Workings for Samhain
For many witches and Pagans, Samhain is a time of excitement and festivities. The Halloween season is not just a time of year that is—for many members of the magical community—a rare opportunity to show one’s true colors to the world. It also falls alongside Samhain, a celebration of the Spirit Realm and a festival that honors the dead and other spirits. During this time, many witches and practitioners of magic may host rituals to honor the dead, to communicate with spirits, or to strengthen their connection to the Spirit Realm.
Below are three simple workings you can use as part of your own Samhain observations, or as standalone workings suitable for any time of year. Note: You are welcome to modify these workings as necessary to fit your magical tradition, to perform them with others, or to share them in your own content. If you share these workings or use them as a the basis for your own content, we ask that you please include a credit to Crowsbone Boutique and provide a link to this post.
A Ritual of Remembrance
Remembering the dead has been mentioned as a Samhain tradition since the early modern period of Irish literature, when it was said that families would set a place for the spirits of their dead relatives who would return on that night to seek hospitality and check in on their loved ones. In modern times, simple rituals of remembrance for the dead and (more specifically) for our ancestors are still a common feature of Samhain celebrations. But remembering your ancestors doesn’t have to happen at the dinner table, and it doesn’t have to be limited to a practitioner’s blood ancestry. A ritual for remembrance can focus on any type of lineage, whether it is centered on the lineage of a magical tradition, the forebears of a particular faith, or the founders and revolutionaries within a community.
The ritual that follows here is written to honor the spirits of many different types of the dead within our lives, ancestry, and communities. Feel free to modify it ritual as needed to make it suitable for your region, ancestry, magical tradition, or faith practice.
Tools & Supplies:
Candles (any kind will do)
A bell
Incense (optional)
Libations/offerings (any kind)
Set aside some time for your ritual during which you will not be disturbed. If you are performing the ritual with others, it is important that the working portion of this ritual is fairly quiet. It doesn’t have to be sober or mournful, but it should be respectfully quiet as it would be in a library or a museum.
Set up your space with your candles, a bell, and your offering. If you would like, you can also incorporate incense. You will need at least one candle for each kind of spirit you plan to honor (more on this below), as well as a candle for each specific spirit you wish you celebrate. If you do not have space for many candles, having a single large candle or lantern will work just as well.
Begin your ritual as your normally would, as dictated by your tradition, or as is agreed upon by your working group. You may, if you choose, cleanse the space and people present, establish a Circle or similar space, open with the invocation of specific deities and spirits, etc.
Pick up your bell and ring it three times, focusing on getting the attention of the spirits you wish to honor. Establish your intention out loud by saying something like, “I have come to honor my ancestors, to celebrate my beloved and lost, to give offerings to the benevolent spirits around me.” Ring the bell again three times. Continue, saying, “I welcome the spirits of my ancestors, protectors, and guides into this space. I offer them hospitality, reverence, and rest.” Ring the bell three times once again, and finish the invocation, saying, “I welcome your company. I welcome your aid. I welcome your protection.”
Begin to light the candles or candle, as you list the types of spirits and ancestors you wish to honor. You can use one candle for each type of spirit/ancestor, a single candle to honor all of the spirits, or any amount that works for you. The types of spirits that you choose to honor may vary depending on your ancestry and what you know about it, your magical tradition, the history of the region you live in, your faith, and a number of other factors. Some of the spirits you might consider reaching out to in your ancestry or regional history may include the spirits of farmers and workers of the land, the spirits of builders and architects, the spirits of warriors and soldiers, the spirits of teachers and scholars, the spirits of mystics and healers, the spirits of mothers and grandmothers, the spirits of fathers and grandfathers, the spirits of children, and the spirits whose names have been forgotten. If you have any specific spirits and ancestors you want to honor by name, you may also want to list them and light a candle for them at this time.
Present your libations to the spirits in whatever way is normal for you. One suggestion is to hold the offering aloft, saying something like, “I welcome you, spirits and ancestors, to this space and honor you with this offering of __________. Please accept this libation along with my love and gratitude.”
Close your ritual as you see fit. You may leave the candles burning as long as is safe to do so. Never leave candles burning unattended, especially if you have flammable items like fabric, oils or liquor libations in your ritual space. Keep flames away from young children and pets whenever lit. You may leave your offerings out as you normally do to be received by the spirits and the discard them in your usual manner.
A Reading to Guide & Expand your Practice
One of the common practices observed during the feast of Samhain is the performance of divination. Practitioners of divination may use Hallowe’en as an opportunity to take a peek into the future, foretelling what lies in the year to come, what is in store for one’s love life, and what direction they should take in different aspects on their life.
Because many members of the magical community also relish Hallowe’en and Samhain as rare chances to celebrate witchcraft and witches, we have chosen to acknowledge that in our divination example for this Samhain post. The cartomancy spread here is intended to be a check-in for practitioners of magic to help explore, expand, and refine their practice with the aid and advice of the spirits who are close to the world of the living during this holiday. It can be used with Tarot cards, oracle cards, or playing cards. It can also be modified, if you prefer, for use with runes, coins, bones, and other methods of sortilege. It requires thirteen cards or objects; so we recommend using a set of twenty cards/items or more when performing it.
Card One – The Practitioner: The Practitioner placement in the reading represents the practitioner themselves. This significator card may reveal truths about the practitioner’s core self, their relationship with their practice, and their ideals and insecurities as a magician. It may also reveal specific questions, concerns, and obstacles the practitioner is facing on their journey.
