Samhain and its deeper origin carries powerful spiritual, cultural, and magical significance.
Samhain, pronounced “Sow-in” (with "sow" rhyming with "cow"), is more than just a seasonal festival. For witches, it marks:
• The Witch’s New Year
• The thinning of the veil between worlds
• A time to honor the dead, divine, and commune with spirits
While the term Samhain comes from Old Irish (meaning something like "Summer's End"), witches don’t always focus on linguistic roots — they focus on energetic, seasonal, and ancestral power.
From the Witch’s Perspective: The True Origin
1. Ancestral and Spirit Roots
Witches trace Samhain to a time before written language, when tribal peoples lived by the land and honored seasonal shifts through ritual and spirit connection. For a witch:
• Samhain arose not just as a harvest festival, but as a moment of deep spiritual opening.
• It was never just a date — it was a threshold, a liminal time.
• The dead walk. The veil thins. Spirits speak. And witches listen.
The pronunciation “sow-in” is oral tradition — passed in circles, covens, and through whispered initiations. Its preservation through sound rather than spelling speaks to how witches value lived experience and oral lore over academic correctness.
2. Celtic and Pre-Celtic Roots (Filtered Through Witchcraft)
While scholars link Samhain to the ancient Celts, witches often go deeper, into pre-Celtic, folk, and earth-based traditions:
• The witch’s Samhain is older than history.
• It's a fire festival, where bones were cast into flames and omens read in the smoke.
• Witches walked between worlds, guiding souls and speaking to ancestors.
To many witches, the name "Samhain" is a modern shell for something ancient and unnameable — what matters is the energetic gateway it opens.
3. The Spoken Power of “Sow-in”
Witches emphasize spoken word and vibration. The pronunciation “sow-in” carries resonant magic:
• Words carry energy.
• “Sow-in” spoken in sacred circle acts as a key.
• Mispronunciation (like "Sam-hane") breaks the spell of the word.
In many traditions, witches say that speaking names correctly is crucial — because names hold power. Sow-in is how the word was always meant to be said in ritual space.
4. The Living Cycle of Death and Rebirth
For witches, Samhain is the death point in the Wheel of the Year. But not death as an ending — death as a sacred return:
• Crops die, but their seeds wait in darkness.
• The God descends into the Underworld.
• The Crone takes the place of the Mother.
Witches honor this cycle as mirror and guide for their own lives. The "origin" of Samhain, then, isn't in a date or a document — it’s in the soil, the stars, and the spirit realm.
🕯️ Summary: Origin of “Sow-in” — Through a Witch’s Eyes
• "Sow-in" is an oral, magical pronunciation, preserved in witchcraft tradition.
• Samhain began as a liminal time, deeply tied to spirit work, ancestral connection, and seasonal death.
• The name itself is a spell, and its power is preserved through sound, ritual, and intent.
• Witches see Samhain as a threshold moment, not a historical event, and its origin is woven into the living tapestry of witchcraft practice.
Contributed by and original AI IMAGE BY EVIL MAGICIAN
Create an Ancestor Altar That Feels Truly Sacred
The veil thins… and something inside you awakens
I didn’t plan it. That first time I created an altar for my ancestors during Samhain, I was simply following a pull—something instinctual, soft, and oddly comforting. It was late October, the leaves were falling like golden whispers, and the air had that magical crispness that makes you feel like anything is possible… or present.
I lit a candle, placed a photo of my grandmother, and whispered a few words I thought would just vanish into silence. But something shifted. A warmth. A knowing. It felt like she was there. And I realized—I had just opened a doorway.
Since then, building an ancestor altar every Samhain has become one of my most sacred traditions. Not because it’s “witchy” or trending, but because it connects me to where I come from… and who I am becoming.
Building Your Ancestor Altar for Samhain
1. Choose Your Space
A windowsill, a corner table, a shelf… it doesn’t have to be grand. What matters is that it feels special. Quiet. Set apart from daily distractions.
Tip: Somewhere you’ll naturally pass by often is ideal. That way, you can greet your ancestors daily—even if it’s just a glance or a smile.
2. Cleanse the Energy
Before placing anything, cleanse the space with smoke (sage, palo santo, rosemary), sound (a bell, singing bowl), or just a deep, intentional breath. This clears the energy and sets the sacred tone.
3. Lay the Foundation
Use a cloth or scarf that feels ancestral—maybe something inherited, vintage, or simply earthy in tone. Black, deep red, and purple are powerful for this time of year.
4. Add Photos or Symbols of Ancestors
Don’t worry if you don’t have photographs. You can use:
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Names written on paper
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Objects they owned
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Family heirlooms
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Cultural symbols
Even if you don’t know your lineage well, you can still call on benevolent ancestors—those who are well in spirit and wish to support you.
5. Offer Light
Candles are essential. One candle for each ancestor, or one central flame, is perfect. Fire is a sacred connector—it illuminates and invites.
6. Leave Offerings
What did your ancestors love? Tea, bread, wine, flowers, coins? Leave small, thoughtful offerings. They’re symbolic, but meaningful.
7. Speak Their Names
Whisper them. Sing them. Say a prayer. Share a memory. The act of saying their names is one of the most powerful ways to honor them.
8. Sit in Stillness
Once everything is placed, take a few moments to sit quietly. Let their presence settle. You might feel tingles, warmth, emotion… or just peace. All are signs that the connection has been made.
Why This Ritual Matters More Than Ever
In a fast-moving world where so much feels temporary, the act of honoring those who came before us is revolutionary. It’s grounding. It reminds us that we belong to something larger—a family, a lineage, a story.
As women, especially, we often carry generational wounds… and wisdom. Creating an ancestor altar allows us to gently acknowledge that lineage. To heal it. To let it speak.
And perhaps most beautifully? It invites us to receive support. Our ancestors want to help us, guide us, and see us thrive. We just have to ask.
Make It Yours
Your altar doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. You can add:
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Tarot or oracle cards
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Crystals (especially obsidian, amethyst, or smoky quartz)
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Personal journal entries or letters to your ancestors
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Music that reminds you of your roots
This is your sacred space. Trust your intuition and decorate it in a way that reflects your soul.
Samhain is not just about death or ghosts—it’s about remembering. Reconnecting. Healing. It’s about becoming the bridge between what was and what will be.
Whether your altar is grand or simple, your heart is the true offering. Trust that your ancestors hear you. And more than that—they love you. They are proud of you.
So this Samhain, light that candle. Say that name. Feel the veil thin and know that you are never truly alone.
Samhain Spider Cookies
Contributed by Evil Magician
Samhain Spider Cookies are a fun, spooky treat often made to celebrate Samhain or Halloween. They're usually chocolatey cookies topped with chocolate truffles or similar round candies decorated to look like spiders. Here's a simple recipe you can follow:
🕷️Recipe
🧁 Ingredients:
For the Cookies:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
For the Spider Bodies:
• 24 chocolate truffles (like Lindt, Ferrero Rocher, or even Maltesers)
• Melted chocolate (for legs and eyes)
• White chocolate or edible candy eyes
🧑🍳 Instructions:
1. Make the Cookies
• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
• Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture, mixing just until combined.
• Fold in chocolate chips if using.
• Scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheets (about 1.5 tablespoons per cookie). Flatten slightly.
2. Bake
• Bake for 10–12 minutes or until edges are set. The centers may still look soft—this is perfect.
• Let cookies cool for 2–3 minutes, then gently press a truffle into the center of each cookie to form the spider body.
• Cool completely so the truffles stay in place.
3. Decorate the Spiders
• Use melted dark or milk chocolate in a piping bag (or a zip-top bag with a small tip cut off) to pipe 8 spider legs around each truffle.
• Add white chocolate dots or candy eyes for the spider’s face. Use a toothpick dipped in dark chocolate to dot pupils if needed.
🕸️ Tips:
• Let cookies cool slightly before adding truffles, or they’ll melt too much.
• Use a fine piping tip (or toothpick) for neat spider legs.
• Want to go full Samhain? Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or a few drops of clove oil to the dough for a mystical, autumnal flavor.
