Blessings of Samhain- VIDEOS!

Samhain (pronounced sow-in) is the time where we observe the releasing energy of Gaia's cycle. On the wheel of the year, we are at the threshold of both the end of the energetic year and the beginning of the next. This time is the final exhale of the land's offering before it rests for the winter. Samhain is the portal of death that releases the old year to alchemize the birth of the new. It is the energetic initiation of winter, where life in the northern hemisphere turns inward and rests dormant before the sun will be "born again" to wax after Yule, the Winter solstice.

Samhain is the Celtic New Year, which is the time of the third and final harvest of the year. The bounty of the year is harvested and processed to keep for the winter. Anything left on the vine or tree after Samhain is left as an offering to the land so that it nourishes the soil and replenishes the spirits of the land.

Samhain holds the polar opposite energy of Beltane, the festival of fertility. These two polarities are the times of the year where the veils between the realms (of what is seen and unseen) are thinnest. At the time of Beltane, this creates the portal for life. At Samhain, it is the portal that ushers death. Both portals are deeply honored in the wheel of the year, for you cannot have one without the other.

The identification of Samhain with the beginning of the New Year comes from the Celtic tradition of each day beginning at sundown. Just as each sabbat festival begins on the eve of the celebrated day, so, too, does the year begin with the advent of winter Calendar Samhain begins on the evening of October 31st and Lunar Samhain is observed when the dark moon is in Scorpio as lunar Samhain. During this Samhain season, many practices are done to observe the changing of the seasons. Samhain marks the dusk of the year as the full expression of the darkness with a period of release, transmutation, and rest.

The dates for Samhain Season are:

Calendar Samhain - October 31st Lunar Samhain - New moon in Scorpio October 25th Solar Samhain - Sun is 15 degrees of Scorpio on Nov. 8th Pleiadian Samhain Sun opposite Pleiades - Nov 23rd (29 degrees Taurus)

Some of the symbols of Samhain are:

Black, orange, silver, and gold
Jack o' lantern
Pumpkins, squash, and gourds
Apples
Pomegranate
Cauldron
Ouroboros (serpent/dragon eating its tail, symbolizing death and rebirth)
The crone (crowned one) and the hag (the holy one)
Black cat
Raven and Crows
Bats
Scythe/Sickle
Skeleton, skulls, and bones
Spiders and webs
Brooms/ Magical Besom to sweep away the old year
Divination tools like mirror, pendulum, tarot, and oracle cards

Samhain practices:

Preparation for the winter- canning, storage, drying seeds, salting the food, mending the tools, prepare for the garden's rest for the winter
Wear a costume and/or go Trick or treating
Carve Jack-o-lantern and light candles to turn away unwanted spirits.
Bob for apples and make candy apples with the leftovers
Make your own besom (or magical broom) and "sweep away" and stagnant energy in your home.
Divination using water, mirror, tarot, or oracle cards to have the subconscious self reveal what you need to be aware of.
Develop your psychic skills.
Start a dream journal and interpret what the symbols in the dream mean to you.
Honor the ancestors by saying their names
Ask for blessings from loved ones who have crossed over.
Ancestral time, leave a plate of food for the ancestors at the table (see below)
Leave food and drink on your doorstep for wandering spirits
Offer the last of your garden crop to the spirit of the land
Can, freeze, and store the harvest of the season in preparation for Winter.
Put small pomegranates and pumpkins on your altar as the symbol of regeneration
Do a hearth and home protection ritual to create a boundary of health, harmony and security around your homestead and lands.
Decorate your space with black, grey, orange, silver, and dark-colored items, fabrics, & ribbons
Honor the darkness and the void space of possibilities by spending time outside, feeling the quiet and comfort it brings. Without darkness, there is no light.

If you’re fan of Halloween, then you probably know that there’s something different about Halloween night. Even before I practiced witchcraft, I could always feel the energy shift. I just didn’t realize that this was because October 31st is also called Samhain, which is a popular pagan holiday with a lot of meaning and energy.

You can host a dumb supper!

Here is some great information on that. https://www.learnreligions.com/feast-with-the-dead-2562707

A recipe for soul cakes: