Category: Samhain
Special Edition of Witchcraft/Magickal Correspondences, Rituals and Other Things for Samhain
Symbolism: death and regeneration, transformation, end of old projects, new beginnings, return, change, rest, success, plenty, knowledge
Symbols: skulls, bats, cats, leaves, nuts, seeds, barren trees and branches, pumpkins, cauldron, pentacle, crystal ball, besom or broom, witch’s hat, moon, crows/ravens, ghosts, goblins, banshees, candy/caramel apples, chocolate, Jack-o-Lanterns, costumes, Trick-or-Treats, Death, acorns, bones, gourds, scarecrowsColors: black, orange, red, silver, gold, brown, purple, yellow
Food and Drink: apples, cider, pork, hazelnuts, pomegranates, pumpkins, potatoes, squash, cranberries, turnips, beets, mugwort tea, ale, mulled wine, pies/cakes for the dead
Herbs: apple leaf, almonds, bay leaf, nettle, hemlock, cloves, cinnamon, mandrake root, marigold, mums, mugwort, pine, rosemary, sage, wormwood, tarragon, rue, garlic, ginger, hazelnut, allspice
Deities: Hekate, The Crone, Cerridwen, Bast, Persephone, Horned Hunter, Cernunnos, Osiris, Hades, Anubis, Loki, Arawn, Dis, and any other death/underworld god or goddess
Crystals and Gemstones: black obsidian, jasper, onyx, bloodstone, smoky quartz, carnelian,
Animals: cats, especially black cats, bats, spiders, rats, wolves, snakes, ravens and crows, owls, stags, jackals, scorpions
Magic: This is the time to honor the dead. Set up an altar, serve them cakes, and let them know they are not forgotten. If you wish to communicate with deceased friends and family, this is the best time of year. The veil thins the night of Samhain, making communication easy. Do NOT, however, entice spirits, disrespect them, or perform any other magic that is anything less than respectful. I repeat, don’t do it. Samhain is also a great time to practice divination in the form of runes, scrying, tarot, tea readings, etc. Reflect over the previous year and perform blessing spells to ring in the new year. Astral projection, lucid dreaming, and hedge riding are also much easier to perform on this night but remember to be safe. Banishing magic, especially those for bad habits, are especially strong on this night.
Please note this is not a complete list but a brief overview of symbols, colors, herbs, deities, and the like. If I have missed something that you feel should make the list, please feel free to contact me via the comments or through email.
Click her for more ideas from Zenned Out for Samhain Rituals and Correspondences
The ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), celebrated on October 31st and November 1st, marks the end of our seasonal cycle on the Wheel of the Year. This is why it’s often referred to as the witch’s New Year. Seasonally speaking, Samhain is the third and final harvest of the season or the last rally to store and prepare for the coming Winter season.
This sacred celebration reaches much farther than harvests and is also a time when the veil between the physical and spirit world is at its thinnest. The Celtic people believed that spirits walked among them during this time, so Samhain is accepted as an ideal time to communicate and connect with the spirit realm. Here’s a fun drawing I created with ritual suggestions for Samhain. Keep scrolling to learn more about each one.
From PaganPages.org Samhain Correspondences By Jennifer Wright
Free Pagan Magazine
Other Names:
celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced “sow” (rhymes with now) “en” (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) – “mh” in the middle is a “w” sound – Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) – Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) – Apr 30-May 1 – The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Halloween, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead (Mexican), Witches New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All Souls, Nos Galen-gae-of Night of the Winter Calends (Welsh), La Houney or Hollantide Day, Sauin or Souney ( Manx), oidhche na h-aimiléise-the night of mischief or confusion(Ireland), Oidhche Shamna (Scotland)
Rituals:
End of summer, honoring of the dead,scrying, divination, last harvest, meat harvest
Incense:
Copal, sandalwood, mastic resin, benzoin, sweetgrass, wormwood, mugwort, sage, myrrh or patchouli
Tools:
Besom, cauldron, tarot, obsidian ball, pendulum, runes, oghams, Ouija boards, black cauldron or bowl filled with black ink or water, or magick mirror
Stones/Gems:
Black obsidian, jasper, carnelian, onyx, smoky quartz, jet, bloodstone
Colors:
Black, orange, red
Symbols & Decorations:
Apples, autumn flowers, acorns, bat, black cat, bones, corn stalks, colored leaves, crows, death/dying, divination and the tools associated with it, ghosts, gourds, Indian corn, jack-o-lantern, nuts , oak leaves, pomegranates, pumpkins, scarecrows, scythes, waning moon
Foods:
Apples, apple dishes, cider, meat (traditionally this is the meat harvest) especially pork, mulled cider with spices, nuts-representing resurrection and rebirth, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, squash.
