O C T O B E R || HALLOWEEN || Samhain Self-Care Ritual Toolkit

On October 31st we celebrate Samhain, the third and final harvest festival that marks the beginning of the dark, cold winter that we’ve been preparing for since Lughnasadh in August.

For early Europeans, this final preparation required the flocks to be brought in from the fields to either live in sheds until spring or be slaughtered to provide food for winter.

Thus, it is known as the meat harvest.

We’ve been saying goodbye to Summer for months, but Samhain (pronounced "SAW-win" or "SAW-vane") is quite literally the Gaelic word for "Summer's end." Falling midway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, Samhain welcomes the short days, long nights, and cold months ahead, for this is how the wheel of the year turns. To attempt to stop the wheel and cling to sunlight and warm weather may seemingly prevent the death of the year, but would in turn prevent the glorious rebirth in spring as well. We cannot welcome and celebrate one without welcoming and celebrating the other.

Ancient cultures found Samhain to be a very potent time for magic and communion with spirits. The "veil between the worlds" of the living and the dead was said to be at its thinnest on this day, so the dead were welcomed in from the cold and invited to return to feast with their loved ones.

“The doors of the sidhe-mounds are open, and neither human nor faery need any magickal passwords to come and go.”

Ancient customs honoring this opportunity range from placing food out for dead ancestors to performing rituals to communicate with those who have passed over.

We’re no longer harvesting roots for medicine, as the ground will soon be frozen in many parts if it isn’t already. But we still have evergreens like conifers and rosemary to call upon for fresh use. We are midway through Autumn, so are still associated with the Earth element and its grounding, protective nature. Plants traditionally associated with Samhain are rosemary, apples, chrysanthemums, marigolds, mugwort, and pine.

As we continue Grounding down into the Earth for 6 more weeks, this season’s kit will call awareness to being present in our physical Body, as well as honoring and appreciating our ancestors and loved ones who have passed through the veil.

↬ Veil Herb Tea
Rosemary, Cinnamon, Ginger, & Clove brew a warming and spicy potion to amplify loving communication with ancestors, or simply enjoy as a tasty Autumnal tea.

↬Veil Spirit Bath

Carefully blended chrysanthemum, rosemary, mugwort, and cinnamon are burned to honor ancestors during Samhain and Autumn. 

Incorporate these herb anointed candles into your Samhain celebrations, ritual, and/or altar to invoke strength, healing, positivity, and protection during this transitional time.

4", 1.5 hr burn time.