Samhain (SAH-win) was an important tradition for the Celt people, who believed that at this time of year, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest. They saw Samhain as an ideal time to honor their deceased ancestors and loved ones. Similar to Día de Los Muertos in Mexico and All Saints’ Day in Christian cultures, Samhain saw the Celts gathering around bonfires, sharing food and drink, and telling stories.
As a farewell to the harvest season’s gifts, it was time to prepare for the long winter ahead. Feasts were held in silence and darkness to honor those who had passed on. Just as it was a time to remember the dead, it was also time to celebrate the cycle of food that has sustained humanity since the beginning of time.
Some consider this Cross-Quarter the Witches’ New Year. It is the time when the harvest of summer is officially ended and the move to winter begins. It’s the time when light dims and the days get shorter and shift to more darkness until the longest night of the year before the solstice. The darkness is a time to go within and experience deep transformation.
History and Celtic Influence on Modern Day Halloween
The Celtic traditions of wearing costumes, collecting treats, and lighting pumpkins to ward off “Stingy Jack” have influenced many of today’s Halloween celebrations. Later the Christian religions, especially Catholicism influenced the date on the calendar since the Celtic tradition was to honor the departed or even help them on their afterlife journey.
Is Samhain a thing of the past? (Amanda Yates Garcia)
Questions for the Season
- What is ready to die within me? What do I need to release in order to transform?
- What do my shadows have to reveal? …
- How can I best nourish myself this season?
- What magic is brewing in the growing darkness?
- What message do my ancestors have for me tonight?
Symbols and Celebrations
Tarot for Samhain: Three Spreads for the Witches’ New Year
I observe the spinning wheel of time, the thinner veil of the other side.
Stepping out of this realm and into any newness I desire
Deeper into the knowing of self.
Deeper into awareness and appreciation of the temporary and this short precious chapter.
I burn what I no longer need.
I honor my ancestors and their gift of these blood bones.
I hold gratitude for the lessons in the shadows
and honor all that I have already shed and allowed to die.
The many deaths that feed rebirth.
-Emily Sakhila
The Power of Story 