I personally think of Samhain as sort of Witch Pride Day. It’s the one day of the year that we can present as ourselves...and I’m sorry but Halloween has long been referred to as Gay Christmas. Don’t tell me there’s not a connection. As a kid, I frequently used to dress up as a witch because I knew that was the one day a year that I could present as myself. Even before I had words for it, I just knew I was a witch. This isn’t meant to be a flex, whether you’ve been doing witchcraft for years or are brand new to it, or just dipping your toes in it out of curiosity: we’re all valid. Being a witch is something I’ve always felt in my bones.
For me, Halloween and Samhain are interchangeable. Some disagree with this, and think of them as two very separate things: one is a kitschy holiday and the other is some witchy thing. Which is fine, it’s just not my experience. And so much of that has to do with being queer. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I had to keep my identity hidden to a certain degree out of pure safety. I grew up in an extremely Republican, Christian fundamentalist suburb of Kansas City. I once was questioned about why I was wearing a necklace with a wizard charm on it. For me, being in the closet and being in the broom closet were one in the same. This is why Halloween has always mattered to me.
As a good queer, I relish kitsch. I find strength and humor in it. It’s sparkly! When I got older, and more into Wicca and witchcraft in general, I learned about Samhain and incorporated honoring it as part of my Halloween repertoire. I don’t separate the two. Both are sacred and profane in the eyes of those who seek to dim our shine. It’s our time to bask in our witch selves, in our queer selves and celebrate. It’s our new year celebration in accordance with the Wheel of the Year. It’s a liminal time for looking back at where we’ve been and who’ve passed along the way. It’s a time to connect with the ancestors when the veil is thought to be at its thinnest. It’s a time to look forward at our dreams for the coming year. But most importantly, it’s a time to sit with ourselves and leave behind what needs to be shed as well as welcoming new beginnings.
However you choose to celebrate Samhain, I send warmth and wisdom your way. Consider this my offering of some ways I have honored this sabbat over the years if you’re looking for some inspiration. Take whatever works and leave the rest.
Samhain (pronounced “SOW-wen” with the stress on the first syllable, which rhymes with “cow”) comes from the pagan religious festival celebrated by ancient Celts. Observed from October 31st to November 1st, this is the time when the veil between the physical and spirit world is at its thinnest, allowing us closer connection with the departed. Also known as November Eve, Hallowe’en, All Hallow’s Eve and All Saint’s Eve “hallow” is an archaic name for “saint”. The Catholic Church created a fixed day commemoration on October 31, and All Saint’s Day on November 1st which is now a bank holiday throughout Europe. Many witches prefer to commemorate the day precisely on the astronomical date which isn’t always on the 31st of October.
Samhain is the third of the last Three Spirit Nights. The Celtic festival of the dead honored the Lord of Death, Samana, which the Irish called the ‘Vigil of Saman.’ In the Wheel of the Year, Samhain marks the beginning of the season of death. Winter was seen as the arrival of the powers of destruction: hunger, cold and winter storms. Brigid, goddess of agriculture, enters her crone phase and relinquishes her power over the earth.
Samhain occurs at the midpoint between the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) and the Winter Solstice (Yule). The ancient Celts saw Samhain as the most important of the four fire festivals of the year. To celebrate this magical eve, fires were lit on the sidh, or fairy mounds, where the spirits dwelled. Fairies play a big part of Samhain lore. Samhain is also the feast day of Nicnevin, a Scottish fairy queen who is said to grant wishes on this night. This marked the time when the harvest was gathered. Afterwards, several days were spent eating huge feasts and drinking to excess.
In the 19th century Irish and Scottish Celts immigrated to North America, and the holiday morphed into what we know as Halloween today. Halloween is its own separate holiday, though many use Samhain and Halloween interchangeably. While Halloween stems from the same pagan holiday activities, its purpose remains secular. Dressing up in spooky costumes, going trick-or-treating, watching scary movies and perhaps fiddling around with a spirit board all constitute some typical Halloween activities that connect with this liminal time of year when the veil is at its thinnest and connection with the spirit world is most potent. It goes without saying that this is many witches’ favorite holiday!
When Wicca was developed in the 30s and 40s, Samhain was included in the Wheel of the Year. In the 70s, witches further revived Samhain, and it became even more popularized in the 80s and 90s. It’s a time for fire ceremonies and activities marking the changing of the seasons, connecting with ancestors and shadow work. It’s viewed by many as “Witches’ New Year”, and many activities center around celebrating the passing of the year. Laurie Cabot, Official Witch of Salem, Massachusetts popularized yearly “Witches’ Balls,” that many now partake in in different regions of North America. Participants are asked to come dressed specifically to reflect what they would like to become or experience in the coming year. Many incorporate colors associated with the sabbat. Orange is a color worn to symbolize the dying leaves and fires of summer. Black is worn to draw in light to fill our bodies at this time of year when the days are growing shorter and there is physically less light and warmth. Purple nourishes powers of insight and psychic intuition, while red fills us with vitality, passion and courage for the darker days and longer nights ahead.
