Samhain

SAMHAIN RITUAL & SPELL

Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The veil between the spiritual and physical realm is at its thinnest, making this the perfect time for paying our respects to o...

The Veil is Thinning

Whenever our world is turned upside down, wherever there is a wound, or things go black and all is unknown, the veil thins. Wherever there is a vulnerability, a crack in our defenses, in our sureties ...

Samhain Lore (October 31st)

Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means ”End of Summer”, and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat. It is generally ce...

Samhain and the Return of the Dead

As we begin to approach Samhain, and the astronomical cross-quarter, I though I’d begin to post some traditions associated with this time of the year.One particular Samhain and Halloween custom ...

Samhain Spells, Blessings, and POWERFUL Forms of Divination

Every year, when Samhain rolls around, my urge to create, craft, and communicate with the spirits becomes almost too much to bear. So what do I do? I give in to the urge, of course! I cast Samhain spe...

Samhain Explained

Samhain is probably the best known - and misunderstood - pagan holiday. Irish Gaelic for “Summer’s End” Samhain (pronounced Soo-Ween) is an ancient Pagan celebration marking the end of the harvest sea...

The Spiritual Meaning of Fall

The air is beginning to get crisp and the leaves are making their final brilliant warm-toned offerings before falling to become one with the Earth. As we also make our way through Libra season (Septem...

Samhain. Ritual:

Solstices are the extreme points as Earth’s axis tilts toward or away from the sun—when days and nights are longest or shortest. On equinoxes, days and nights are equal in all parts of the world. Four...

The Jack-o’-lantern

The Jack-o’-lantern is carried by a drunkard named Jack. Jack sold his soul to the devil, so that the devil would pay his pub tab. When the devil returned from the pub to collect Jack’s soul, the man ...

Jack-o’-Lantern Spell

One of my favorite childhood memories is carving a jack-o’- lantern and setting it outside for the whole neighborhood to see. A jack-o’- lantern’s warm glow can imbue magical feelings and deter negati...

10 Ways to Use Pumpkins in Witchcraft

Long before Cinderella’s fairy godmother sent her bewitched pumpkin carriage careening towards a royal party under a reckless magic spell, this mythical fruit vined its way into the legend of witchcra...

Honouring The Graveyard

One of the easiest ways to feel the thinning of the veil and honor the dead is to visit a local graveyard. (Only visit a cemetery during posted visiting hours!) Walking the grounds and collecting tras...

A Halloween Caricature

Each year they parade her about, the traditional Halloween witch. Misshapen green face, stringy scraps of hair, a toothless mouth beneath her disfigured nose. Gnarled knobby fingers twisted into a cla...

Remember the forgotten this Samhain

Many people in the Pagan community take the opportunity to hold rituals honoring the dead. This may take the form of setting up an altar to honor the ancestors, or to hold a vigil for those who have c...

Witches Brew Recipe For The Witches New Year

Upon the coming of Samhain, the Witches New Year, it is tradition to craft a magickal witches brew, essentially a hot mulled wine made with red wine or apple cider, visionary herbs, spices of Samhain ...

Pagan Prayers for the Samhain Sabbat

Looking for prayers to celebrate the Pagan sabbat of Samhain? Try some of these, which honor the ancestors and celebrate the end of the harvest and the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Feel free to a...

Samhain Ritual for the Beginner Witch

Samhain, the final harvest festival of the year, marks the Witches New Year. The veil between worlds is at its thinnest, making this a good time to contact passed loved ones and do some divination. Sa...

Ancestor Altar: How to Create Sacred Space for Your Ancestors

If you’re beginning to develop a relationship with your ancestors, setting up an ancestor altar is essential. It gives you a place to connect on a regular basis. It serves as a reminder that your ance...

Jack O’ Lantern

Oh, he be a beast of a little man. Why that stingy old Jack O’ Lantern. Forever he shall be a lost soul as he wanders the realms of no mans lands.Neither heaven nor hell will let him in. Why, even the...

PÊLEN TÂN

Once Halloween has passed, it will be a good time to gather supplies for the construction of the PÊLEN TÂN so that it is ready for the Winter Solstice. “The old Welsh translation of the term PEL...

Samhain Is What You Make Of It

There always seems to be so much more Witchcraft and Paganism than usual at Samhain. Some of that is because there’s often just more to do. For many of us there are just more rituals to partake in, an...

An Offering Plate for the Ancestors

At Samhain, we invite our ancestors to share our feast with us and, naturally, we want the table to look nice for them. Just as we put out the “good china” when we invite the living to reunion dinners...

The Samhain Vow

In the old days and still for some, one of Winter’s vital tasks was to mend Summer’s tools—to mend the fishing nets, repair the hoe and shovel handles, and so on. Today, most of us don’t have that sor...

A Samhain Rite of Transformation Part 2

A solitary declares, or the coven’s Priestess and Priest share, the explanation of Samhain: This is the moment when the God’s grave becomes a womb, when He is no longer dead, but gestating. Now we no ...

A Samhain Rite of Transformation

A theme that unites Samhain’s aspects—harvest, reunion, and New Year’s—is transformation. This theme is so strongly at the core of this holiday that it has survived even into the secular celebration: ...

Hecate

For many Wiccans, Hecate is the goddess most associated with Samhain. (The pronunciation of her name varies. Some say Hehkah-tay, some say Heck-a-tay, and a very few say Heck-ate. Most of the Wiccans ...

Crossing the Vale.

A Vale in its simplest form is nothing more complicated than a doorway, on one side you have life and on the other you have death. It is believed by many that this literal doorway to the world of the ...

Morning Glory Muffins

1 1/4 cup sugar2 1/4 cup flour1 tablespoon cinnamon2 teaspoons baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 cup shredded coconut3/4 cup raisins4 large grated carrots (2 cups)1 apple, shredded8 ounces crushed pinea...

Golden Herb Rolls

2/3 cup milk1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine1/4 cup water4 cups all-purpose flour, divided1/3 cup granulated sugar1 package quick-rising yeast2 teaspoons dried savory leaves, crushed1 teaspoon sa...

Apple Spread

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened1 c. grated cheddar cheese1/4 c. mayonnaisedash of sugar1 c. chopped apple with peel1/2 c. chopped celery1/2 c. chopped pecans Mix together the cream cheese and ched...

Apple Muffins

2 cups self rising flour1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup brown sugar1 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1 cup chopped dried apple*1 egg3/4 cup milk1/4 cup vegetable oil Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 1...

Apple Bread

1/2 c. margarine3/4 c. sugar2 eggs1 tsp. vanilla2 c. flour1 tsp. soda1/2 tsp. salt1/3 c. sour milk or orange juice1 c. chopped cooking apples (no need to peel)1/3 c. chopped walnuts In mixer, cream ma...

Apple Sauce Loaf

1/2 c. shortening1 c. sugar2 eggs1 3/4 c. flour1 tsp. salt1 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. soda1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. nutmeg1 c. applesauce1/2 c. nuts Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and ...

Samhain Rites and Rituals for a Hedgewitch

As this is the time when the veils between the worlds are thin, the Hedge Druid’s Craft concerns working with the ancestors and the Fair Folk at this time of the year. She can travel to the Lower worl...