The Ultimate Samhain Tarot Spread
Contributed by Evil Magician with original AI image
Here’s a powerful and reflective Samhain Tarot Spread designed to align with the themes of the season—ancestral connection, transformation, shadow work, and letting go. Samhain (October 31st–November 1st) marks the Witches’ New Year and the time when the veil between worlds is thinnest.
🔮 The Ultimate Samhain Tarot Spread (7 Cards)
Theme: Death, Rebirth, Ancestors, and Inner Truth
1. The Veil — What is being revealed to me now?
What hidden truths, messages, or realizations are surfacing as the veil thins?
2. The Shadow — What must I face within myself?
An aspect of yourself that needs acknowledgment, healing, or integration.
3. The Offering — What can I release to make space for renewal?
Something to let go of: a belief, habit, fear, or emotional burden.
4. The Ancestors — A message from my guides or lineage
What your ancestors or spirit guides wish to tell you at this time.
5. The Cauldron — What is transforming within me?
The inner alchemy. What's bubbling beneath the surface, preparing to be reborn.
6. The Path — Where is this transformation leading me?
The direction your soul is headed. What to keep in focus moving forward.
7. The Light in the Dark — What will guide me through the coming season?
A gift, strength, or insight to carry through the darker months ahead.
Instructions:
• Begin with Card 1 at the top — this represents what’s being revealed as the veil thins.
• Place Cards 2 and 3 on the second row, left and right — these represent your shadow and offering.
• Card 4 is centered below those — your ancestor/spirit message.
• Follow with Cards 5, 6, and 7 in a vertical line — the transformation, your path, and the light guiding you.
Honoring the Crone: Deities and Archetypes for the Samhain Season
1. The Crone as the Keeper of Wisdom
The Crone embodies the accumulated wisdom of all life experiences, representing the culmination of knowledge, intuition, and insight. During Samhain, she is revered as a guide who helps Wiccans look inward, confront shadows, and embrace transformation. This is the time to seek her counsel, as the thinning veil allows for deeper, introspective journeys guided by her ancient wisdom.
Connecting with the Crone during Samhain involves meditative practices and quiet reflection. By sitting in silence and focusing on life’s lessons, one can channel the Crone’s energy, asking for guidance on past experiences and future decisions. This season is perfect for journaling and dream work, tools that tap into the subconscious, where the Crone’s voice often resides, offering truths otherwise hidden.
Wiccans can also honor the Crone by creating sacred spaces that reflect her energy. Using items like black candles, crystals such as obsidian or onyx, and symbols of aging and wisdom (like owls or serpents) enhances connection. The intention is to invite her wisdom into daily life, using her guidance to navigate the darkness and prepare for rebirth as the Wheel of the Year continues to turn.
2. Hecate: The Triple Goddess and the Crossroads
Hecate, often regarded as a powerful Crone goddess, rules over the crossroads and the mysteries of the night. As a triple goddess, she embodies the maiden, mother, and crone simultaneously, with her Crone aspect dominating during Samhain. This time of year, Hecate’s energy is most potent, guiding those who seek to navigate life’s transitions and transformations.
At Samhain, rituals dedicated to Hecate can focus on decision-making, as the crossroads symbolize crucial turning points. Lighting a black candle at a crossroads or doorway, Wiccans may call upon Hecate to reveal the path ahead, offering clarity and protection. Working with keys, one of her sacred symbols, can also help unlock hidden knowledge and insights, aiding in the process of shadow work and self-discovery.
To work with Hecate’s energy, practitioners may also offer food, such as bread or pomegranates, at outdoor altars or natural crossroads. By doing so, they pay homage to her role as a psychopomp, a guide of souls, and ask for her assistance in connecting with ancestors or spirits during Samhain. This act creates a bond, opening channels for deeper spiritual connections as the veil thins.
3. Baba Yaga: The Wise and Fearsome Witch
Baba Yaga is a Crone goddess rooted in Slavic mythology, embodying the duality of fear and wisdom. Living in a hut perched on chicken legs, she tests those who approach her, rewarding only the brave with her ancient knowledge. During Samhain, she serves as a reminder of the power that comes from facing fears and embracing the unknown.
