Print | Close Window

‘Supernatural’ and Paganism

You may be familiar with the popular TV show ‘Supernatural’ that shows two brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester, travelling across the USA fighting all kinds of demons, ghosts, vampires, etc, etc. Those that pay attention will have noticed that the Pentacle shows up often, as does references to Pagans, Witches and even a couple of references to Pagans being “Satan worshippers”. A recent episode, which aired in the US for Halloween but a bit later in Australia, showed the brothers hunting ‘the demon Samhain’, with they pronounced as “sam-hane”! The story told by Sam says that Samhain walked the earth centuries ago and was the reason that the Celts wore masks on October 31, so they could hide from Samhain.

Once again we see Hollywood mixing a little bit of truth with a whole heap of fiction, which unfortunately means that Pagans end up looking like the big bad nasty Satan worshippers that the good old Winchester brothers say they are (mind you, they don’t seem to explain why a symbol used by Pagans - the Pentacle - is their strongest symbol for fighting demons, if Pagans are suppose to be so evil and bad!). On another episode a ‘Coven of witches’ were casting spells, supposedly to harm others as well as influence their own paths.

Firstly, there is no doubt that ancient Pagans conducted sacrifices to honour their deities, however if you read the Christian Bible there is reference to the Christian God demanding sacrifices, including human sacrifices, so it is obvious that at some stage almost every religion practices sacrifices in the name of their chosen deity/deities. But, just like modern Christians no longer conduct sacrifice, neither do modern Pagans. It’s that simple.

Second, the pentacle has indeed been used throughout history as a symbol of protection and truth. It is used today by many Pagans, but not all. It seems to have become known in the USA as “the Wiccan star”, but it’s correct name is the pentacle, and it is much older than Wicca or any association with Wicca. It’s use (usually upside down) by groups claiming to be Satanic is just as offensive to Pagans as the use of an upside down crucifix would be to Christians.

Third, those practicing witchcraft know that a core Pagan belief is that anything one does, good or bad, will return to you during your lifetime, usually threefold. So, for a witch to be placing a hex on people, summoning demons and killing innocent people by spells, would mean that the witch themselves would receive the same negative energy THREE TIMES. I don’t know too many true witches out there willing to risk such a heavy price...

Finally, and you really would think that the producers would have done their homework better, we all know that Samhain is actually pronounced as “sow-in”, where “ow” rhymes with “cow”, far from the ‘sam-hane’ pronounciation used in the show. This is just further evidence that much of the story is pure Hollywood fiction, not fact. The story that Samhain was the Celtic “God of the dead”, and was therefore a deity (or ‘demon’, according to Supernatural) is believed to have been an 18th century invention. The closest figure in Celtic mythology is “Samain” or “Sawan”, who played the role of a very minor hero and is not widely known, even to Celtic historians.1

Samhain is actually Irish Gaelic for the month of November. “Samhuin” is Scottish Gaelic for All Hallows, November 1. There are many sources supporting the conclusion that Samhain refers to the festival, not a God of the dead (and certainly not a demon of any type). The most common group of people that insist that Samhain is a Celtic (or Pagan) God are the conservative Christians. Some of the stories that this group promote are nothing short of fanatical! For example:

1David Berkowitz, the ‘Son of Sam’ serial killer, converted to conservative Christianity after his trial and incarceration. He has claimed that he was simply a lookout for an evil Satanic cult who actually performed the murders. He further states that “Sam” in “Son of Sam” comes from the name of the Celtic God of the dead, Samhain, which he pronounced “Sam-hane.” His story is suspect because:

  • He mispronounced Samhain.
  • Samhain is not a Celtic God.
  • Samhain is not a Satanic deity either.
  • The police investigators are convinced that he was a lone killer, not a member of a group.

It seems that the Supernatural writers/producers have fallen into the exact same trap as David Berkowitz with the storyline for season 4, episode 7 “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”. The information contained in this episode is entirely fictional because:

  • They mispronounced Samhain.
  • Samhain is not a Celtic God.
  • Samhain is not a Satanic deity.
  • Samhain is not a demon
  • Samhain is a festival, not a physical or supernatural being of any kind.2, 3
  • The Celts would dress in animal skins and wear masks to simulate the ghosts, fairies and demons that were believed to wander amongst the humans at this time of year, not to hide from any demon or deity.4

Summary

We could go on, but suffice to say that while Supernatural is a fantastic TV show, the information regarding Pagans, Pagan practices, etc, are creations of Hollywood designed to make a great TV show, and not to provide historically accurate facts. It is just a shame that the writers/producers only pick on Pagan beliefs and not anything Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, etc. But then again, I guess there’d be an outcry if they suddenly said that some Christian figure was a demon...

Yes, we know that TV is fiction, but unfortunately there are those that believe the information in these shows is based on hard fact. We can but live in hope that one day Hollywood writers and producers will set aside their own prejudices and find other ways to create great TV without presenting misinformation about one of the worlds oldest religious beliefs.

References:

1 Religioustolerance.org - The myth of Samhain: “Celtic God of the dead”
2 Wikipedia - Samhain.
3 History.com Ancient Origins - Real Story of Halloween
4 About.com: Ancient history