Samhain: Straw Man

Back when Julius Caesar was busy conquering the British Isles, he noted in his Commentaries that the Druids had a penchant for human sacrifice. Whether this was true or not is up for scholarly debate - after all, the victor writes history -- but it does leave us with a bit of a custom that has carried over into modern times. The burning of a wicker or straw man is a popular tradition in many Pagan and Wiccan belief systems. This figure is created from the detritus of the garden at the time of harvest's end, so while you're out clearing all that dead growth from your garden, save a little to make a Straw Man for Samhain.