SAMHAIN/ SAMHUINN

31st October 2025

SAMHAIN (pronounced Sow-in) Wiccan Pagan

SAMHUINN Druid

For all pagan communities the wheel of the year is seen to begin at Samhain. This is the Celtic New Year, when the veil between the world of the dead and the world of the living is said to be at its thinnest. Samhain is the festival of death when pagans remember and honour those who have gone before. Fires are lit and ‘dead wood’ is burned before stepping into the darkness of winter. Pagans celebrate death as part of life. This is not a time of fear, but a time to understand more deeply that life and death are part of a sacred whole.

At Samhain the veil between the spirits and souls of loved ones are said to have more power and the ability to visit us. This is the time of year for remembering and honouring the dead, and many people will leave a plate of food and a glass of wine out for wandering sprits. (This is often called the Feast of Hecate). Samhain is also a time for personal reflection, and for recognizing our faults and flaws and creating a method for rectifying them.

It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two “spirit-nights” of the year, the other being Beltaine. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the thin veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the ‘Summer Lands’. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and to honour the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the aged Crone and her fading Consort.

Originally the ‘Feast of the Dead’ was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the ‘wandering dead’. Today many pagans still carry out this tradition. Single candles are lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs are set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples are buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who are lost or have no descendants to provide for them. Turnips are hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this is a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folk became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Travelling after dark is not advised. People dress in white (like ghosts) and wear disguises made of straw, or sometimes dress as the opposite gender in the hope that they might perhaps be able to fool the Nature spirits.

This is the time when the cattle and other livestock are slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain are considered taboo, and left as offerings to the spirits. Bonfires are built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones are marked with peoples’ names. Then they are thrown into the fire, to be retrieved the next morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretells that person’s fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires are also lit in the home from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes are spread over the harvested fields.

During the eighth century of the Common Era, the Catholic Church decided to use November 1st as All Saints Day. This was a sensible step since the local pagans were already celebrating the day, so it made sense to use it as a church holiday. All Saints’ became the festival to honour any saint who didn’t already have a day of his or her own. The mass which was said on All Saints’ was called All Hallow Mass – the mass of all those who are hallowed. The night before naturally became known as All Hallows Eve, and eventually morphed from Samhain into what is now called Halloween.