Goddesses:
The Crone, Hecate(Greek), Cerridwen(Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod(Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Al-Ilat(persian), Bast (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Hel(Norse), Kali(Hindu), all Death & Otherworld Goddesses
Gods:
Horned Hunter(European), Cernnunos(Greco-Celtic), Osiris(Egyptian), Hades (Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis(Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), acrificial/Dying/Aging
Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods
Herbs and Flowers:
Almond, apple leaf , autumn joy sedum, bay leaf, calendula, Cinnamon, Cloves cosmos, garlic, ginger , hazelnut, hemlock cones, mandrake root, marigold, mums, mugwort (to aid in divination), mullein seeds, nettle, passionflower, pine needles, pumpkin seeds, rosemary (for remembrance of our ancestors), rue, sage, sunflower petals and seeds, tarragon, wild ginseng, wormwood
Animals:
Stag, cat, bat, owl, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, robin
Mythical Beings:
Pooka, goblin,medusa, beansidhe, harpies
Essence:
Magick, plenty; knowledge, the night, death & rebirth, success, protection; rest, new beginning; ancestors; lifting of the veil, mundane laws in abeyance, return, change
Dynamics/Meaning:
Death & transformation, Wiccan new year,wisdom of the Crone, end of summer, honoring, thinning of the veil between worlds, death of the year, time outside of time, night of the Wild Hunt, begin new projects, end old projects
Work:
Sex magick, release of bad habits, banishing, fairy magick, divination of any kind, candle magick, astral projection, past life work, dark moon mysteries, mirror spells (reflection), casting protection , inner work, propitiation, clearing obstacles, uncrossing, inspiration, workings of transition or culmination, manifesting transformation,creative visualization, contacting those who have departed this plane
Purpose:
Honoring the dead, especially departed ancestors, knowing we will not be forgotten; clear knowledge of our path; guidance, protection, celebrating reincarnation
Rituals/Magicks:
Foreseeing future, honoring/consulting ancestors, releasing the old, power, understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination, dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall
Customs:
Ancestor altar, costumes, divination, carving jack-o-lanterns, spirit plate, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts, fairs, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apple games, tricks, washing clothes
Element:
Water
Gender:
Male
Threshold:
Midnight
From Plentiful Earth – How to pronounce Samhain
Popularized by Wicca, Samhain is a celebration that occurs around the same time as Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, and Day of the Dead — on or around October 31. This wonderful day is often celebrated as a time to commune with our ancestors and the passing spirits, as the veil between the worlds has become its thinnest. The festival of Samhain is easily most Witches’ favorite Sabbat of the year, a fact we can all agree on. However, it’s easy to strike up a war of the Witches when it comes to saying the word out loud!
We know first hand, as American Witches in the United States, how embarrassing it can be to read the ancient Gaelic word as “Sam-hayne” on paper when we’re learning and then try to say it in front of seasoned coven-mates! We’re here to save you some red cheeks and give you the confidence to talk about your favorite holiday out loud! The good news? There are 3 ways to pronounce this ancient Celtic, each from a different region of its birthplace!
3 Correct Samhain Pronunciations
How to pronounce Samhain – Video
How to pronounce Samhain in Irish Gaelic
- Sow-in
How to pronounce Samhain in Welsh
- Sow-een
How to pronounce Samhain in Scottish Gaelic
- Sav-en
Now, pick your favorite way and say it with pride, Witch!
Remember what is not harvested by Samhain needs to be left in the fields, tress, bushes, ectara for the wild animals to forge over the cold months.
Wish you all a safe, blessed, and happy Samhain.
[2021] Popular and Practical Samhain Rituals and Traditions
From WitchJournal.com
Beloved Samhain night is just around the corner. This time of the year is definitely the most magical and witchy of all other seasons. Below you can find information on Samhain Rituals, Traditions, and History. Are you going to try any of them?
What is Samhain?
