mortimer ("still water")
Lotus
Tallulah ("leaping waters")
Merlin ("sea fortress")
Kittiwake
Undine ("wave")
Dover ("the waters")
Rumi ("current/flow" or "water")
Leviathan ("sea monster")
Ember
Draco

Time names:

October
Octave
Octavia
Octavian
November
Autumn
Autumnus
Hachi ("eight," because it's the eighth sign.)

Red, blue, and green names:

Roux
Ruby
Auburn
Fox
Blue
Azure
Turquoise
Sappho ("sapphire")
Forest
Jade
Viridian ("green")
Emerald
Midori ("green")

Attribute names:

Belladonna ("beautiful woman")
Secret
Rune ("secret")
Constant
Constance
True
Truly
Fortuna ("fortunate, lucky")
Maeve ("intoxicating")
Pia ("pious")
Mohandas ("bewitching")
Mohan
Boniface ("good fate")
Theodoric ("ruler of the people")
Velda ("power, rule")
Odysseus ("to hate")
Ulysses
Odin ("inspiration, rage, frenzy")
Vera ("true")
Verabel
Verity
Perseverance

Other ideas:

Opal
North
Wolf
Wolfgang
Marceline
Berry
Natalie
Thor
Thora
Faline
Cloud
Lulu
Aquilo
Caspian
Bryony
Lorelei
Audra
Howard
Firebrace
Edward
Chester
Alexander
Alexandra
Alastair
Ivy
Katherine
Whisper
Eve
Balthazar
Faramond

Artists Names from Our Age

Banksy graffiti

I love perusing round-ups of art inspired names. Nook of names has an extensive one, and there's a few on Nameberry. There's even a list of the names of artists' children. Here's the thing though: all of your references are so old. What about the artists that are making stuff now?

"Sunflower Seeds" by Ai Weiwei

A confession: I love contemporary art. I went to London to study contemporary art in college. The Whitney Biennial was one of my favorite museum experiences. I'm always the one who is explaining the value of this type of art when my family and friends "don't get it."

"Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, Blue and Death" by Takashi Murakami

I get why people are more comfortable using the names of artsy and bohemian people from the past. They have the weight of history on their side. They are, for the most part, no longer controversial as their work has been integrated into mainstream society. Also, artwork of the past is easier to understand. Most people understand why an impressionist painting has value. Not everyone understands why an empty room with the light turning on an off has value.

But I love that artwork has broadened out into objects and experiences that cannot be easily bought and sold. On top of that, the art world is a lot more international with a lot for women artists than it used to be.

So I found some inspiring names of artists who are working and in museums now, or at least very recently. I'm sure there are way more than this.

Ai. Ai Weiwei, Chinese.

Anish. Anish Kapoor, Indian.

Anselm. Anselm Kiefer, German.

Aurel. Aurel Schmidt, Canadian.

Banksy. Banksy, British.

Barney. Matthew Barney, American.

Cattelan. Maurizio Cattelan, Italian.

Chantal. Chantal Akerman, Belgian.

Christo. Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Bulgarian and French.

Cornelia. Cornelia Konrads, German.

Crow. Rosson Crow, American.

Cy. Cy Twombly, American.

Dinos. Jake & Dinos Chapman, British.

Drury. Drury Brennan, American.

Elmgreen. Elmgreen & Dragset, Danish and Norwegian.

Emin. Tracey Emin, British.

Ernesto. Ernesto Neto, Brazilian.

Felice. Felice Varini, Swiss.

Goldin. Nan Goldin, American.

Grayson. Grayson Perry, British.

Hebru. Hebru Brantley, American.

Hirst. Damien Hirst, British.

July. Miranda July, American.

Kehinde. Kehinde Wiley, American.

Koons. Jeff Koons, American.

Lewitt. Sol Lewitt, American.

Lucian. Lucian Freud, German-British.

McQueen. Alexander McQueen, British.

Marina. Marina Abramovic, Serbian.

Maurizio. See Cattelan.

Miranda. See July.

Miroslaw. Miroslaw Balka, Polish.

Munro. Bruce Munro, British.

Murakami. Takashi Murakami, Japanese.

Nan. See Goldin.

Neo. Neo Rauch, German.

Neto. See Ernesto.

Olafur. Olafur Eliasson, Danish-Icelandic.