Card Two – The Foundation: The Foundation card represents the beliefs, worldviews, relationships, and experiences upon which the practitioner’s craft is built. This card provides insight into the practitioners “magical origin story”, the experiences and relationships that pulled them to their path.
Card Three – The Hearth: The Hearth placement is indicative of the practitioner’s core values, beliefs, and ideals as a magician. It may also represent the core values of their magical tradition, culture, or spiritual path.
Card Four – The Right Hand: The card that falls in this placement represents the primary focus and function of study and practice in the practitioner’s craft and life. This card will talk typically talk about what the practitioner hopes to achieve by practicing magic, as well as what impact the practice of magic has on their life/spirit.
Card Five – The Heart: The Heart card represents the practitioner’s personal strength and power. This placement focuses on the power that is directed through magical working and may reveal or touch on personal symbols, relationships with spirits/deities, and elemental associations as applicable.
Card Six – The Left Hand: The card in the Left Hand placement ties into the two cards previous. It represents how the practitioner wields their personal power and what they stand to gain through the use of magic. While mention of the “left hand” with regards to magic is often seen as the “dark side” of a given situation or element, the Left Hand hear refers instead to elements which are seen as secondary to the practitioners main focus, things which may occur as an unintentional byproduct of the magician’s primary goals and actions, or which are done without intentional planning and deliberation. If the Right Hand represents that which is trained and honed, the Left Hand would then represent that which is untrained and unpolished.
Card Seven – The Gate: The placement of the Gate represents the practitioner’s magical boundaries—both intentional and unintentional. This card reveals truths about lines in the sand which the practitioner has drawn to protect themselves or to protect their practice. It may also reveal insight on those things which the practitioner believes are the most important to protect or keep secret.
Card Eight – The Garden: The Garden represents the places in which the practitioner has put in the most work, the areas of their practice which they have striven to grow the most. This placement represents their effort but also their harvest. Pay special attention to how this card connects to the other cards in already in the reading; this can help to provide deeper insight into how the elements of a practitioner’s beliefs and practices surrounding their craft may be serving or hindering them.
Card Nine – Blessings: The Blessings card represents the goodness and success the practitioner can expect to come from their magical practice. This card may reveal new talents, new kinships, or new projects related to your craft.
Card Ten – Curses: The Curses card represents the bitter experiences that one can expect to come from their magical practice. This may include upsets with regards to their direction they choose to take with their practice, warnings to help avoid trouble, or messages about negativity that can may be encountered within one’s community.
Card Eleven – Celebrations: This card highlights the habits, practices, relationships, successes, and efforts that the practitioner should take the time to acknowledge and celebrate. These are things that the practitioner has incorporated into their magical life which they should lean into and continue to pursue, but not before taking a moment to acknowledge their achievements and progress thus far.
Card Twelve – Blockages: The Blockages placement represents obstacles and trials which the practitioner can expect to face going forward. Whether they are generational curses, lapses in active practice, lack of inspiration, or something more on the supernatural side of things, the practitioner can anticipate that this is the obstacle that will give them the most trouble and have them feeling the most stuck in their magical journey.
Card Thirteen – Doorways: The Doorways card represents the continuation of the practitioner’s learning journey. This card reveals new opportunities for improvement and new pathways which are opening for the practitioner to explore, develop and expand their craft.
For additional guidance and insight, consider pulling three to seven additional cards and placing them under the final row of the reading. Read these cards as messages from your sponsor spirits, guides, deities, and ancestors (as applicable). Remember, this spread is intended to be used as advice to help you on your path, not to dictate your journey to you. Your journey is yours; and only you can control it.
Magical Protection & Cleansing for Samhain
Because of the strong connection between Samhain and spirit work—particularly spirit communication—there are many practitioners of magic who express concern over the possibility of accidentally bringing negative or malevolent forces into their homes during their Samhain festivities. While this is unlikely with the right precautions, it is certainly better to be safe than sorry with regards to any kind of magic or spirit work. We recommend using this simple protection spell to remove and ward off malevolent energies, as well as reinforce the magical protections that safeguard your home.
We recommend using this simple spell as one part of a multi-leveled, multi-layered protective system. Relying on just one protective charm or measure is the defensive magic equivalent of using the same password for every website you use. It’s always a good idea to have more than one element in your protective system, to be prepared for any eventuality, and to have a backup plan. Regular cleansing and reinforcing is smart—and this spell is a good thing to keep in your back pocket for occasions when that is necessary.
Combine ¼ cup of distilled white vinegar and 1 cup of water in a spray bottle.
Add 6 drops of sweet orange essential oil (to promote happiness, attract good spirits, and empower the house wights), 4 drops of clove oil (to protect the home and its inhabitants), and 3 drops of cedar essential oil (to banish and ward off negative spirits and energies).
Use this to clean the doors, doorframes, windows, windowsills, mirrors, and thresholds. If you have pets or children in the house, allow the surface to dry completely before reintroducing them to the environment.
Repeat as necessary.
Note: If you have scent sensitivities, we recommend foregoing the essential oils and adding fresh rosemary, orange peel, and lemon peel to the vinegar and water mix instead.
Disclaimer: Each of the Crowsbone writers and guest bloggers has their own magical background, beliefs, traditions and practices. These post represent the opinions, research and beliefs of the individual writers. We do not believe that they represent beliefs and rules associated with all magical practice or witchcraft; nor do they represent the beliefs and opinions of all of the Crowsbone community.