A Very Happy and Blessed Samhain to All
Samhain Correspondences – Printable
Samhain (Samain) – The Celtic roots of Halloween
As millions of children and adults participate in the fun of Halloween on the night of October 31st, few will be aware of its ancient Celtic roots in the Samhain (Samain) festival. In Celtic Ireland about 2,000 years ago, Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). At Samhain the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through.
The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. People wore costumes and masks to disguise themselves as harmful spirits and thus avoid harm. Bonfires and food played a large part in the festivities. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into a communal fire, household fires were extinguished and started again from the bonfire. Food was prepared for the living and the dead, food for the ancestors who were in no position it eat it, was ritually shared with the less well off.
Christianity incorporated the honouring of the dead into the Christian calendar with All Saints (All Hallows) on November 1st, followed by All Souls on November 2nd. The wearing of costumes and masks to ward off harmful spirits survived as Halloween customs. The Irish emigrated to America in great numbers during the 19th century especially around the time of famine in Ireland during the 1840’s. The Irish carried their Halloween traditions to America, where today it is one of the major holidays of the year. Through time other traditions have blended into Halloween, for example the American harvest time tradition of carving pumpkins.
Two hills in the Boyne Valley were associated with Samhain in Celtic Ireland, Tlachtga and Tara. Tlachtga was the location of the Great Fire Festival which begun on the eve of Samhain (Halloween). Tara was also associated with Samhain, however it was secondary to Tlachtga in this respect.
The entrance passage to the Mound of the Hostages on the Hill of Tara is aligned with the rising sun around Samhain. The Mound of the Hostages is…
For Your Listening PLeasure – Samhain
Let’s Have Some Fun – Samhain
Projects to Celebrate Samhain, the Witches’ New Year
As Samhain approaches, you can decorate your home with a number of easy craft projects. Start celebrating a bit early with these fun and simple ideas that honor the final harvest, and the cycle of life and death
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Pagan Treat Bags for Samhain
Do you have Pagan kids coming over for a Samhain event? You can have a kid-friendly celebration by putting together a goodie bag that’s representative of your Pagan spirituality. The key here is to do some creative, outside the box thinking. Sure, there are a ton of Halloween decorations in the store at this time of year, but not all of those are really connected with Pagan religious belief systems. They’re really more about the secular celebration of Halloween, which is fine, unless you’re looking for kid-friendly stuff that honors Pagan spirituality.
Here are a few things to try:
- Decorate the bags themselves with symbols that are meaningful to you – depending on the pantheon your group honors, you might include designs that are associated with Greek, Roman, Celtic, or Norse mythology.
- Small herbal sachets: sew herbs into a fabric pouch. Use lavender to help with dreams, or other appropriate plants.
- Crystals and gemstones: As long as the kids attending your event are beyond the put-everything-in-your-mouth stage, you could include rose quartz for love, hematite for protection, and more.
- A Portable Altar Kit: Depending on how old the kids are, think about making an altar box that fits in a backpack or pocket. This might not be useful or safe for really young children, but older tweens and teens could use it responsibly.
- Divination tools: make a simple pendulum with a stone wrapped in wire and attached to the end of a chain. Add a simple divination set by painting symbols on stones or wooden discs.
- Wands: Make a simple wand with a stick and a crystal wrapped in wire.
- Deity symbols: Does your tradition honor a particular god or goddess? Consider adding representative symbols – owls for Athena, cats for Bastet, or an antler for Cernunnos. Try printing out a wallet-size image of the deity on heavy cardstock, add a prayer to your god/dess on the reverse side, and laminate it.
Finally, remember, Samhain is the same day as Halloween, so never underestimate the power of a few strategically placed pieces of delicious candy!
Click here for more craft ideas for Samhain from learnreligions.com
Flashback 2004 Samhain
Expect the unexpected if you celebrate Samhain – the Celtic New Year – on All Hallows Eve: the planets bring a lot of energetic talk and chaos, and the resultant noise will add exuberance to the ritual. Look for psychic dreams on astrological Samhain, November 6; your intuition will be in top form if you do readings at ritual. The power is the strongest it has been in several years.
This is the sabbat for wearing your witchy black. Clean the house, including the hearth, from top to bottom; the garden also needs to be prepared for the winter by this date. Lay new fires. Fest with your family and set places for your ancestors. Cleanse divination tools (cards, crystals, runes) and rededicate them to the Goddess. For the last harvest festival, put apples, nuts, acorns, and squashes on the altar, and add pictures of the family members you are missing.