Orozco. Gabriel Orozco, Mexican.

Pipilotti. Pipilotti Rist, Swiss.

Quinn. Marc Quinn, British.

Rirkrit. Rirkrit Tiravanija, Argentinian.

Riusuke. Riusuke Fukahori, Japanese.

Rosson. See Crow.

Saber. SABER, American.

Sanford. Sanford Biggers, American.

Sherman. Cindy Sherman, American.

Shirazeh. Shirazeh Houshiary, Iranian.

Shirin. Shirin Neshat, Iranian.

Subodh. Subodh Gupta, Indian.

Sunny. Soo Sunny Park, Korean.

Takashi. See Murakami.

Tomokazu. Tomokazu Matsuyama, Japanese.

Turk. Gavin Turk, British.

Yulia. Yulia Brodskaya, Russian.

Viola. Bill Viola, American

Wangechi. Wangechi Mutu, Kenyan.

Weiwei. See Ai.

Wilding. Alison Wilding, British.

Wolfgang. Wolfgang Tillmans, German.

Zaha. Zaha Hadid, Iraqi.

Obviously, this must inspire some combos:

Rosson Wilding

Miranda Shirin

Wolfgang Quinn

July Christo

Nan Aurel

Banksy Sherman

Grayson Neo

Viola Sunny

Name Magpie: Back to School

Happy October! I missed September, so I'll just be a name magpie every second month, okay? Good.

Like a lot of people, I am busy being a student again. I'm in the middle of getting a TEFL certification. If you're not familiar with that initialism, it's training for teaching English in foreign countries. Which means that instead of writing here, I have been relearning grammar terms and researching countries. But Bewitching Names and Curious Ideas will be international! Isn't that exciting?

Until then, I've been finding new names in the nooks and crannies of the Internet and in my daily wanderings.

Blackery. This one is a surname that I had never heard before. It seems like many parents and name enthusiasts are looking for new and interesting surnames to use in the first spot, and this one fits the bill. It's kind of like Bellamy, but with more bite.

Calytrix. Found by Mer de Noms, it's the name of a genus of a group of plants.

Tearose. It is a little bit too cute for my taste, but it makes a whimsical middle name. Or maybe a name for a fairy.

Amphora. I thought this sounded like a beautiful name, but then I found out that it's the proper term for the Ancient Greek vases with the long necks. Well, I guess if Calico can be a name, so can Amphora.

Plover. It means "belonging to rain," and it's the name of a type of bird. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I live in an area with a lot of rain, but I'm really digging this.

Simrin. I have heard of this name before, but I am having some trouble finding information for it. My Google-fu suggests that it might be from India, but I'm not all that convinced. I'm posting it here in the hopes that someone else might know something about it.

Elemental Name Game

Do you love baby name games as much as I do? Of course you do! That's why you're here, on a name enthusiast blog! I especially love name games in which you have to build a sibling set using specific parameters. So I decided to come up with one of my own.

This is the Elemental Name Game. Here are the steps:

1) Go to this website. Make sure it's set to one eight-sided dice with one roll. Or if you happen to own one eight-sided dice you can just use that.

2) Roll the dice to determine the number of additions to your family.

To make this easier to follow I'll play along: I rolled a 5. I get five additions to my family.

3) The next roll determines who you add to your family. Each number of the dice represents a different outcome.

1: A boy.
2: A girl.
3: Boy/boy twins.
4: Girl/girl twins.
5: Boy/girl twins.
6: Triplets of any gender.
7: A cat.
8: A dog.

So even though I rolled a 5, I might still get more children than that if I wind up getting twins multiple times.

Okay, so I rolled a 7. So I have a new kitty.

4) This is the part where names and elements come in. Each number of the dice represents an element that the name you pick must be inspired by.

1: Water
2: Fire
3: Earth
4: Air
5: Spirit
6: Metal
7: Wood
8: Void

These might need some explanation.

So coming up with water, fire, earth, and air names should be pretty easy for most people. The spirit element (considered the most important element in Wiccan tradition, and is also found in Hinduism and Buddhism) is more open to interpretation. Because I'm a Wiccan, I associate the spirit with especially "witchy" names, or names that have to do with life, death and rebirth. A Christian person might associate this element with biblical names or names that have to do with light and purity.

