What is Samhain?:

Myths and Misconceptions:

All Hallow Mass:

The Witch's New Year:

Honoring the Ancestors:

October is nature's funeral month. Nature glories in death more than life. The month of departure is more than the month of coming...October than May. Every green thing loves to die in bright colors. ~Henry Ward Beecher~

DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY

In our traditions, death is not to be feared; it is all part of the cycle. We are born, we live, we die, and we are reborn. Consider some of the most popular themes of this time of year, such as ghost, and graves. There is also the skeleton and, of course, the skull. There are some traditional celebrations that take this to a whole new level. For example, in Mexico and the southwestern United States, the second day after Halloween is a huge event. This is a day to honor the beloved dead, and skeletons, cheerfully decortated and fun, are the main theme. Customs include building private altars to honor the deceased in your family; decorating with sugar skulls, fresh marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed; and then visiting the graves of your relatives with these items as gifts.

This is of course, ~El Dia de los Muertos~ {the Day of the Dead}, November 2nd. This holiday has Aztec roots. The Mexican holiday uses skulls and skeletons in a humorous light, decorated and dressed...and doing the same activites they would have done in life. The skeleton is considered to be very attached to the person's spirit it once belonged to. Marigolds are a large part of this holiday celebration. They are bright and cheerful flowers that balance out the atmosphere and are traditionally added to the ancestor altars or strung into garlands that are hung up to decorate for the holiday.

If you are busy with your children and grandchildren on Samhain night and entertaining the neighborhood trick-or-treaters, you could always celebrate with your magickal friends on this day instead. Keep in mind that Samhain begins at sunset on October 31st and ends at sunset on November 1st. You do have options. Some have often celebrated Samhain on November 1st or 2nd depending on their schedules. There are many similarities between the Celtic Samhain and the honoring of the dead and this Hispanic festival called the Day of the Dead. It is something to consider.

Samhain occurs within the astrological sign of Scorpio...a sign associated with death and transformation. This again, is nothing to fear, because this then leads to change, renewal, and the regeneration of life. This is the time of the year when the veil is thin...the doorways between our human world and the spirit world are wide open. Spitits do walk, and anything is possible. At Samhain the earth "gives up" its dead; basically the lines between what is physical and what is spirit gets blurred. It's a wonderfully creepy, ancient, and fun.

Because of the veil being thin and spirits wandering, ghost, and graves are woven into the culture and celebration of this sabbat. According to Druidic traditions, prayers, food, and offerings of burning candles to the dead and to the Good People {the Fae, or Sidhe} were lefted on doorsteps and on altars at Samhain. These offerings were also left at places thought to be Sidhe mounds, as the mounds were open and the Sidhe were out wandering. They could be disguised as masked revelers or as ordinary people traveling about. In the old days it was best to leave them an offering to be sure yoou did not offend the Fae or your beloved dead who may come by and check on you.

About Samhain

Samhain. All Hallows Eve, Halloween…The most magical night of the year!

Samhain, or All Hallows Eve, is where the Wheel of the Year begins and so does the darkest time of the year. It is the Celtic Feast of the Dead and the New Year as well. This is the moment that it is both the beginning and the end, neither the future, nor the past and a time when the veil between the Spirit world and the world of the living is as thin as mist… This is a great time of honour, divination and communion with those who have gone before, and also a time of great festivity, merriment and strong affirmation of life, love and fertility at the threshold of the swift approach of darkness.

Exactly opposite to Beltane on the wheel of the year, Halloween is Beltane’s dark twin. A night of glowing jack’o’lanterns, bobbing for apples and dressing in costume. A night of ghost stories and séances, tarot card readings and scrying with mirrors. A night of power, when the veil that separates our world from the Otherworld is at its thinnest. Samhain is a night that exists outside of time and hence it may be used to view any other point in time.

Ancient folklore sees the Goddess now in her aspect of Crone, The Wise One, The Dark Enchantress. She looks back on all that has passed, and forward at what is to come. She is the keeper of the mysteries of birth, life, death and rebirth. She prepares to descend into the mystery of this darkness herself still carrying the child that will become the sun child of the next season. The God embarks upon the Wild Ride at this time, collecting the souls of the dead. This coincided with the end of the harvest.

Remember at this time loved ones that have passed – family, friends, pets… At Samhain they may come to join in the festivities with us and celebrate the mystery of life and rebirth. This is a reverent, earthy, natural, joyous and festive exchange.  We leave them offerings on the altar to honour them.