Using fresh harvested hazel nuts, make a wreath with nine nuts (three times three) to protect your house from fire and lightening. Offer thanks to the river gods or the gods of the sea, and remember to honor the goddess Hecate.
By K. D. Spitzer in Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook 2004 Page 63
Samhain
From History.com
CONTENTS
- Ancient Samhain
- Samhain Monsters
- Myths of Samhain
- Samhain in the Middle Ages
- Dumb Supper
- Christian Samhain
- Samhain Merges With Halloween
- Wicca and Samhain
- Celtic Reconstructionists
- Sources
Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. In modern times, Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”) is usually celebrated from October 31 to November 1 to welcome in the harvest and usher in “the dark half of the year.” Celebrants believe that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down during Samhain, allowing more interaction between humans and denizens of the Otherworld.
READ MORE: Halloween: Traditions, Rituals, Origins
Ancient Samhain
Ancient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered.
After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priests…
Samhain Celebration Guide
To read more about celebrating Samhain please click on this link
From Plentiful Earth – Northern and Southern Hemispheres Samhain
MAGICKAL 🍂SAMHAIN
By: Forest🐾Devi✨ (Novice in the Heart’s Spirit Coven)
Voices from the spirit world whisper in the wind.
Tonight two worlds come ever closer the curtain waivers thin.
Hear the crackle of the flames burning in the hearth, while loved ones in the Summerlands
Return to walk the earth.
We welcome in the new year, a time to shed our skin.
With gratitude for lessons learned the future ushers in.
As entities from other worlds come feast with us again.
All commenced in celebration of MAGICKAL Samhain
Calling Your Ancestors
I am blessed to work with to Archangel Suriel (a.k.a. Sariel), who helps people and other
living things that are stuck on this plain, for whatever reason, to accept their death and get
ready to cross to the Spirit Plane. I also work with Archangel Zlar, who crosses the Spirits from this plain to the
next The Spirit Plain is known by the name The Summerlands to many Witches and Wiccans.
In simpler terms, I am a medium an ability I was honored enough to be born with.I have to keep permanent protection shields up all the time so I can eat, sleep and live life without constantly hearing the voices of Spirits wanting to pass a message on to someone. While I am very grateful for the honor of the Archangels using me for this task; if I leave myself open all the time it can become unbearable to live with.
Many people are born with or are given this “gift” but do not know they have it or choose to ignore it. If someone ignores it just like any other talent not used it will wither and become dormant. If you may think you have this gift it can come to you in many ways. Some of which are: hearing voices, seeing someone/something out of the corner of your eye and when you turn your head no one is there, having consistent dreams of people who have crossed over (died) are the most common signs of this ability. One thing to always remember is if you have this ability that it is the Archangels mentioned above using you to help with their work and it is an honor to have this gift and yes, it can feel like a curse at times also..
This is spell can be used anytime you would like an Ancestor to visit or just on Samhain. I have written it two
different ways, one to invite them anytime you would like them near, and the other for on
Samhain (Pronounced Sow-en. Falls on October 31st when the veil between ours and the
Spirit plain is at its thinnest.).
Many covens set aside a portion of time during their Samhain celebration for members to call their ancestors into the circle to feast and celebrate with them. How this part of the Samhain celebration and ritual is done varies from coven to coven based on how the leader chooses to do it.
I found that I preferred even when I was with a coven that I liked talking and visiting with my ancestors alone. No special reason just personal preference.
What you need:
1 Birthday or short Candle for each Ancestor
A container with sand in it (I use an old metal pie plate)
Hot pad (to set container on to protect surface of what you set pie plate on)
Spell for any time use:
I invite _____ (fill in name of person you wish to contact) to come visit when I light this
candle one.
To visit and return to whence you came when your candle is done.
So mote it be.
Spell for Samhain:
I invite the Spirits I call upon to come to me one by one. (Light 1 candle each time you say
a name and place it in the sand)
Visit and return from whence you came when your candle is done.
So mote it be
After doing the spell spend some time just sitting quietly and thinking of the people you have summoned. They may just want to spend some time with you also and/or have a message for you or someone in your life. Ancestors are not just blood relatives that have crossed over they include anyone in your life that has had some type of impact on it. One of my favorite people to spend time with is an oil painting teacher I had when I was twelve years old. She was a very patient and sweet woman who help me through painting deal with my father’s crossing.
Copyright 2013 Lady Beltane
Sinister Solar System From NASA
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Witches Of The Craft® 
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