Sabbats: Samhain
New Year • Death • Life
{ What Is Samhain? }
Samhain is also known as Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve and the Witches’ New Year. The Wheel of the Year has makes its final turn for the year and begins again.
- Samhain is pronounced something close to "Sow-en" if you have only ever seen it written.
Samhain is a time we celebrate death as a part of life by honouring and remembering our loved ones and those who have passed over. Many witches will leave out food for ancestors and spirits who visit (known as a “dumb supper”).
The veil between the seen and unseen worlds is as its thinnest, so Samhain is a great time for divination, all kinds of spirit work and asking for guidance from ancestors.
Because Samhain is associated with the continual cycles of death /rebirth and destruction / renewal, Samhain night is a good time to shed old habits and attitudes and replace with new ones.
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Write whatever you want to leave behind on a piece of paper (old relationships, bad habits, sorrow, fear, self-doubt) and burn in a ritual fire or cauldron. As always, be careful not to burn yourself.
Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain! We give thanks to the witches before us.
{ Samhain Altar }
Decorate your Samhain altar with the colors and symbols of the season:
- pictures of ancestors
- cauldrons
- masks
- besom
- apples
- pumpkins
- soul cakes
- sugar skulls
- food for those who have crossed over
- candles
- crystals
- flowers
- herbs
{ Colors }
Samhain colors for candles and decorations are:
- Dark colors such as black, brown, grey
- Autumn colors of orange, yellow, silver
{ Crystals }
Samhain crystals are:
{ Flowers And Herbs }
Samhain flowers and herbs:
{ Tarot }
- Death
- the High Priestess
- the Wheel of Fortune
{ Spells }
Samhain is a time for spells for:
- banishing
- healing
- love
- protection
- house cleansing/blessings
- speaking to ancestors
- divination
- release
- renewal
{ Feast }
Celebrate Samhain with:
- apple cider
- lamb’s wool
- griddle cakes (similar to pancakes with maple syrup)
- soul cakes
- nuts
- pumpkin
- fermented foods
- apples
- bread
- kale chips
- colcannon
- soups
- stews
{ Want to know more? }
Here are some links for some blogs to visit.
{ Want to go shopping? }
Here are some links for some of the products mentioned.