Plants, Herbs, Incense

Rosemary (for remembering our ancestors), Mugwart (to aid in divination)

Rule, calendula, sunflower petals and seeds, pumpkin seeds, apple leaf, sage, mushrooms, wild ginsing, wormwood, tarragon, bay leaf, almond, hazelnut, passionflower, pine needles, nettle, garlic, myrrh, patchouli

Stones

Black obsidian, smoky quartz, jet, amber, pyrite, garnet, granite, clear quartz, marble, sandstone, gold, diamond, iron, steel ruby, hematite, brass

Colours

Orange (represents magick of fire and remainder of fire in autumn leaves)

Black (collects and absorbs light and keeps you warm)

White (sends out energy)

Silver and gold (represents moon and sun)

May Jack-O'-Lanterns burning, bright so soft and gloden hue, pierce through the future's veil and show what fate now holds for you. ~Victorian Halloween Postcard~

Samhain/Halloween just wouldn't be the same without the supernatural flicker of jack-o'-lanterns. There is something about those carved and glowing pumpkin faces that put us in a festive mood. The jack-o'-lantern was a Celtic custom, and the ancient people originally used a hollowed-out turnip, cabbage, potatoe, gourds, rutabagas, or beets to make their lanterns. These lanterns were a handy way to light their path home after the community bonfires on Samhain night. An ember was dropped inside the hollowed-out cabbage or turnip, and the vegetable was thick enough to illuminate and not burn. This night marked a time when the veil between our world and the world of the spirits was thin, so faces where carved in the turnip lanterns to frighten away angry ghost or spirits that were thought to be wandering about, looking for trouble.

Years later, when Irish, Scottish, and English immigrants arrived in the New World, the pumpkin made an ideal choice to replace the turnip. It was in season, readily available, and a gorgeous harvest color. Plus this fruit was large, inexpensive, and easy to carve. The magickal correspondences for the pumpkin are as follows: it is considered to be a lunar fruit, and it is linked to the element of water.

This Samhain season, why not use the jack-o'-lantern as it was originally intended: to scare away evil and to frighten off negativity? Those flickering faces can do more than just serve as a beacon for the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. The jack-o'-lantern can also be put to good practical magick use in your Samhain/Halloween celebrations.

JACK-O'-LANTERN SPELL

First, prep your pumpkins by scooping and cleaning them out. Then carve your jack-o'-lantern into any expression or bewitching pattern that you desire. Afterwards, arrange the pumpkins in a place of prominence. Once you have the fresh pumpkins in place, then add a few tealights in the bottom of the pumpkins.

PLEASE NOTE: *NEVER* use a live flame inside of a foam pumpkin---it is a fire hazard.
Only use candles with a flame inside a fresh, real pumpkin.

When dusk falls, begin to light all the candles in your pumpkins. Repeat this Halloween jack-o'-lantern charm as you go along lighting the carved pumpkins at sundown on Halloween night:

See this pumpkin all glowing gold?
Protection for my home it holds.
Frighten off evil and turn back negativity
This spell is cast by the magick of All Hallow's Eve.

When the last of your jack-o'-lanterns are lit, close up the spell with these lines:

The wheel year spins on and I celebrate this time.
I seal up this Samhain spell with a simple rhyme.

Curried Pumpkin Soup Recipe

2  cloves garlic, peeled
1 med onion, peeled and quartered
1 lg. jalapeno pepper, seeded and -coarsely chopped
2 Stalks celery, cut into -2-inch lengths
3 lg. Carrots, peeled and sliced -1/4 inch thick
2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 3/4 lb. pumpkin, peeled, -seeded, and cut -into 1-inch dice
3 c Low-salt chicken stock
1 Bay leaf
2 tsp.  curry powder
1 tsp. Turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 c shelled raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp. sour cream (optional)

Place garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add onion and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Place jalapeno in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add celery and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside. Place carrots in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Heat 1 tbsp. of the olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add jalapeno, celery, and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin, chicken stock, bay leaf, curry, turmeric, cayenne, 1 tsp. of the salt, and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat remaining tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 1/2 t salt and cook for about 30 seconds, shaking pan constantly to prevent burning, until all the seeds have popped. Remove from heat and add parsley.

Place 2 cups of the cooked vegetables and about 1/2 cups of the liquid in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Stir puree back into the soup. Adjust seasonings, and stir in the sour cream, if desired. Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Simple Pumpkin Soup

1/2 cup onion
3 tbsp. butter
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half or fat free half and half.

Chop the onions and gently brown with butter in a pan. Put mashed pumpkin
with onions in pan. Add the salt, sugar, nutmeg and pepper. Slowly add chicken
broth and heat thoroughly, but do not boil. To serve, pour into a tureen and
add the cream. Makes 4 to 6 small servings.