Samhain 2017 Simple Rituals and Infographic

Almost everyone knows that Tuesday, October 31st 2017 is Halloween. However, for us pagan folk, it is also Samhain. What does this mean, and what are some ways to celebrate it? I’m so glad you asked!

What does “Samhain” mean?

Here’s a blurb from Celebrating Samhain by Selena Fox

Samhain is a festival of the Dead. Meaning “Summer’s End” and pronounced saah-win or saa-ween, Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest and the start of the coldest half of the year.

Originating in ancient Europe as a Celtic Fire festival, Samhain is now celebrated worldwide. The timing of contemporary Samhain celebrations varies according to spiritual tradition and geography. Many of us celebrate Samhain over the course of several days and nights, and these extended observances usually include a series of solo rites as well as ceremonies, feasts, and gatherings with family, friends, and spiritual community. In the northern hemisphere, many Pagans celebrate Samhain from sundown on October 31 through November 1. Others hold Samhain celebrations on the nearest weekend or on the Full or New Moon closest to this time. Some Pagans observe Samhain a bit later, or near November 6, to coincide more closely with the astronomical midpoint between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice. Most Pagans in the southern hemisphere time their Samhain observances to coincide with the middle of their Autumn in late April and early May, rather than at the traditional European time of the holiday.

Samhain also has been known by other names. Some Celtic Wiccans and Druids call it Calan Gaeaf, Calan Gwaf, Kala-Goanv, or Nos Galan Gaeof. In Welsh, it is Nos Cyn Calan Gaual. It also is known as Oie Houney. A medieval book of tales, the Yellow Book of Lecan, reports that common folk called it the “Feast of Mongfind,” the legendary Witch-Queen who married a King of Tara in old Ireland. In the ancient Coligny Calendar, an engraved bronze dating from the first century C.E.and dug up in 1897 in France, Samhain is called Trinouxtion Samonii, or “Three Nights of the End of Summer.” Variant spellings of Samhain include Samain, Samuin, and Samhuinn.

What are some ways to celebrate it?

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for SheKnows, called 5 Witchy ways to celebrate Halloween. This year, I decided to turn it into a graphic.

Samhain Infographic

Here’s the graphic I created for the occasion, using a picture I took in the woods behind our house. Bright Samhain/Halloween blessings to all!

Wait a second! What if I live in the Southern Hemisphere?

Aha! I’m finally putting together matching graphics for my pagan friends below the equator. Bright Beltane Blessings to you!

Samhain October 31, 2017. Samhain (also known as All Hallow’s Eve) is the third and final harvest festival of the year. It is considered by many Pagans to be the start of a new year. It is also the time (like the Sabbat of Beltane) when the veil between worlds is the thinnest. The two Sabbats are Yin (shady) and Yang (sunny) to each other – Samhain honors death, and Beltane honors life. Colors – Black, orange, and white. Symbols – Bonfires and fire in general, black cats, pumpkins and turnips, ghosts, pomegranates, and besoms (brooms). Ritual work – Divination, communing with ancestors, candle spells, visualization, banishing, manifesting, releasing the old and welcoming the new, honoring those we have lost. Samhain 2017.

Beltane Southern Hemisphere October 31, 2017. Beltane (also known as Novey Eve) is a fertility festival that celebrates the Great Rite. It is considered by many pagans to be the best time for a handfasting/weddding ceremony. Like Samhain, it is a time when the veil between worlds is thinnest. The two Sabbats are Yin (shady) and Yang (sunny) to each other – Beltane honors life, and Samhain honors death. Colors – Green, White, Yellow, Red. Symbols – May poles, bees, flower wreaths, Bel Fire/Bale Fire, water wells. Ritual work – Fertility, purification by water and fire, creativity, prosperity. This is not a passive voice. I am writing in an active voice. My SEO will stop telling me how to write. Samhain 2017. These sentences are also shorter than twenty words. Stop being so controlling. Especially since most of the sentences in this post are not mine. I will keep going until you turn green. Samhain 2017. I can’t believe this is still orange. Finally, it has turned. Success! This is not a passive voice. I am writing in an active voice. My SEO will stop telling me how to write. Samhain 2017. These sentences are also shorter than twenty words. Stop being so controlling. Especially since most of the sentences in this post are not mine. I will keep going until you turn green. I can’t believe this is still orange. Finally, it has turned. Success!