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If there is one thing you should take away from this conversation, child, it's this: you are in my hive. I'm your Samhain, and you are an Essex witch. You cannot hide anything from me.
— Mary Sibley to Anne Hale[src]

Samhain is the leader and supreme witch of the hive, employed to guide, protect and oversee the witches in their hive. The Samhain is the most important role in a hive of witches.

Description

The position of the Samhain is considered the highest ranking governmental body within the witch community and has existed for several centuries. According to Mary Sibley, the Samhain is not only responsible for the protection of their hive, but also for keeping the Old Ways alive and well. One of the ways this is done is by the fact that after a witch dies, their Book of Shadows will magically find its way to the reigning Samhain as a means to keep the books from being lost or falling into the wrong hands. It is also known that after the reigning Samhain dies, whoever is believed to be the next most suitable witch for the position will be chosen as the new Samhain.

The ruling Samhain also holds a box containing personal objects or body parts of the witches of her hive, eg. fragments of nails, hair strands or scraps of clothing. This is due to the power she exerts over the hive, having at her disposal tokens of her subjects offered as a sign of reference or fear, and used if the Samhain were to establish a magical contact with them, whether it is to punish or track them.[1]

Throughout the Salem series

Mary Sibley, feeling betrayed by her own hive, instructs Mercy Lewis to murder in cold blood Rose Browning, the current Samhain of the coven. The old woman, once a mentor to Mary Sibley, has schemed behind her deeming the woman not ready for the ultimate sacrifice which is the Grand Rite since, in her heart, she is still in love with Captain John Alden. She also plotted behind her back to have the Malum brought to Salem. While Rose is in the woods, Mary leans in to present their new sister, and Mercy arrives behind her and cuts Rose's head off with a sharp razor. [2] Later, at the House of the Seven Gables, Magistrate Hale kneels before Mary Sibley, kissing the bloodied razor and recognising her as the new Samhain.[3]

Having climbed the top of the hive's hierarchy, Mary Sibley acts as if she had no more rivals, ignoring that Mercy craves the power for herself. This desire for power leads to a rivalry between the two witches. The reckless young witch gathers all the outcasts and the rebels of Salem, promising them to bring a new era, as she is the "real Queen of the Night".[4]

After Mary refused to reign as equals queens, Mercy goes so far as to affirm at the presence of Essex elders that she is the real Queen of the Night. Mercy offers the old witches the genitals stolen from men of the village that she herself has bewitched, making them slaves via familiars. However, the Hags reject such gifts, and Mercy Lewis orders to her followers to kill them. they later hang the old women in the public square with their own bowels, declaring open war on Mary Sibley. [5]

Unable to find other escape routes, Mary is forced to go to the secret Stronghold of the Essex Hive, by relying on her role of Samhain to have a say on the carnage that is about to take in Salem with the completion of the Ritum Magni by the Countess Von Marburg, an ancient witch posing as German aristocracy arrived to Salem to help them during the plague outburst.[6]

Towards the end of the eve of the Great Terror and the approach of the Black Sunday, Anne Hale decided to claim for herself the crown as "Queen of the Night". She is totally embittered by the loss of love and the will to prevail over anyone else. Intending to remain the only witch in Salem, she removed from her way all the possible obstacles to her coronation.

Once she killed the Countess Von Marburg, Mercy Lewis, possibly Tituba, and let Mary Sibley leave Salem once and for all, Anne killed the Dark Lord's current vessel – John Sibley. She then took full control of the town, with the intent on starting the Great Rite all over again, using her unborn child as the next vessel for the Devil, thus being not only the de facto Queen of the Night, but also the future Devil's Bride in the Royal Marriage – ultimate goal of the unspeakable horrors put in place with the Grand Rite.[7]

Memorable Quotes

Mary Sibley: "You and that foul bitch mistrusted me. And much worse for you, you underestimated me."
Mr. Hale: "But killing the Samhain, do you have any idea what you've done?"
Mary Sibley: "The question is not whether I understand what I have done, but whether you understand what you must now do."
Mr. Hale: "I do. You have claimed the ancient right. I recognize you as the new Samhain. I will honor and obey your power, earned in blood, and share the word with the rest of the hive."
Our Own Private America
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Mercy Lewis: "You see children, only by killing the rose will the Queen of the Night really become the Queen of the Night."
All Fall Down
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Mercy Lewis: "You alone know the truth. That I, and not you, beheaded the Samhain witch. But I'm not greedy. I'm perfectly content to rule alongside you, as your equal.
Mary Sibley: You know that will never happen, child. You are too reckless. Submit to your elders, myself included. And in the fullness of time, who knows what powers you might attain? "
Cry Havoc
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Mary Sibley: "I am no longer Mary Sibley. I'm just Mary. But I am still the Samhain of the Essex until one of you foul wretches takes my head."
Midnight Never Come
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Gallery

Trivia

  • The word Samhain is pronounced / sɑːwɪn / sah-win /saʊ.ɪn/ or sow-in, Irish pronunciation: [Saun].
  • The word is inspired by Samhain, a Gaelic harvest festival.
  • It seems that Samhain are executed by decapitation. In addition to being Rose's cause of death, Mary challenged the Widdershins to do the same to her.
  • The ceremonial dress of a Samhain is white, as shown by Mary Sibley at the Essex Stronghold.[6]
  • In a promotional teaser of the second season, Mary Sibley sitting on a throne carved from a tree trunk with branches and twisted roots. In another, Mercy Lewis is creating a crown from the bridle she was forced to wear in Season 1.
  • According to Countess Von Marburg, the witch community is a matriarchy. Therefore, we can assume that only women can claim the title of Samhain.
  • Although Mary Sibley was the official Samhain of the Essex Hive, her death, and consequent "Reckoning" after her resurrection left vacancy within the coven. Being the last witch left in Salem, Anne Hale is the de facto Samhain of Salem. Furthermore, Anne Hale rightly earned the title by killing Mercy Lewis, the one who actually killed Rose Browning.

References

  1. Joe Menosky & Adam Simon (writer) & Allan Kroeker (director). July 13, 2014. "Book of Shadows". Salem. Season 2. Episode 4. WGN.
  2. Joe Menosky & Adam Simon (writer) & P.J. Pesce (director). May 25, 2014. "The Red Rose and the Briar". Salem. Season 1. Episode 6. WGN.
  3. Adam Simon & Brannon Braga (writer) & David Von Ancken (director). April 20, 2014. "Our Own Private America". Salem. Season 1. Episode 7. WGN.
  4. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & David Von Ancken (director). July 13, 2014. "All Fall Down". Salem. Season 1. Episode 13. WGN.
  5. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Nick Copus (director). July 13, 2014. "Cry Havoc". Salem. Season 2. Episode 1. WGN.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Donna Thorland & Adam Simon (writer) & Alex Zakrzewski (director). July 13, 2014. "Midnight Never Come". Salem. Season 2. Episode 12. WGN.
  7. Adam Simon (writer) & Brannon Braga (director). January 25, 2017. "Black Sunday". Salem. Season 3. Episode 10. WGN.

See Also

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