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Seasonal decoration
Decorate your home with fall symbols - pumpkins, gourds, dried grasses, coloured leaves, and also traditional Halloween icons. Write out small cards explaining what these things symbolise and tuck into the decorations. If you have kids this is a great time to discuss Halloween symbolism and the real meanings.
~ submitted by submitted by Frigga's Weft
Soul Cakes
The term 'soul cake' refers to an early Middle Ages custom called souling. On All Souls' Day people walked from house to house begging for soul cakes - a bread pudding topped with currants in England and an oat cake in Scotland (which retained oat-based foods a lot longer than England). For each piece they received they would offer prayers on the behalf of that home's dead as a way to help the dead leave limbo and travel to Heaven (prayers were believed to speed up the process). It is likely the soul cake originated in sowens - a sort of oat porridge boiled down to a jelly-like substence and served with honey, wine, milk, or ale. Robert Burns mentioned sowens as a traditional food on Halloween shared with passers-by. Other texts indicate it had a place at Yuletide and during spring festivals as well. In many tales sowens figures as the food offered to strangers or left out for the dead. The spelling of the word itself is English (derived from the Gaelic sughan) and there is a strong argument that it is actually Samhaine spelt phonetically. There is a case for considering sowens to be a ritual Samhaine food, an offering to the dead and to visitors, and potentially the source of soul cakes.
Sowens was also a feature of the New Year feast (in January) where it was not only a common gift by the 'first foot' to visit, but also sprinkled over threshholds and windows by the first-foot. This suggests a sacrificial or protective rite and makes a very appropriate addition to the walking of the watch on Samhaine.
~ submitted by Callum Mostyn
Halloween Mirror scrying
Sit by a window with a mirror and let the moon's rays fall upon it at midnight. Cut an apple into 9 pieces and pick up each piece with the point of a knife before eating it. Watch the mirror to see if your true love's image appears over your left shoulder as you raise the last piece.
~ submitted by submitted by Catherine M.
Apple Bobbing
Apple bobbing symbolizes the quest to find and eat the apple of the after life, immortality, or knowledge (depending upon your Path). Fill a large tub with water and place a dozen medium-sized apples in the water. With your hands behind your back, try and capture an apple with only your teeth. Any apple caught should be sliced in half (crosswise) to reveal the 5-pointed star of Ishtar, goddess of life, death, and fertility...and then eaten.
~ submitted by submitted by Bill W.
Witch Slices
Cut an apple crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices. Dip the slices in lemon juice and arrange on a platter with a small bowl of honey (for dipping).
~ submitted by submitted by Bill W.
Fall Leaves Incense
Take a mirror and some sentimental relics (associated with the dead) outside. Lay out the mirror, surrounded by the relics, and let the moon's rays fall upon them at midnight. Sitting before the display, cut an apple into 9 pieces. Pierce each piece with the knife, pick it up, and eat it - all the while gazing into the mirror. After eating the ninth piece, use the mirror to scry for messages from those who have travelled to the Apple Isle.
- 1/4 tsp powdered allspice
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp clove powder
- 1/4 tsp myrrh (small resin chunks)
- 2 tbsp rose petals
~ submitted by submitted by Josh P.
How To Use Charcoal Blocks To Burn Incense
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Witch's cord
Take three silk cords of about 3 foot each (using three colors that hold significance to your hopes for the year). Tie one end together, making a loop and then braid the cord. Recite your hopes and dreams as you go. Add items if you wish (such as feathers, beads, bells, etc). Finish with three knots for the past, present, and future.
~ submitted by submitted by Cherie.
Samhaine Mirror Work
Take a mirror and some sentimental relics (associated with the dead) outside. Lay out the mirror, surrounded by the relics, and let the moon's rays fall upon them at midnight. Sitting before the display, cut an apple into 9 pieces. Pierce each piece with the knife, pick it up, and eat it - all the while gazing into the mirror. After eating the ninth piece, use the mirror to scry for messages from those who have travelled to the Apple Isle.
~ submitted by submitted by Catherine M.
Family
So often we focus only upon the dead at Samhaine. But they are not the only ancestors. This is the ideal time to reconnect with older family. Take the children, sit, and listen - encourage them to talk about family history. Look at photo albums and hear about other family you never knew. Encourage your children to get to know these people - and continue visiting even when Samhaine is long gone.
This is a time to reconnect and strengthen ties...with the living as well as the dead.
~ submitted by submitted by Catherine M.
Samhaine Rite
- candle in a candle-holder
- paper
- pencil
- altar with a cauldron
- wine and cakes
This is a simple ritual that can be included at the end of the Samhaine ritual (or be the full ritual in itself). After the circle is cast, the quarters called, and the deities invoked, the HP should make a statement as to the meaning of Samhaine, what the rite will involve, and why. Then everyone should sit in a circle, holding hands. Keep children on laps.
