Samhain | All souls night | Festival of Remembrance - 31st October - 1st November

Samhain (pronounced Sah-wen) is possibly the biggest festival/sabbat of the Wiccan/Pagan year. It is a time to remember our loved ones who have passed on to the spirit world (Summerland) and celebrate their lives.

(The Summerland is the name given by Wiccans and some earth-based pagan religions for a place where our honorable lost loved ones reside in the afterlife).

At Samhain, it is believed that the veil between the physical world and the spirit world (Summerland) is at its thinnest. This means spirits of our passed loved ones can easily cross between realms and enter our world.

Originally known as the "Feast of the Dead” this sabbat was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them.

It is also now Summers end and time to prepare for Winter months ahead, it is the 3rd and final harvest of the year and it's time to celebrate all that has been accomplished over the year. Earth falls into slumber, as the nights lengthen and winter begins.

Activities/ways to celebrate:

Make an Ancestors Altar Honor your departed loved ones with this ceremony. Gather photographs, heirlooms and other mementos of passed loved ones, family, friends, or even pets. Arrange them on a table, dresser, or other surfaces, along with several small candles. Light the candles in their memory; while you do so, speak their names out loud and express well wishes and thank them for being part of your life or lineage.

We also offer a hand made, soy wax Memorial Candle, to light in memory of your lost loved ones, For more information on this product, please click the image. Samhain Feast No sabbat is complete without a feast! Lay a place or two at your table and some food for those that you are remembering and place a photograph of your passed loved one nearby to invite them to join you on this day. Nature Walk Take a meditative walk in a natural area near your home. Observe and contemplate the colors, aromas, sounds, and other sensations of the season. Gather some natural objects and upon your return use them to adorn your home. Carve Pumpkins and turnips This was originally a pagan tradition; they were carved with spooky faces and left outside houses to scare away negative spirits and discouraged them from entering your home. Set Up A Samhain Altar If you’re new to the pagan tradition and don’t have a permanent altar in place, you can easily set up a table to leave in place for the three days prior to Samhain. Decorate the altar with symbols of late autumn, such as: • Harvest food such as pumpkins, squash, root vegetables • Nuts and berries, dark breads • Dried leaves and acorns • A cornucopia filled with an abundance of fruit and veggies • Mulled cider, wine, or mead Visit a Cemetery

Another way to honor the passing of family and friends is to visit and tend their gravesite at a cemetery. Call to mind memories and consider ways the loved one continues to live on within you. Place an offering there such as fresh flowers, dried herbs (rosemary is one great choice), or fresh water.

Bonfire Magick Kindle a bonfire outdoors when possible or kindle flames in a fireplace or a small cauldron. Write down a habit that you wish to end and cast it into the Samhain flames as you imagine release. Imagine yourself adopting a new, healthier way of being. Meditation

This is a good night for deep reflection and inner work. Meditation themes include: changes, transition, endings and beginnings. Food and drink: Roasted foods such as seasonal vegetables, potatoes and parsnips Corn - sweetcorn, popcorn, cornbread Apples - apple cake, apple pie, apple juice, apple cider Spiced wine, cider, and mulled wine/cider

Crystals for this sabbat: Black tourmaline - Black Tourmaline purifies your mind, body and spirit and absorbs anything you need to release. In this way, it is different from the usual energy clearing stone which uplifts your energy and fills you with positive vibrations. Smoky quartz - Smoky Quartz helps one ground themselves to Earth, in addition to opening up the root chakra and solar plexus. It’s the perfect stone for people who constantly find themselves with a wandering mind and an inability to focus. This stone is here to assist in not only clearing your mind but to allow you to be more level headed. Smoky Quartz can also help you find the drive and determination that sometimes feels lost in our daily lives. Obsidian - Black Obsidian gets rid of all the junk and cleanses all negativity out of your auric field and environment. This stone has powerful grounding frequencies and will heavily assist in psychic protection when needed. Obsidian also brings out all of our creative energies so that they may be intertwined and influence our every action.

Clear quartz - Clear Quartz is known as the "master healer" and will amplify energy and thought, as well as the effect of other crystals and brings the body into balance. Granite - Granite has meaning and properties of making your life rich. This gemstone would reduce negative energy that can be a trigger of misfortunes. It will reduce negative factors in your life and adjust to become positive at the end. It is a good gemstone to have when you want to prevent pessimistic and negative feelings Amber - Amber is worn for good luck and protection from evil. The orange and gold colors of Amber are known to stabalise stronger and higher energies in the body and can influence them by offering balance and protection. People use Amber to eliminate negative energies, eliminate fears, acquire patience and wisdom. It is a great antidote for the nervous or anxious individual, delivering a great sense of calm while enlivening the energy. (I like to carry the relevant crystals around with me, meditate with them or place them at my altar).

Seed Scattering Charm for the Ancestors

This simple charm is designed to honour the Spirit of those who have passed onto the Summerland. The seeds you scatter will grow in memory, a gift of remembrance to the Earth.

You will need:

A packet of seeds of your choice

A small dish

A small white tealight candle in a suitable holder (4 hour tealight)

A pouch or bag for the seeds

The night before you scatter the seeds, pop the seeds into the dish and light the tealight candle. Think about the person or people you wish to honour and remember, and as you do so say 'gone from sight but not from the heart. Merry Meet Merry Part.' Or you can use your own words. Leave the seeds in the dish overnight and let the tealight candle burn down completely - always taking safety precautions. When you are ready, place the seeds in your pouch and hold the pouch in your right hand on the way to a place of your choosing. On arrival take the seeds and scatter them, saying 'You are remembered and held in my heart'.

Where to do this? You can go to a favourite special place of your choice, a place that holds fond memories of the people you are honouring, or even your own garden - the idea of watching the seeds germinating and growing in honour of people you love is very special. The charm works just as well if you plant the seeds in a small pot.

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Any information displayed on our website is not regarded to be authoritative or certified as the best practice and is only considered to be useful supplementary advice to other certified codes of practice. All information on our website is updated regularly.