Samhain Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition and not to be confused with...
Samhain
Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition and not to be confused with Halloween. While Halloween is celebrated each year on October 31st, Samhain is a cross-quarter date which actually falls midway between the Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice, so naturally the date differs slightly from year to year. If my calculatins are correct, in 2023 Samhain falls on November 6th. (For a quick method of calculating a cross-quarter date check out this link.)
The correct pronunciation for Samhain differs depending on what region you’re from or your personal preference. Here are 3 different methods of pronunciation:
1. Irish: SOW-in
2. Wales: SOW-een
3. Scottish Gaelic: SAV-en
For the Celts, Samhain was the feast of the dead in Pagan and Christian times. Its arrival signaled the close of harvest and the start of the winter season. Fairies were imagined as particularly active at this season.
This is one of the most powerful nights of the year to perform divination. Divination is done in many forms but all seek to establish a look ahead, whether the answer appears good or bad. Samhain is also considered to start the reign of the God or the dark time of the Year when the Sun goes lower each day and begins to weaken.
Decorate your altar with photographs of deceased loved ones, pumpkin lanterns, oak leaves, apples, nuts and sage. Incenses associated with this festival include nutmeg, mint and sage, and the colors black and orange.
Magickal Workings:
Samhain is one of the most potent nights of the year for magick. As a cross-quarter day it is a supernatural time, a time outside of time, the night that is not a night, a powerful time of flux and change. This is a good night for:
- candle magick
- astral projection
- past life work
- dark moon mysteries
- mirror spells (reflection)
- casting protection
- inner work
- clearing obstacles
- uncrossing
- workings of transition or culmination
- manifesting transformation
- creative visualization
Ritual Fire:
- bonfires to protect the family, coven or land through the winter darkness
- bale fire to erase mistakes and negativity
- torches to honor the dead
- extinguish all fires, then kindle new fire for a fresh start with the new year
- burn incense
- Set the torc tenned ablaze (a pyramid of timber called the Fire Boar). Save the ashes to use as a base for next Samhain’s torc tenned
- put a candle in the window to help the spirit of a loved one find its way home
- light a candle on the ancestral altar
- light lanterns, jack o’ lanterns or candles outdoors to guide the way for spirits and fairies who are abroad this night
- light a fire in the cauldron for protection or transformation
Divination:
Samhain is a powerful night for divination:
- read the tarot cards
- use the Witches Wheel spread to forecast the year ahead
- cast runes or the I Ching
- scry in crystal balls, dark mirrors, bowls of black ink or pools of water
- swing a pendulum asking yes or no questions
- eat an apple in front of a mirror at midnight by candlelight to scry your future mate
Meditation:
This is a good night for deep reflection and inner work. Meditation themes include: changes, transition, endings and beginnings, passage, return, mortality and reincarnation, chaos leading to reorder.
Spirit work:
(by invitation, not summons)
This is the night when the veil is thinnest, the gates between the worlds are open. Souls of the dead are said to visit their homes at midnight. Possible workings include:
- a dumb supper for the beloved deceased
- ouija
- séances
- trance possession
- automatic writing
- bury apples as food for hungry spirits
- leave spirit plates of food outside your home
Faery Magick:
This is a great night for visiting the faery realm, but you must return by dawn or remain forever enchanted, unable to return.
Sex Magick:
This is an excellent night for sex magick of all kinds.
Correspondences:
SYMBOL: Black cat, jack o ‘lantern, bat, ghost, scarecrow, waning moon.
GODDESSES: Crone, all crone goddesses, Cerridwen, Hekate, Hel, Oya, the Morrigan, Lilith, Kali, Ishtar, Arianrhod, Rhiannon, Tlazoteotl, Nephthys, Persephone, Beansidhe (Banshee), Inanna, Baba Yaga, Isis, Pomona and Cailleach Beara (Brigid’s crone aspect).
GODS: Osiris, the Horned God, Herne the Hunter, Cernunnos, Anubis, Odin, Bran, death gods, dying and rising gods.
INCENSE: Copal, sandalwood, mastic resin, benzoin, sweetgrass, wormwood: to get the sight, to see the spirits of the returning dead.
CANDLES: New candles for the new year: black, orange, autumn colors, or black candles for the Lord and the old year, white candles for the Lady and the new year.
TOOLS: Besom, to sweep out the old year and any negativity it had.
Cauldron, for transformation.
Divination tools: Tarot cards, scrying bowl, rune stones, pendulum, mirror, etc.
PLANT: Pumpkin, apple, grain, pomegranate, mugwort, wormwood, Dittany of Crete, acorn, oak leaf, gourds, root vegetables, rosemary (for remembrance).
STONE: Obsidian, carnelian, onyx, smoky quartz, jet, bloodstone.
ANIMAL: Bat, black cat, dogs (generally black), owl.
ALTAR DECORATIONS: Autumn leaves, fall flowers, pomegranates, apples, pumpkins, ears of corn, sprays of grain, corn dollies, gourds, nuts, seeds, acorns, chestnuts and images of ancestors are all appropriate. Use whatever is in season where you live, whatever feels right and looks good to you.
FOOD: Gingerbread, freshly roasted nuts, nut breads, anything made with apples or pumpkin, meat (especially bacon), doughnuts, popcorn, cakes with lucky tokens in them, and red foods because the ancients held them sacred to the dead. DRINK: Mead, apple cider, mulled cider, mulled wine.
CELEBRATE: Masks, costumes, feasting and partying to defy the coming darkness, harvest feasts, rituals to honor the dead, Witches’ Ball.
Be magickal, y’all!
