Samhain

Many names and traditions come during this time of year. Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Dia de los Muertos, Samhain, and many more! Celebrated on October 31st, but can be celebrated for the two to three days prior and following.

Samhain is a holiday infused with positive energy and filled with hope for our planet's future. The night before we celebrate the union of the Morrigan and the Dagda. While straddling the two sides of a river when she encounters him eating from a cauldron. On the day of, the great sun god dies, and leaves his goddess a widow, to mourn him until yule when he will be reborn and light will return. With the sun god gone, the nights get longer and the days are shorter, the plants and trees die back and all around us freezes and hardens in chill. Samhain is the time and symbol between the two main seasons summer and winter, because we stand in between such major changes in our plant, it heightens the magic of the “inbetween” and is the time for both beginnings and endings. Ancient celts would celebrate the Celtic feast of the dead, since the veil between worlds (living and dead) is open easier directly following or on Samhain. Witches perform rituals to keep anything negative from the past out of the future. Because of the veil being so thin, ancestral work is very common, and we cast spells to psychically connect to our deceased forebears and retrieve ancient knowledge. It is a time of change and symbolizes the new year, many witches dress as what they are trying to achieve or attract the following year! Trick or treating is originally what witches would do, after their circle they would knock on the house doors of their friends or families and give gifts and show their outfits and resolutions! It was very much a time of joy, family, and rebirth.

Colors: Deep shades of gold, vibrant scarlet, dark browns, bronze,black, orange, white, silver, and purple.

Animals- Any animal horn, talon, or feather, but the main animals associated with holiday and season are: Crows, bats, cats, spiders, owls, scorpions, and ravens.

Herbs- Cinnamon, rosemary, sage, mug-wort, acorns, fallen leaves, allspice, mullein, calendula, sunflower, chrysanthemum, deadly nightshade, thistle, wormwood, rue, tarragon, bay leaf, pine needles, nettles, passion flower, wild ginseng, and mandrake root.

Stones and crystals- Black onyx, jet amethyst, smokey quartz, amber, pyrite, garnet, blood stone, carnelian, granite, marble, sandstone, gold, diamond, iron, steel, ruby, brass, and hematite.

Symbols & Decorations: Acorns, Apples, Black Candles, Brooms, Carved pumpkins, nuts and berries, photographs of loved ones

Ancient Activities

• Carving Jack o lanterns

• Making costumes

• Bobbing for apples

• Making a Witch’s Cord: Take three cords in the colors needed for your intent. Braid the cords together and hang somewhere you will see it often! As you braid think of your intention and envision your life.

• Finding and making a Wand: using different twigs, branches, stones and herbs. Create your own!

• Making Candles

• Faerie Magic

• Magick Mirror Reading

• Aisling Cake or Soul Cakes