Samhain is a day of reflection of the past year while celebrating the new. It is a day that whatever has not been harvested from gardens, fields, bushes, and trees get left for the wildlife and Fea Folk to help them through the cold months of the year. It is also a day to communicate with those who have crossed the veil into the Summerlands. Many pagans and witches say it is the day and/or night to honor only those that have crossed in the last year but I do not go along with this way of thinking. While those who have passed since November 1, 2025 up to today do need more comforting and remembering them then those that have crossed over in other years/centuries past. The farther back in time you go to those who have crossed before the last year the more chance there is that they will be forgotten totally.
Hypothetically, if I crossed the veil 300 years ago and each generation after me talk about me less and less as each year passes soon I will be forgotten completely. This is one reason I have my Book of Shadows and Family Grimoire as one book that I hope keeps growing after I am gone. I have also placed pictures of ancestors at different ages as well as pictures of myself alone and with family members both ancestors and descents. In the section for ancestors I have included a picture of their headstone and where it can be found if I know.
So this Samhain when you are setting the extra place at the table for your ancestors to join your family in celebration, light a candle for each ancestors name, or however you choose to honor your ancestors (remember an ancestor does not have to be blood related they can be anyone in your life that help to mold you or a family member into the person you or they are today.) Set one more place, light one more candle, or whatever your tradition to remember your ancestors is for those who names have been forgotten since the first Homosapien of any branch of the human gene pool lived.
I implore you all to remember that we all can trace our lineage back to this mish mash of a gene pool and that the energy that runs through us connects us to every other living thing and not just on Mother Earth but also in the Spirit World/Realm. So the next time you have a negative thought about someone in your family or friends circle for any reason at all remember you are also having that negative thought about yourself.
I picked this song to be included in this post because for me it helps me to remember those, female or male or other, who otherwise might be forgotten
