Celebrate Samhain: Rituals for Baby Witches to Honor Seasonal Changes
Updated by Heather Lefebvre
Labor Day weekend is over, temperatures (might be) dropping, Virgo season is well underway, and the fall equinox is on the horizon. And you know what that means: Halloween––along with the Gaelic, witchy holiday Samhain––is right behind.
If you're looking for ways to explore your spirituality and celebrate Samhain this fall, here's what you need to know.
Is Samhain the same day as Halloween?
Yup! Samhain (pronounced SAH-win ) takes place on the night of All Hallows Eve, from sundown on October 31st to morning on November 1st. (At least in the Northern Hemisphere!)
In fact, many of our Halloween traditions today––like trick-or-treating, dressing in costumes, and giving out candy to children––derive from pagan Samhain celebrations among the Celts in Ireland and Scotland. Some of the customs celebrated during Dia de los Muertos in Mexico come from the same ancient Celtic roots!
But that doesn't mean that Samhain is "like Halloween for witches" or a pagan Day of the Dead. Keep in mind that Samhain was, and still is, a religious holiday, meant to mark the change of seasons. It's much closer to something like All Saints Day or All Souls Day––also religious holidays derived from Samhain––than the secular Halloween.
What is the significance of Samhain?
Samhain is the final holiday in the Wiccan and pagan Wheel of the Year, which celebrates the turning of seasons. Like its twin Beltane––the beginning of summer, and what we now call May Day––traditional Samhain celebrations took place over three days (October 31st–November 2nd) and were arguably the most important of the eight holidays, or sabbats , in the spiritual year.
Considered the witches' New Year, Samhain honors the end of the harvest season and the beginning of another long winter. And because the holiday celebrates the cycle of nature––when the growing and harvesting seasons must give way to winter, the season when everything dies in order to grow again––these pagan traditions also celebrated the cycle of life. On this night, ancient Celtic peoples believed the veil grew thinnest between the world of the living and the Otherworld of the dead.
To mark the occasion, Samhain (like its fellow Gaelic holidays Beltane, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh) held a seasonal fire festival. Community bonfires burned throughout the evening of October 31st, while at home, families maintained Samhain fires in the hearth overnight to keep their homes safe and protected from unwanted spirits.
How do pagans celebrate Samhain?
It's no surprise that this pagan holiday occurs around the same time of year as the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos. Like practitioners of Dia de los Muertos today, Gaelic (aka Irish) pagans sought to honor their deceased family members and loved ones on the night of Samhain. Popular Samhain rituals involved setting out autumnal foods like apples, mulled wine, cider, and little cakes as offerings for these ancestors, as well as holding a "dumb supper": an annual feast, held in silence, to invite their ancestors to join the family for dinner.
Alternatively, some Samhain celebrants used to talk to their ancestors at Samhain dinner, relaying the familial and local gossip of the past year to the spirits who had missed it.
In Ireland, they also believed that fairies––tiny troublemakers, rather than the fun, kind fairies we might think of today––could pass through the veil of the Otherworld on that night. So to distract these spirits from kidnapping or otherwise harming their ancestors, pagans often left offerings for them as well... and even dressed up as monsters to scare off particularly determined fairies.
You guessed it: that's where the Halloween traditions of dressing up and giving out candy come from. Some even say that the modern tradition of Mischief Night derives from those same pesky fairies!
How do I do a Samhain ritual? (And what is a ritual, anyway?)
Set at the time of year when the falling leaves kick into high gear, the winds grow colder, and––whatever the calendar might have to say about it––snow starts to fall, Samhain is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and the loved ones you may have lost.
If you're celebrating Samhain this year, keep in mind that Samhain can be as personal to you as your memories of family members who have passed. You don't need to wear anything special to celebrate, nor adhere to proscribed dogma. A Samhain ritual is what you make it.
After all, a ritual is nothing but a series of actions that mean something to you. So what means something to you? Here are a few ideas of different ways you could celebrate the season.
1. Create an altar for loved ones who have passed away
Clear a space on your coffee table, bookshelf, end table, mantel (if you have a fireplace), or anywhere else your family tends to congregate.
Collect mementos, photos, and any other items that remind you of late family members, then arrange them thoughtfully on your new altar. Add seasonal objects like acorns, apples, and pomegranates, herbs like rosemary and juniper, cozy fall drinks like mead and apple cider, and your loved ones' favorite foods.
If you've never built an altar before, or you're looking for spiritual altar items chosen specifically for this time of year, Box of Shadows can help. Each box of this eclectic magic subscription is inspired by modern paganism practices (whether you identify as Wiccan or otherwise) and follows the Wheel of the Year. Alternatively, if you'd identify more as "spiritual" than anything else, the Samhain ritual tools from Sacred Vibez might be more for you.
2. Light a candle... or a fire, if you can
Don't have a fireplace at home to light a Samhain fire in the hearth? No worries. Owl & Moon Apothecary has just what you need (and more): a handmade, wood-wick candle infused with crystals and poured just for Samhain.
Write down some reflections on what's happened in your life since the previous winter, your hopes for the coming year, or a prayer for a late loved one, then fold the paper and tuck it under your candle. Then, light the candle and meditate on what you have written until the candle burns down (or, if you're short on time, burns across evenly).
Want to practice candle magic more regularly? Take a look at the Triple Goddess Candle Company for crystal candles, essential oils, spiritual books, and more.
3. Invite friends over for a festive dinner
Have an autumnal potluck with your fellow baby witches––or just with your coven of besties. Decorate for the occasion with festive jack-o-lanterns and berry garlands, and serve mulled wine (if your guests drink) or cider (if not).
During dinner, make it a challenge to stay silent as long as you can. Alternatively, go around the table and talk about the family members and loved ones you miss.
After the feast, try your hand at a more overtly magical Samhain ritual with Rae Dunn Lovers Gold Plan , a kit of spiritual tools for every esbat or sabbat in the Wheel of the Year.
4. Gaze into the year ahead
Love tarot? Whether you're a seasoned pro or still learning the 78 cards of the Rider-Waite, Samhain is a great opportunity to practice your skills. Many pagan practitioners like to celebrate the new year with intuitive rituals such as scrying, tarot, or other forms of divination.
Shuffle your tarot deck (perhaps a special-edition Halloween tarot deck from Nine of Earth ?) as you like, then pull 12 cards and place them in a circle clockwise. The twelve o'clock card represents the month of November, and the subsequent cards represent the following months in cyclical order; the last card will symbolize next October. Write down the meaning of each card in a notebook, then journal about your intentions and hopes for the coming year.
5. Perform a protection spell
For ancient Celtic pagans, the patrons of Samhain were the Horned God and the Crone, masculine and feminine representations of nature. (Think deer horns, not demonic, and kind elderly grandma, not so much an evil hag.) If you're interested in exploring the divine, you might call on one or either of these patrons––or just, you know, call on the Universe––to keep your home safe and warm this winter.
Spiritual subscription box Sage and Amethyst is offering a kit curated for Samhain this October, with a protective spell jar, ritual oil, crystals, the tools for two more rituals, and more. Alternatively, you can find all the spells and potions you need with Awakening in a Box 's October edition.
6. Do what feels right
Not loving any of these ideas? That's totally fine. Ultimately, how you choose to celebrate Samhain (or any sabbat) is up to you.
Remember, modern witchcraft is all about personalizing your practice to what feels right for _you_––you're the witch here. Let your intuition be your guide. And have a safe and happy Samhain!