Metal and wood are both classical elements from Chinese philosophy. These are self explanatory. I tend to include minerals and gemstones with the metal because there are only so many metal names I can come up with. The wood element would inspire names of trees, or names that mean "tree."

The void is another complicated one. Most of the time it's linked with the spirit element, but for our purposes we're splitting them up. The biggest void I know would be Outer Space, so I tend to pick celestial names for this one.

Continuing on with my personal game, I rolled a 5. So my new kitty must have a name that has something to do with the spirit element. I'm going to go with Ghost. A cool name that I would never give a human child, but works great for a furry baby.

5) And you just repeat the process with the number of family additions you got in the beginning. So Ghost was the first of five additions that I'm allowed. I have four more.

For my second roll I got a 7 again. Apparently my first cat was lonely. I roll again and get a 1. My cat must have a name inspired by water. Hmm. Let's go with Otter. So my cats are Ghost and Otter.

So am I doomed to be the crazy cat lady? That would be funny if I got cats over and over again. But my third roll is a 6. Triplets. So what element do I have to use as inspiration for their names? I roll again and get a 4: air. I'm going to go with Zephyr Paloma, Vox Mohan, and Kestrel Augustus. Zephyr is a minor Greek god of the west wind, Vox is Latin for "voice," and Kestrel is a type of hawk. I decided not to stick with the air theme for the middle names and just picked ones that I like. You can try to stick with the element for both names if you want.

My fourth roll is 2, so after my triplets I have a baby girl. My next roll is a 7, so her name has to be a wood name. I'm going to go with Maple Calliope.

For my fifth and final roll I get a 1. A baby boy. I roll again and get a 5. So I need a spirit name again. So what will go with his siblings Zephyr, Vox, Kestrel, and Maple? I think I'll choose Jove Delphinio. Jove is another name for the Roman god Jupiter.

So that's my elemental family. My daughters Zephyr and Maple; my sons Vox, Kestrel, and Jove; and my two cats Ghost and Otter.

Now you can try the Elemental Name Game. You can post your results in the comments or on facebook. Hopefully it will be fun, and let me know if you would like some more name games!

Libra the Balancer

"Libra" by Mikalojus Ciurlionis

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."

--F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist and Libra

Many modern Pagans prefer to pick names based on astrological signs. Yes, I know I just finished doing a series of posts very similar to this on the old blog, but this time I'm not limiting myself to thirteen names. Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names by K. M. Sheard is an excellent resource for finding names to go with specific astrological signs, so if you want even more options than the ones I list here go find that book.

Today, the sun enters Libra (roughly September 22 to October 22). Libra's symbol is the scale. Traditionally scales are a symbol of justice, laws, and civilization. This gives some insight into the character of Libras. Libras are generally thought to be very sociable and peace-loving. They can be very idealistic and romantic. This is an air sign, so they are very good at communication. Libras strive for balance and will try to be everything to everyone. Unfortunately, this is how Libras can get a reputation for lying. They feel justified in not telling the truth so long as it doesn't rock the boat. Some people can be annoyed by their lack of directness and apparent unwillingness to stand for any one side.

Okay, this one is a little difficult in terms of rounding up names, but I'll do my best.

Balance/Harmony names:

Harmony
Atalanta ("equal in weight")
Concordia ("harmony")
Concord
Unity

Air names:

Bird
Birdie
Anemone
Zephyr
Sirocco
Breeze
Aria
Whisper
Vayu
Keanu ("cool breeze")
Boreas
Kite
Feather
Gossamer
Kestrel
Lark
Halcyon
Quill
Vox ("voice")

Time names:

September
Septima
Septimus
October
Octave
Octavia
Octavian

Green, Pink, and Purple names:

Lavender
Emerald
Esmeralda
Olive
Jade
Rose
Rosaline
Coralie
Forrest
Llinos ("green finch")
Pembe ("pink")
Violet
Midori ("green")
Plum
Lilac
Garden
Viridian ("green")

Attribute names:

Evander ("good man")
Placido ("placid")
Placida
Pax ("peace")
Paz
Salem ("peace")
Salome
Eloquence
Serenity
Serena
Stellan ("calm")
Pia ("pious")
Clemency ("mercy")
Clementine
Clement
Silence
Miran ("peace" or "world")
Frida ("peace")
Dragomir ("precious and peaceful")
Shanti ("quiet," "peace," "tranquility")
Belle ("beauty")
Aoife ("beauty")
Eulalie ("well spoken")
Shiloh ("tranquil")
Zola ("quiet," "tranquil")

