As a self proclaimed witch, we don't celebrate halloween. We celebrat Samhain. Samhain is traditionally a day of the dead, yes. But on this day we don't conjure up evil spirits or anything like that. It is a day to honor our dead ancestors (much like All Saints day--to honor dead saints). Some people even offer a feast of the dead, where they sit down to have dinner and invite one of their dead relatives to join them. The veil between the worlds is at it's thinnest, yes, it is a great time to practice divination for witches and pagans due to this. I wanted to point out though, on this day, people want to avoid the evil spirits, not welcome them. This is probably the most widely misunderstood holiday of them all. It is also the Celtic New Year. Samhain literally means 'summer's end'. The celtic people celebrated this day because it was the end of the harvest season, their god dies and is reborn at Yule (around Christmas). This is why it is considered the end of the year, because the earth seems to die with the coming of winter and their god dies--good reason to honor the dead. You won't see many pagans dressing up in costume on this night except to maybe enjoy the typical halloween party like other people. You mostly see them honoring this as a sacred holiday. Just thought I'd throw a little of the witch perspective in.
