Honoring Samhain: Creating an Altar, Crafting a Ritual Oil, and Celebrating the Spirit of the Season

Cultures steeped in ancient traditions have long celebrated the time between the Autumn harvest and the anticipation of the upcoming Winter with celebrations centered around honoring the lives of our ancestors and loved ones who have departed from this earthly realm. In modern America, Halloween has become the focus of our October festivities, a lot of which have their roots deep in these historical practices.

Samhain (Gaelic* pronounced Sow-en) is the most sacred of the Pagan holidays. Although widely celebrated on October 31st -just like Halloween-The Festival of Fire was traditionally held over multiple days. The Witches New Year honors the halfway point between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. The Druids and Ancient Celtic civilizations revered this first dark turn of the Wheel of the Year as the time where the veil between the spiritual and physical worlds was the thinnest. These festivals had been held to connect with their ancestors and the spirits of their lost loved ones, with gratitude for their sacrifice and wisdom as well as prayer and asking for their continued protection. The winter has long been associated with mortality, and as such the time to ask for the assistance of those who came before them was of the essence.

​There is something cozy and communal about sitting around a fall bonfire, perhaps for some of us this feeling comes from our souls remembering how the bonfire was the focal point of Samhain in the time of the Druids and Celts. Bonfires were lit on hilltops to ward off evil spirits and plead with the sun to stay, in villages strewn across Ancient Europe in countless Tribal Chiefdoms. This was not just in Ireland, Scotland and Britain, as many believe. They would not have referred to themselves as Celts, as it was a name given to them by the Greeks sometime around 540 B.C, who referred to them as Keltoi-meaning barbarians! The people in these villages would extinguish their homes' hearths and take some embers of the sacred bonfire to relight them, in the belief that this newly lit hearth of the sacred fire would bring them protection, warmth, and prosperity for the new year ahead. Offerings of livestock bones were placed in the fire hence the name Bon-Fire. Eventually, as time went on and Christianity spread throughout the world, these villages that were expansive all throughout Europe dwindled, and people of their lineage predominantly settled in what is now Ireland and Northwestern Europe. Christian churches vilified Pagan practices, especially Samhain. Which led to the creation of All Saints Day on November first, and All Souls Day on November second. Though both of these newer holidays are centered around the same theme, the afterlife and the bond between the living and the heavenly. As the Irish came to America during the potato famine, they brought so many of their Ancestral practices with them, passed down through generations. Much like a game of telephone though, the message has become diluted and missing much of its original meaning. -Today, Jack O’ Lanterns are carved in countless homes in America. Originating from the hollowing out of turnips and carving faces into them, to bring light into darkness while scaring away evil spirits. They were used as lanterns to take home the embers of the bonfire. As the bonfires of Samhain started disappearing across Europe, families would still carve turnips to keep outside of their homes for protection and as people immigrated to the New World they found that pumpkins were much easier to carve.

• The wearing of costumes on Halloween is also rooted in the Festival of Fire. Dressing in Animal heads was a common practice during this time as a way to honor the dead and protect the villages from untoward spirits, as the worlds of the physical and spiritual became less definitive.

• Trick or Treating is a way to bring communities together and share. Giving children the opportunity to dress up and collect treats has become one of the most cherished childhood pastimes. In Medieval Europe the poor would go out “Souling”, knocking on doors and begging for food in exchange for prayers offered to the souls of the dead, and during Samhain it was a common practice to leave food out as an offering to the souls and spirits that were roaming about while the veil was blurred.

​

• The word Witch has for centuries now has been associated with the idea of black magic and wrongdoings against others. Casting spells, and conjuring up evil spirits. There will always be people who see it this way, but thankfully our society has evolved for the most part. Modern day Pagans and Wiccans celebrating Samhain have some really simple and beautiful traditions. Traditions filled with love, light and protection. Practices that rely heavily on oneness with nature, HERBS, and the spiritual connection to our ancestors. Samhain-the Witches New Year- is the perfect time to share some of these rituals. 

The Samhain Altar

The Altar you create for Samhain is a sacred place dedicated to the honoring of your loved ones who have left this Earthly realm and the ancestors who came before you. The Altar represents, in big part, your own connection to the spiritual world.
Magic is an expression of the individual, so while there are certain aspects that you would want to include, you’ll want to use your creative freedom to make it your own.

• Pictures /trinkets of, or that remind you of your loved ones passed
• small food offerings and or drink offerings that your ancestors/loved ones passed enjoyed moon water, herb water, or even plain water in a small vess
• Candles for remembrance, honoring those who came before you, for protection and to bring
• light into the darkness.
• Herbs and stones for their spiritual essences.
• Images and statues that represent your spirituality and unique beliefs. Goddesses, Gods,
• treasures of nature, moons, stars, death or oracle target t cards.. These parts of an altar are individual to you.
• Items representing the fall harvest to show gratitude for the year's bounty, to share with our dead and for prayers of another bountiful year ahead.

​
The entire process of setting up your Altar is one of reflection and oneness. The burning of incense, and cleansing herbs and resins such as Sage, Mugwort, Copal, and Santo Palo to ready your space and altar components is part of the practice. Samhain oil can also be used for anointing our Altars. Placing your chosen items with intention and reverence and mindfully honoring the spirit world reminds us that we are loved, protected and evermore connected. Taking our time to lovingly acknowledge this connection is a beautiful experience. This Altar is a place you can pray, give thanks and communicate(talk with your dead)
Samhain oil is a blend of herbs, and essential oils placed into a carrier oil. Making this sacred tool is another lovely way to feel wholly a part of this holiday. You can work with it to anoint your Altar, your tools, Altar items and offerings,as well as your self. 

Making a Samhain Oil

Some other things we can do for the Witches New Year

• Take a walk in nature, take in how beautiful the changing of the season is. Embrace the continuous cycles of life. Connect with her, as many others who came before you have done and many will continue to do long after you. Feel the spirit of nature, collect a few tokens that grab your attention and place them in your home or on your Altars.
• Make wishes on leaves that are caught before touching the ground
• Collect 3 leaves that stand out to you so that you may write down what you want to let go of in the New Year to come, tie them up with string and burn them to facilitate their release.
• Place an extra setting at the table for those that have passed, invite them to join you by carving their names on a votive candle and lighting it. The invitation is open so long as the candle is lit. Once the flame is extinguished they are thanked for attending and asked to return to the spirit world.
• place candles in windows for lost souls to find their way
• Keep a jar where you put things you write down that you m wish to let go of, and burn them on November 1st
• Be happy and grateful for the gift of nature and the gift of life, our own as well as those who are on the other side of the veil. Honor the cycles of such, and welcome the New Year knowing that we are Love, we are Light, We are Magic
• Carve pumpkins, and roast the seeds. This snack will offer you protection and abundance.
• Add spices to your foods, like rosemary in your meats and stews for remembrance, and cinnamon to your sweet potatoes for connection with your ancestors. ​

​This post was written by Debra Romano, an apprentice at Herbs Love And Yoga