Halloween, spooky season, shadow season, Samhain…whatever you prefer to call the delicious time of year when the days grow dark, the veil thins and Mother Nature prepares to rest, it’s pure magic.
I actually love the way ancient Samhain traditions (dating back to Celtic druids) have been modernized and adapted into Halloween, and so I bring elements of both into my personal celebration.
I shamelessly surround myself in standard spooky season (mostly storebought) orange & black décor. I bring out the ghosts, the skeletons, the jack-o-lanterns, the witches & goblins. I scent my home with apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice fragrance, and light the orange and white candles every night. It creates a truly enchanting ambiance of cozy magic, a feast for the senses.
And on the inside, I always feel there is much deeper alchemy happening. I’ve learned to give into my energy during this time of year. It gets dark at 6pm, and I feel ready for bed at 8pm, so I sleep. I feel the weight of clutter in my closets & cabinets, so I purge the items that haven’t gotten much use in the last year. I feel financially spent from a busy season of travel, home renovation, and personal self-care, so I take stock of what I already have and enjoy making the most of it. I feel like my passed-on loved ones are right next to me, so I honor them with offerings and speak to them more than usual.
My personal take is that Samhain is not just one night, or even two nights – for me it’s the simply the time when the veil is at its thinnest and the thriving, vibrant energy of Mother Nature wanes into the shadows. If that resonates with you, maybe you’re looking for a few new traditions to incorporate into your Halloween night or All Saints Day or Dia de los Muertos, etc etc.
- Honor the ‘Otherworld’
Bring out pictures of your beloveds that have passed on. Make a little altar for them, arranged with flowers, candles, crystals, and some of their favorite offerings. Incorporate anything they loved in this human life that their lack of physical senses might be missing in the spirit world: a decadent pastry, their brand of cigarette, a shot of tequila, a cup of coffee, a crispy fried chicken thigh – you get the idea.
It’s not just ancestors and human souls on the other side that we honor - this is actually one of the ways that Samhain has been Christianized. Traditional beliefs held that it was actually the nature spirits, the elementals, who could visit on Samhain night – fairies, gnomes, elves, goblins, demons, sprites and the like. They would enter our world to play pranks and cause mischief, unless we left them offerings of sweets. I’m pretty sure this is where trick-or-treating originated! So play dress up to blend in with the fairies, leave a saucer of milk and a cookie out as an offering, and if you’re feeling mischievous yourself, play a little trick on someone who’s a bit of a bah humbug on Halloween night.
2. Maximize your abundance
“Samhain” is a word derived from Old Irish ‘sam’ meaning summer and ‘fuin’ meaning end – literally meaning ‘summer’s end’. It’s traditionally celebrated as the third harvest (the first being Lammas, the second being Mabon). This is when the last of the root vegetables were pulled up from the Earth, the last of the tiny withering fruits were plucked from the trees and the weakest of herd who would not make it through a harsh winter would be butchered as food to last until spring.
In practical modern life, this looks like making soups from the withered carrots and runty potatoes left in your vegetable box. Making jams out of the almost freezer-burnt frozen fruit you swore to use for healthy smoothies back in June. Scrounging in your pantry to pretend you’re on an episode of ‘Chopped’ and have nothing but a jar of beets, a pouch of tuna, half-stale panko breadcrumbs and some dried mangoes to turn into a gourmet dinner. You’ll have fun, I promise! Really, it’s about making the most of what you’ve got & upcycling where you can. Turning your own scraps & trash into treasure, and if it can’t be transformed, consider donating it or recycling it. Which leads to…
3. Clear the clutter
As you get ready to spend most of your hours indoors, consider a deep clean of carpets, curtains, ceiling fans, bedding, vents, etc. Once the windows are closed, its just you, your heater and whatever funk has accumulated in your home since your last deep cleaning….which was spring, maybe? So disinfecting, de-griming, and dusting like you mean it will really feel refreshing.
And consider a big purge of anything you haven’t been able to find a use for in the last year, or more…. Especially with the holiday season around the corner, gifts and guests on the horizon, maybe make some space for the new to flow in.
4. Bless your thresholds
Anoint your doorways and windowsills with sacred oil blends and bless your entryways in whatever way feels right to you. I view doorways, windows and mirrors as portals, and as the veil is thinnest this time of year, use your magic to consecrate these spaces as sacred.
Mix some moon water in a spray bottle with a few drops of essential oil and drop in a crystal to charge the potion, then spray your entryways. I love a combination of sandalwood, palo santo and pine needle oil for thresholding, charged with obsidian (for clearing and protection) and rose quartz or green aventurine (for love).
5. Fire rituals
Bonfires are traditional in Samhain celebrations. In ancient times, Druids would light these huge and sacred fires to burn the carcasses of the animals that were butchered before winter (turning them to ash leaving nothing but the bone, literally ‘bone fire’). Fire destroys and purifies so that rebirth and creation can continue to thrive once more. Lighting a fire honors this eternal cycle of nature – birth, death, transformation, rebirth.
You can have a bonfire in your yard and invite your loved ones, or you can hold a sacred releasing ritual for just yourself to dissolve anything too burdensome to hold throughout the long, gray winter. You can do a purification ritual by burning herbs and anointing with oils, or you can do a protection ritual, inviting the light of the fire to burn within you even through the coldest nights. You can also practice fire scrying, and meditate while you gaze upon the flames of a small fire in your hearth or even just a candle burning. It’s a simple and pure ritual that you may find enjoyable, rewarding and magical!
This time of year is not about rest, its about preparing to rest. Gather everything you will need to feel safe, warm, cozy, comfortable and loved. As the nights grow longer, you’ll find yourself in a space of deep reflection and inner journeying, and it’ll be nice to have some soup premade in the freezer and an extra jar of jam for your toast. Less effort, more rest – that’s what comes next!
Blessed Samhain my loves!
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