The Celtic festival of Samhain is one of the oldest and most important. It marks the end of one year and the beginning of the new. As the final of three harvest festivals, it is also the start of the winter season. During this special time of transition the veil between worlds is thinnest and the ancestors are able to return to visit their loved ones. So strongly rooted in the old world was this festival that the church could not abolish its observance, but instead incorporated it into Christian doctrine as All Hallow’s Eve, a time to honor the dead. The ancient rites of Samhain and All Hallow’s Eve gave birth to many of the customs associated with Halloween and All Saints/All Souls Day. Aside from Christmas, Halloween is the most commercialized and celebrated holiday the world over. Read more about the history of Halloween.

While it was a time for honoring the dead, people would also carve out turnips and place candles within to light the darkness and dress in scary animal skins to trick any evil spirit that may be afoot into thinking they were one of them. Children would go from house to house begging for scraps of food that would be left for the ancestors, the land would be put to bed and animals brought in for the long winter that lay ahead. Divination was also particular accurate during this power time and Druids would use their seership to divine the fate of the tribe for the winter months.

In the garden, do your final cleanup and plant some bulbs for within their dark recesses they hold the promise of a spring that is to once again be reborn when the wheel turns and the infinite cycle begins again. Perhaps you may want to also build a small altar with photos and tokens of remembrance for your loved ones who have passed on - maybe even hold a dinner party in their honor. Be sure to set extra places for them so they know they are loved and welcomed.

ASSOCIATIONS
· Animals: bats, cats, dogs
· Colors: black, orange, gold, brown
· Element: water
· Food: apples, corn, nuts, cider, pumpkin, pomegranate, cranberry muffins
· Plants: apple, oak, pumpkin, sage, broom
· Power: divination, remembrance, magic, knowledge

DECORATIONS
· Oak leaves, acorns
· Carved pumpkins and gourds
· Pictures of your ancestors

ACTIVITIES
· Plant bulbs for spring bloom
· Set up photos and remembrances of loved ones who have past on
· Have a dinner party to remember your ancestors, serve soup to warm the October chill
· Divine the future with Tarot, I Ching or Ogahm divination sets

SAMHAIN INCENSE
2 granules frankincense – protection, spirituality
2 parts chrysanthemum petal - protection from malevolent forces
2 parts cedar - protection, purification, healing, money
1 part myrrh – protection, healing, spirituality, purifies and creates peaceful space
1 part lavender – purification, happiness, love, peace, harmony, healing
1 part sandalwood – protection, healing, spirituality
1 part cinnamon - success, healing, psychic powers
1/2 part clove – prosperity, drawing of money, protection, purification
1 sprig rosemary – purifying, cleansing, protection, healing, mental power, knowledge
3 white sage leaves – Immortality, longevity, wisdom, protection, wishes
3 drops orange oil - love, luck, divination

Posted in: The Wheel of the Year