Witch Joseph’s Tips and Suggestions for Samhain

Witch Joseph’s Tips and Suggestions for Samhain


Oh how we Witches and Magic(k) people love Samhain, when the veil thins and the air seems to swarm with the Spirits of our ancestors and our beloved Dead come to commune with us…and all our Spirit allies seem even closer than They normally do…truly the Season of the Witch.

Samhain is generally celebrated on October 31st and is considered the Witches New Year.  (Many Witches celebrate Samhain by observing when the Sun transits 15 degrees Scorpio, which they consider to be true Samhain…it has become my practice to mark both and to regard Samhain generally, like the other cross quarter days, as “seasons”)  The name Samhain (pronounced “Sow-win”) and is Gaelic meaning “summer’s end”…and is a continuation of ancient Celtic traditions in modern forms.  It is believed that the veil separating the material world from the spirit world is at it’s thinest at this time…and is also regarded as the 3rd Harvest festival in the wheel of the year, when we prepare to enter the dark months and the Winter.  (Some cultures only conceptualized 2 seasons, summer and winter marked in some places by the celebrations of Samhain and Beltaine).

Here are some of our suggestions for celebrating this Season…at the end of this blog is a ritual suggestion…for honoring the dead on the night of Samhain.

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Communication with the Spirit World

One of the simplest methods of Spirit communication is with a Pendulum, which is a favorite divination tool of many.  After purifying and consecrating the pendulum, according to your traditions, sit near your Ancestor shrine or in front of your altar, preferably during the quiet dark nights of the season.  Ask the Pendulum to show you a yes answer.  Ask for a no answer.  Ask for an inconclusive answer.  Now call out and ask if there is a Spirit that wishes to speak with you…the Pendulum will indicate the Spirit's presence with a yes response.  Proceed to ask questions that are yes or no in nature.  Often the Spirit can be identified in this manner.  (The practitioner will learn the “feel” of familiar Spirits and can simply ask “Is this ——-name of spirit——-?” And the Pendulum will respond accordingly.  In time, these types of practices can lead to direct mediumship and development of these types of gifts.  Record your Spirit sessions in your BOS or in your Journal.

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We think you will love our Samhain Sabbat kit (We have them for each Sabbat) and we think they are perfect for beginnings and long time practitioners as well…we think its a great thing to have a beginning place for inspiration for a ceremony/ritual…inspiration is fundamental to activating our creativity, connecting to our empowerment and embracing our Liberation.

Celebrate Samhain the Witch Joseph Way…with this Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve Sabbat Kit…Your observance can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be…this kit makes it easy for you.

Samhain is October 31st.  Some say it is the day when the Sun transits 15 degrees Scorpio

The holy night of Samhain is the third and final Harvest…a Celtic festival that marked the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter.  At this time of year, the gates between the worlds are open.  This ceremony will honor the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new…and honor the passing of Summer and the beginning of Winter…a time to call upon the Ancestors and all our loved ones in Spirit to cross over and join with us at this sacred time.

This kit includes a handmade Samhain votive candle…to place in the cauldron or in the center to be lit at the appropriate time in the ceremony.  The Kit has a suggested declaration to be read for a simple candle lighting to honor the holy day…and there is a suggested ritual pattern/structure included that you can follow to create your own full ritual…it’s all up to you…as always, follow your inner light, your guides and your intuition…and you won’t go wrong.  Take what resonates with you and ignore the rest.

Also included are two chime altar candles in Sabbat colors…and an incense cone to utilize during the ritual.

This ritual is derived from my own practices over the years and there were many sources that influenced me and inspired my practices, including these rituals…they are: the Reclaiming tradition, Starhawk, Janet and Stewart Farrar, Raymond Buckland, Scott Cunningham and many others.

Each kit also comes with a complimentary Charm necklace with a Witch charm on it…as a thank you for supporting Witch Joseph…we appreciate you so very much.

