Samhain
The Celtic New Year, October 31st is the night where the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world is at its thinnest.
Pronounced "sow-in" (with the "ow" as in "cow"), Samhain is also called Halloween, Hallowmas or Hallow's Eve.  It is Irish Gaelic for "summer's end."  The dead are honored on this night, and many use it to divine.

Ritual Actions

Leave a plate of bread and wine or cider as an offering to those who have passed on.  Samhain is a night to divine, to move across the veil into the other world. Pumpkins are carved and costumed trick-or-treaters go door to door to collect
candy in exchange for frightening off evil spirits.

Symbols and Colors

Red and black are the colors of Samhain.  The altar may be covered with fall leaves, pomegranates, a gazing crystal or scrying bowl.  Pumpkins and apples are its traditional food, as well as beets, turnips, corn, nuts, cider, and mulled wines.

The Celebration
Purify yourself with a ritual bath or annointment.  Purify your ritual space, and set up the altar.  Cast the circle and invoke the Goddess and the God.




This is the night when the veil that divides the worlds is thin.  It is the new year, when the last harvest is gathered and the fields lie fallow.  The gates of life and death are opened the Sun Child is conceived, the dead walk, and to the living is revealed the Mystery: that every ending is but a new beginning.

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Magic may be performed, or if you prefer, meditate.  Remember and honor the dead and thank the Goddess and God for attending your rite.  End the celebration with a simple feast and release the circle.

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