Other ideas:

Opal
Caraway
Symphony
Clover
Sabin
Sabine
Lazarus
Isadora
Isadore
Isidro
Sonnet
Alma
Gita
Copper
Noah
Avalon
Tallulah
Echo
Pandora
Carmel
Rhiannon
Vashti
Absalom
Olivia
Columbus
Columbia
Myrtle
Urban
Rainer
Geoffrey

Harvest of Fruit

"The Autumn" by Alphonse Mucha

Blessed Mabon!

Mabon is the only Wiccan holiday that is not based on an ancient equivalent. That being said, the Autumnal Equinox is an official holiday in a number of countries (in China the Autumnal Equinox is the moon's birthday, for example). Mabon is the second of three harvest holidays. While Lughnasadh focused mostly on grains, Mabon focuses mostly on the harvest of fruits.

This holiday is named after the mythical Welsh hero Mabon. He is also a character in Arthurian legend and is most likely based off of an ancient deity but we have no solid proof of that. This idea of using his name for this holiday was coined by Aiden Kelly sometime around 1970. But a different deity is becoming an increasingly more popular Mabon mascot: Persephone. As you might recall, her most famous myth ends with her having to split her time between her husband (Hades/Pluto) and her mother (Demeter/Ceres). It would make sense that the equinox would be the day she has to go back to the Underworld. For many modern Pagans, Persephone is a symbol of balance between darkness and light. This makes her a very apt choice for the autumnal equinox since day and night are the same length.

Since there is no ancient Mabon holiday to gain inspiration from, how do modern Pagans celebrate?

• Mabon is sometimes referred to as "the Wiccan's Thanksgiving," and for a good reason. Mabon is all about the feast. Traditional foods include breads, berries, nuts, apples, grapes, pomegranates, goose, mutton, acorns, pork, potatoes, carrots, squash, and pumpkin.
• A Mabon feast also involves the making and/or drinking of alcohol, traditionally wine and ale. If you're not fond of alcohol, celebrate with apple cider.
• But "the Wiccan's Thanksgiving" is also called that because we use this holiday to count our blessings. This is a good time to perform rituals to honor the things that we're grateful for.
• Because this is the first day of autumn, many modern Pagans enjoy making decorations from fallen leaves, acorns, pinecones, and feathers. Altars made during this time of the year usually involve the Cornucopia, or the Horn of Plenty.
• A common practice is leaving apples on gravesites to honor the dead. Personally I feel like that sort of thing is more appropriate for Samhain, but it seems like I'm a little bit outnumbered. Visiting the graves of ancestors on the Autumnal Equinox is also a tradition in Japan.

Here are some inspiring fall names:

Mythical beings associated with the season:

Mabon

Persephone (Greek/Roman)

Modron (Welsh)

Dionysus (Roman. Dion could be a good shortened form.)

Thor (Norse)

Morgan (Welsh/Cornish)

Hermes (Greek)

Hotei (Japanese)

Pomona (Roman)

Epona (Gallo-Roman. Also consider its literary variant Eponine.)

Musidora/Musidore (Greek. For all the muses.)

Demeter (Greek)

Ceres (Roman)

Thoth (Egyptian)

The Green Man (English folkloric. Perhaps Greenman would work better?)

Other suggestions:

September

Septima

Septimus

Autumn

Autumnus

Harvest

Acorn

Vineyard

Grapevine

Rue

Hazel

Apple

Pomeline ("fruit")

Maple

Garland

Sage

Brandy

Russet

Peridot

Garnet

Sienna

Vinicio ("wine")

Calix ("wine cup")

Michael (Michaelmas is a harvest holiday celebrated by some Christians in honor of St. Michael.)

Amethyst

Marigold

Violet

Indigo

Blackbird

Clove

Kestrel

Thistle

Cedar

Peregrine

Hawk

Wolf

Wolfgang

Topaz

Fun combo time:

Hazel Eponine

Mabon Vinicio

Michael Wolfgang

Violet Blackbird

Kestrel Pomeline