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Setting up a Samhain Shrine for the Ancestors and Beloved Dead

 

It’s nice to place pictures of our Departed loved ones on the shrine, which can be on your altar or on a shelf or some special place in your home for the Samhain Season…though not everyone has photos and it can be enough to place their names there instead.  Sometimes, people will place important dates (ie birth or death dates)…along with small objects that may have belonged to our loved ones, that remind us of them.  Sometimes, we don’t know our ancestor’s names going back very far at all…I like to try to visualize them and allow them to come forward when meditating at the shrine, and at my ritual on Samhain night.  It’s customary to place candles (exercise caution of course)…and to decorate the shrine with seasonal items and crystals ect.  I also like to place symbols that were important to them on the shrine and incorporate items that were important to them in their own respective faith/religious traditions if any.  I like to burn incense before the shrine as an offering… (I like to use Myrrh because of it’s ancient funerary and underworld associations…but any kind is fine…follow your intuition).  The week of Samhain I leave offerings of flowers, food, drink, (bread and Wine), herbs and such…often I will write notes to them and leave them there as well.  I use the following formula when placing the offerings at the shrine. 

 “Beloved Dead and Ancestors, We present to you these offerings of food, drink and beauty with Love, Remembrance and Respect.  Thank you for communing with us.  Continue to guide us, inspire us and aid us in the times to come.  Help us to grow in spiritual wisdom and practice.  Blessed Be!”

-ring bell-

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A Spell for Lighting of the JackOLantern

After the Jack-o-Lantern(s) has been carved and when the time comes to light the candle and place it inside, I always recite this charm:

“Let the Pumpkin’s candle glare, burn all evil from the air,

By Earth and Air, Fire and Sea, As I will So Mote it Be!”

(I’ve done this for so many years at Samhain and I don’t remember where I initially got this from…I tried to find it online but couldn’t…if anyone knows the source, please let me know so I can properly attribute this to them.  Thank you.)

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Witch Joseph’s Samhain Apple Petition Spell

You will need: 1 apple, brown petition paper, crushed Sage, pen, athame

Write your petition on the brown piece of paper…fold it three times towards yourself (if asking for something…away from yourself if banishing something).  Cut the apple, revealing the pentagram shape formed by the seeds and place the petition inside the two slices, sprinkle with the ground sage…and place the whole apple in the brown paper bag wrapping it securely.  At midnight on Samhain, bury it with these or similar words.

“I offer this petition to the Spirits of this night…grant my request with all your might…by earth and air, fire and sea…as I will so mote it be!”  Walk away without looking back.

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Samhain Ritual/Ceremony Suggestions

Items need for this ceremony:candle for the cauldron, votive candles one for each of the departed loved ones to be honored.

Sabbat Colors: Black and Orange

Altar is decorated with jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins, gourds, apples and autumn leaves.

Circle is cast or sacred space is established according to your traditions.

Ritual Declaration: “This is the holy night of Samhain.  At this time of year, the gates between the worlds are open.  We honor the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new.  We honor the passing of Summer and the beginning of Winter.  We call upon our Ancestors, our loved ones in Spirit, to cross over and join with us at this sacred time.”

-candle is lit in the cauldron-

“Now is a time of change.  Now do we leave the Light and we gladly follow our Lord, the Horned One, into the Darkness as He arrives in the Summerland as Lord and Guide of the Dead.  Great and Loving Lord, be present with us in the turning of the mighty wheel of the year.  This day belongs neither to the old year or the new and as there is no distinction between the years, so there is no distinction between the worlds.  Those we have known and loved are free to return to us here in this circle.”

-candles (one for each of the beloved dead being honored) are lit from the cauldron fire with these or similar words-

“I light this candle for my beloved _______N________. I love, honor and welcome you.”

-After candles are lit, a chime is rung once for each spirit honored.  While sitting before the burning candles, reach out and connect with the spirits of the departed loved ones and rejoice in the reunion with those that have gone before.”

”From this reuniting, we gather strength.  We know that there is no end and no beginning.  All is a continuous turning, a spiral dance, that goes and returns, yet moves ever on in that turning.  Tonight, we mark the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter…and we have no fear, for we celebrate and experience the promise of the Spiral.  We honor the Great God as He begins His journey through the funnel of Darkness that bears the light of the Great Goddess at its end.  Blessed Be!”

resonse: “Blessed Be!”

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As most of you know, we are constantly working on projects and art and stuff…Here are some of the Samhain/Halloween items Brother Christopher and me have created…and Angelique helps of course

We hope our work helps to inspire you this Samhain Season and the whole year round…We feature some of these in our Samhain Collection on the website.

We wish everyone of you a blessed Samhain and the happiest of Halloweens.

 

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