Extinguish all light and spend some moments contemplating the darkness - what does it mean to you? What does the coming winter mean? What did the last harvest mean? What is your own inner darkness? Do some self-examination and determine what things you should sacrifice and plow under this night in order to continue growing.
The HP lights a candle and passes it widdershins about the circle for all to use in lighting their own candle. Write or draw the things you intend to sacrifice. When everyone is ready, the group should stand and one by one take the paper offerings to the altar. Place them within the cauldron. (Make sure you take your candle with you).
Led by the HP offer a prayer to the God and Goddess offering up your sacrifices - and then the HP lights the paper. As the fire dies down pass around the cake and wine (leaving an offering upon the altar).
Once the rite is complete, thank the deities and quarters and uncast the circle.
~ submitted by Christine
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Let the night fall - for i am not afraid of the dark,
or of imaginary evils, or of myself and my own power.
Let the night fall -
Let it come with its dreams...its mysteries...its wonders.
Let the night fall -
Let the goddess drape her scarves of black around me and clear the cauldron's surface...
so that i might remember
~ Lady Lissar.
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Winter Nights
Winter Nights is a variable date - around halfway between the two solstices, it is marked by the time when the real chill and darkness of winter strikes. For me that is close to the end of October so I usually combine it with the Halloween celebrations. Like Samhain, Winter Nights is a time to honour the dead and the ancestors. A plate is set at the table for them. Another plate is left outside for the Land Spirits and the Disir - the ancestral mothers. On the altar are laid out mementoes of the dead and stories are told throughout the day, remembering them. At supper a toast is offered as well.
~ submitted by submitted by Frigga's Weft
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Ancestor Ritual
- large black pillar candle and stand
- white tea candle
- white sand
- cauldron
- candles for the God and Goddess
- altar
- Cake and wine
Place the cauldron upon the altar and pour the sand into it. Place the black candle before the cauldron, the Goddess candle to the right, and the God candle to the left. Cast your circle, call the watchtowers, and invoke the deities.
The Goddess is in her Crone aspect and should be invoked as such - goddess of rebirth, of death, of the Summerlands. Invoke her and light her candle.
The God is in his Winter King aspect and should be invoked as such - god of winter, of sleep, of the Underworld. Invoke him and light his candle.
Light the black candle in honor of the dead. Call their names and offer them honour.
Invite the ancestors to the ritual, lighting the tea candle and placing it within the cauldron. Leave an offering of cake and wine on the altar and then share the remainder and remember the dead with stories, poems, and laughter.
Thank the ancestors, the deities, and the watchtowers, dismissing as appropriate. Open the circle.
~ submitted by submitted by cherie
Altars
Choose a central location (a table, a mantlepiece, or even the corner of a room). Cover it with seasonal symbols like pumpkins, fall leaves, pomegranates, and corn. Add pictures of your beloved dead on the altar and anything that reminds you of them. Add drawings, poems, and other items that speak to you.
~ submitted by submitted by Christine
Visiting
Whether it's Winter's Finding or Samhain, this is a time to remember the dead. On one of those perfect autumn days take your family and visit the cemetery. Tidy up the family graves (or those neglected ones that no one ever visits). Leave offerings and flowers. Take some time to sit and simply think about the cycle of life.
~ submitted by submitted by Avril H.
Food for the Dead
The pomegranate seed symbolizes rebirth and renewal in my religion - taken from the myth of Persephone and Hades. When we hold a ritual to remember the dead I leave out a plate on the alter containing 6 pomegranate seeds and a plate at the table containing the same. The altar represents the journey through the Underworld while the table represents the life lived. We eat the seeds at the table to show how even after death family lives on in those left behind and talk about the people we have lost. The seeds from the altar are buried in the soil so that they might be consumed by the dead and they might hear our prayers and remember us.
~ submitted by submitted by Iphegenia
Soul Lights
Carve the names or initials of your dead on a large white pillar candle and place it in a Western window to guide their souls home on Samhaine. Leave the window open so they can enter easily. Spread a clean white cloth over a table and lay out some of their favourite dishes. Include a cup of apple cider.
~ submitted by submitted by Callum.
Shrine for the Dead
Against the western wall of your home (the inside that is) create an altar and cover it with a black or white cloth. Place a mirror at the back with a white candle before it. Arrange photos and mementoes of those who have passed over within the recent past - including any non-relatives that you feel drawn to remember. Add apples, hazelnuts, autumn foliage, and a mug of ale. At sunset light the candle and spend some time in remembering the dead. Share stories if others are present.
~ submitted by submitted by Avril H.
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2004-2006