How To Celebrate Samhain
Happy Last Harvest!
Celebrated Nov 1 in the Northern Hemisphere and May 1st in the Southern. Samhain (pronounced “SOW-in” or “SAH-win”) is a liminal time between the Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. It neither belongs to Summer or Winter. It is believed that this liminality releases the human realm from its bonds to the rules of the physical world and lifts the veil between the human and spirit realms. As this happens, there is a sense of timelessness and peace, as well as a connection to ancestors. You may already be familiar with some of these ideas from holidays such as All Saint’s Day, Dia De Los Muertos, or Halloween.
This Earth Holiday is the last of 3 harvests in the Wheel of the Year which celebrates Solstices, Equinoxes, and the cross-points. Samhain celebrates the coming of the darker half of the year and is, therefore, known for some as the New Year. As the darker days come, one year folds, and another is reveled.
History
Samhain is believed to pre-date the arrival of the Celts in Ireland over 2,500 years ago. In ancient Celtic traditions, it was known as the most important, and last of the fire festivals and harvests. It was a time for making winter preparations, harvesting crops, rounding up animals, and having feasts to celebrate the harvest. It was also a time for settling important business matters such as business deals, settling debts, and organizing who was in power.
It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them.
The 17th century CE Irish historian, Geoffrey Keating, wrote in his seminal work, The History of Ireland, “that all fires were to be extinguished at the start of the Samhain festival. The druids, the ancient Celtic priests, would light a new bonfire, into which the bones of the animal sacrifices would be tossed (this “bone-fire” gives us our modern word 'bonfire'). From this fire, others would light their torches and carry the flames home to relight their own hearths.”
Families would make bonfires to celebrate and gather with family and community. Gourds were used around these fires and were carved and hung to keep unwanted spirits away.
How To Celebrate
There are many ways to bring these celebrations into the modern world. You can start by recognizing the celebrations happening in nature. Leaves may be changing colors and releasing from the branches, gardens are offering their last fruits, the last harvests are being gathered before the frost comes. Taking notes from the ancient Celts, it is a great time of the year to honor these harvests, settle debts for yourself, to clear your plate literally and metaphorically, and to celebrate loved ones who have passed on.
Many Halloween traditions stem from Samhain and are a beautiful way to practice:
Trick-or-treating is said to have been derived from ancient Irish and Scottish practices in the nights leading up to Samhain. In Ireland, mumming was the practice of putting on costumes, going door-to-door and singing songs to the dead. Cakes were given as payment.
Jack-o-lanterns served as a beacon for departed spirits and those carved with scary faces were thought to keep evil spirits at bay.
Halloween costumes were used as a sort of magic trick - if you dress up as who you want to be, it was more likely to come true.
Some other ways to honor this time of year:
Set up an altar with decorations, photos, and momentos of family members who have passed.
Create a dinner, solo, with a partner, family, or friends to talk about the ancestors you know or have heard of. You can share stories and memories and even favorite recipes.
Ancestor Dinner
• Invite loved ones, friends, or practice solo.
• Make family recipes or bring in foods that remind you of your ancestors. It could be a great time to bring out old cookbooks or ask family members if they have traditional recipes that they've saved.
• Set the table with an altar including family heirlooms, journals or books from your family, candles, harvests from the season, and photos if you have them.
• Set a place for the ancestors you would like to have dinner with that evening. It might be everyone you can remember, or one or two who feel important to have with you this season.
• During dinner tell stories of the ancestors you remember or have heard of.
• Clean up dinner, thank your ancestors for visiting, and open a door or window so they can go on their way.
(Check out the movie Coco for some great inspiration!)
Host a bonfire
Host a feast with Autumn harvested foods, some ideas are to include: pumpkin pie, apples, cider, roasted meats, root vegetables, pears cinnamon and dark wine.
Pumpkin and Sage Scones
In one bowl whisk 2 eggs and 2 Tablespoons honey until fluffy
Mix in 30g of melted butter
1 Cup of pumpkin puree
And 1/2 teaspoon of dried sage.
In another bowl combine 3 Cups of Almond flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
And 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Kneed dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
Place dollops or mold into triangles on a lined baking tray.
Bake for 35 minutes at 300F.
Makes 8-10 depending on size.
Create, instead of purchasing Autumn decorations with:
Acorns
Dried leaves
Pine cones
Gourds
Dried flowers
Journal or meditate on what is and isn’t serving you. This Harvest is the last chance of the year to release anything or anyone that’s not honoring your growth.
Tanishka explains the energy of this season, “We see our destructive side and face our greatest fears about ourselves and the unknown path ahead. We need to trust our intuition to guide us, one step at a time, recognize we cannot control the outcome, and relinquish any notion of control over others.” - Tanishka, Goddess Wisdom
For even more inspiration:
Colors: Black, brown, yellow, purle, gold, silver, red
Foods: Apples, pumpkins, roasted meats, cider, dark wine, pears, root vegetables
Stones: Smoky quartz, amber, obsidian, pyrite, onyx, carnelian, turquoise
Symbols: bat, cat, blackbird, cauldron
Flowers: Calendula, sunflowers, wild gingseng, wormwood
Deities: Ishtar, Horned God, Orsis, Loki, Persephone, Cerrunnos, Dionysus
Further Reading and References:
www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain
www.mabonhouse.co/samhainsabbatcelebrate
Goddess Wisdom by Tanishka
Happy Harvest!
