Editing Samhain (section)

===Divination===
[[File:Snap-Apple Night globalphilosophy.PNG|thumb|left|''Snap-Apple Night'' (1833), painted by [[Daniel Maclise]], shows people playing divination games on 31 October in Ireland]]
The bonfires were used in [[divination]]. In 18th-century [[Ochtertyre]], a ring of stones—one for each person—was laid around the fire, perhaps on a layer of ash. Everyone then ran around it with a torch, "exulting". In the morning, the stones were examined, and if any were mislaid, it was said that the person it represented would not live out the year. A similar custom was observed in north Wales<ref name=hutton365-368/> and in [[Brittany]].<ref>Frazer, p. 647</ref> James Frazer suggests this may come from "an older custom of actually burning them" (i.e. [[human sacrifice]]) or it may have always been symbolic.<ref>Frazer, pp. 663–64</ref> Divination has likely been a part of the festival since ancient times,<ref name=monaghan407/> and it has survived in some rural areas.<ref>Danaher (1972), pp. 218–27</ref>

At household festivities throughout the Gaelic regions and Wales, many rituals were intended to divine the future of those gathered, especially concerning death and marriage.<ref name=monaghan407/><ref>Hutton, p. 380</ref> Apples and hazelnuts were often used in these divination rituals and games. In [[Celtic mythology]], [[apple (symbolism)|apples]] were strongly associated with the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] and immortality, while [[hazel#Mythology and folklore|hazelnuts]] were associated with divine wisdom.<ref>MacLeod, Sharon. ''Celtic Myth and Religion''. McFarland, 2011. pp. 61, 107</ref> One of the most common games was [[apple bobbing]]. Another involved hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the other. The rod was spun round, and everyone took turns to try to catch the apple with their teeth.<ref>Danaher (1972), pp. 202–05</ref> Apples were peeled in one long strip, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape was said to form the first letter of the future spouse's name.<ref>Danaher (1972), p. 223</ref>

Two hazelnuts were roasted near a fire; one named for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desired. If the nuts jumped away from the heat, it was a bad sign, but if the nuts roasted quietly, it foretold an excellent match.<ref>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough Volume III'', pp. 33–34</ref><ref>Danaher (1972), p. 219</ref> Items were hidden in food—usually a cake, [[barmbrack]], [[cranachan]], [[champ (food)|champ]] or [[sowans]] – and portions of it served out at random. A person's future was foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring meant marriage, and a coin meant wealth.<ref name=McNeill1961>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough Volume III'', p. 34</ref> A salty oatmeal bannock was baked; the person ate it in three bites and then went to bed in silence without anything to drink. This was said to result in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench their thirst.<ref name=McNeill1961/> Egg whites were dropped in water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Young people would also chase crows and divine some of these things from the number of birds or the direction they flew.<ref name="O"/><ref name=McNeill1961/><ref name="Campbell"/>