Celtic tradition says that all who die each year must wait until Samhain before crossing into the spirit world, sometimes referred to as the Summerland, where they will begin their new journey. At this moment of crossing, the little people, fairies, elementals, and spirits of ancestors who still have unfinished business in this world may appear. Some will help the newly departed leave our world and enter the next, others may come out to play and do mischief.
For many witches, this is a holy night dedicated to Hekate – a goddess of witches and witchcraft who presides over the realms of the dead. Many choose this time to ask Hekate to help make contact between the living and the dead as well as remove any unwanted spirits or elementals. This is a time when the dead are honored. Ancestor veneration is common, and now is excellent for calling on the departed ones. For many queer people, and/or people estranged from their families or have ancestors whose histories are troubling, we choose to make our own families in death and in life. Connecting with non-blood related ancestors is also possible. Connecting with an ancestor whose story inspires you can help you gain strength as much as blood relations.
Scrying with flame, smoke or mirror proves powerful results when used on Samhain. Samhain is also a time for divination, as the future is thought to be more easily seen by those attempting to peer into the coming days ahead. The new life of the coming year is more apparent on this special night. Many leave traditional Samhain foods, such as pumpkin, apples, gingerbread, potatoes, turnips and a glass of apple cider or red wine as an offering to the ancestors.
Summer has ended, and fall is fleeting fast. However, death-focused Samhain seems, it is as much a time of rebirth as it is of mortality. Use this sacred moment of the year as an opportunity to get in touch with its uniquely charged energy to reflect on the past, center in the present and project your hopes and dreams to the future.
Deity Veneration
We don’t need to have a direct connection to the popular Celtic (or other European-based) traditional pagan holidays in order to experience our paganism. Explore ways you experience spirituality. For example, if you are devoted to a certain pop culture universe, see what you can find there that aligns with your personal paganism. Some witches from Jewish backgrounds create a practice that coincides with the Jewish High Holy Days. Spirituality looks different for every person, and the key thing to having a connection with our paganism is to make it our own. The closer our personal connection in whichever way we experience it, the more potent our manifestations will be. Here are some examples of possible deity correspondences for Samhain:
Samana (Celtic/Irish)
Brigid (Celtic)
Persephone (Greek), Kore (Greek)
Cernunnos (Gallic-Celtic)
Dionysus (Greek)
Aradia (Italian)
The Morrigan (Celtic/Irish)
Hekate (Greek)
The Cailleach (Celtic/Scotland and Ireland)
Hel (Norse)
Anubis (Egypt)
Les Baron et Les Gede (Haitian Vodou/New Orleans Voodoo):
Baron Samedi
Baron LaCroix
Maman Brigitte
Oya (Yoruba)
Lilith (Sumero-Babylonian/Judaic)
Nicnevin (Celtic/Scottish)
*Again, please stay mindful of engaging with closed cultures, and appropriation when working with Spirit
Samhain Associations
Colors:
Black: dark half of the year, mysteries of the spirit realm
Orange: warmth, vitality
Purple: spiritual insight, psychic energy
Red: passion, life force, courage
Tarot Cards: Death, The Tower, The Chariot, The Moon
Stones:
Obsidian: protection, grounding, banishes negativity
Amethyst: enhances psychic abilities, intuition, spiritual growth
Carnelian: courage, motivation, personal power
Smoky Quartz: grounding, protection, transmutation of negative energies
Food/Beverage
I think that choosing to eat and drink whatever is seasonal to where you live is always the best way to go, but here are some things frequently associated with Samhain.
Colcannon: an Irish dish made of cabbage (or kale) mashed potatoes
Barmbrack: a fruit cake
Apples/Cider: apples symbolize immortality, cider celebrates the end of the final harvest
Soul Cakes: small cakes in honor of the dead, left as offerings
Pumpkin: traditional harvest gourd, y’all
Beef Stew: stews of all kinds are generally encouraged (so don’t worry if you’re vegetarian). Samhain is a very stew-influenced sabbat.
Turnips: before Pumpkins became the standard-bearer of gourdom dominance, turnips were traditionally carved and turned into lanterns on Samhain in parts of Scotland, Ireland and the US. They are delicious mashed or roasted!
I like to make potato soup or bacon mac and cheese with butternut squash (gourds!) for Samhain myself.
Botanicals/Herbs
Rosemary: remembrance, ancestor rituals
Mugwort: enhances psychic abilities, connecting with the spirit world
Calendula: warmth, protection
Apple: knowledge, immortality, abundance
Fragrances
Patchouli: grounding, protection, spiritual growth
Cinnamon: warmth, prosperity, psychic energy
Nutmeg: clarity, spiritual protection, enhancing psychic abilities
Clove: protection, cleansing, warmth
Frankincense: spiritual connection, introspection, purification
Myrrh: enhances meditation, spiritual awareness, connection with the spirit realm
Samhain Salutations
Megan
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