To invoke Baba Yaga’s energy, Wiccans might perform rituals that confront their own shadows and hidden fears. The Crone archetype often forces introspection, revealing the parts of ourselves that need healing or transformation. A meditation where one envisions walking through a dark forest to find her hut can be powerful, symbolizing the journey to confront the shadow and emerge wiser.
Altars dedicated to Baba Yaga may include elements from nature, such as bones, twigs, and skull symbols, emphasizing her connection to the wild and the cycle of life and death. During Samhain, this connection is especially profound as it aligns with the themes of death, rebirth, and transformation. By embracing her, practitioners can find empowerment and wisdom in the darkness.
4. The Morrigan: Goddess of Death and Fate
The Morrigan, the Celtic goddess of war, fate, and death, often takes the form of a crow, a symbol of her connection to the Otherworld. As a Crone figure during Samhain, she embodies the fierce and unyielding aspects of the cycle of life and death. The Morrigan teaches acceptance of the inevitable and the importance of facing life’s battles with courage.
Wiccans can work with the Morrigan’s energy by embracing her as a guide through personal transformation. Rituals involving fire and bloodstone crystals are effective for channeling her power, especially when seeking to break old patterns or reclaim personal sovereignty. She aids in releasing past wounds, allowing practitioners to rise stronger and more self-assured as the new year begins.
The Morrigan’s association with crows and ravens makes it common for Wiccans to look for these birds as signs of her presence during Samhain. Offerings of meat, red wine, or red flowers left at outdoor altars honor her connection to both the battlefield and the cycle of life. By acknowledging the Morrigan’s fierce nature, practitioners find strength and courage within themselves.
5. Cailleach: The Winter Crone of Transformation
Cailleach is a goddess associated with winter and the harsh elements, embodying the power of nature’s cycles. Known as the bringer of storms and the guardian of sacred sites, she represents the Crone’s role in shaping and transforming the landscape. During Samhain, her presence marks the transition into the darker half of the year, emphasizing the themes of death and rebirth.
Working with Cailleach involves connecting to the forces of nature, especially the cold and transformative aspects of winter. Practitioners may invoke her by spending time outdoors, feeling the shift in energy, and drawing upon her strength to endure life’s challenges. Rituals might include collecting stones or bones, symbolizing the hard truths and the enduring nature of the soul.
Altars dedicated to Cailleach during Samhain can feature winter-themed elements like snowflakes, ice crystals, or bare branches. This honors her dominion over the cold and her power to shape the landscape. By invoking her transformative energy, Wiccans embrace the natural cycles and prepare themselves for the inward journey that the colder months demand.
6. The Wise Woman Archetype: Empowerment and Guidance
The Crone also manifests as the wise woman, the healer, and the teacher, embodying the role of community guide and protector. This archetype represents the culmination of a life lived with purpose, wisdom, and spiritual strength. At Samhain, the wise woman’s energy encourages practitioners to become vessels of knowledge, offering healing and guidance to others.
To honor the wise woman, Wiccans may hold ceremonies that celebrate the elders within their community. Creating a circle where stories and wisdom are shared acknowledges the Crone’s presence in everyday life and encourages the passing down of ancestral knowledge. This act of communal support reflects the Crone’s nurturing aspect and her role in guiding others through the dark times.
The wise woman archetype is also present in herbalism and healing arts. During Samhain, Wiccans may craft herbal remedies or teas to honor this Crone aspect, using plants like mugwort or elderberry, which have deep spiritual and healing connections. By embodying the role of healer, practitioners draw on the Crone’s wisdom, becoming conduits of her ancient power.
7. Persephone: The Queen of the Underworld
Though often associated with her maiden aspect, Persephone also embodies Crone energy as the Queen of the Underworld. During Samhain, she represents the journey into the depths of the soul and the acceptance of darkness as a transformative force. Persephone teaches that there is wisdom in embracing the shadow self and finding strength within it.
To work with Persephone’s Crone aspect, Wiccans can perform guided meditations where they descend into the underworld, seeking out hidden truths and reclaiming personal power. Using pomegranate seeds as a symbolic connection to her story, practitioners may also create spells or rituals that emphasize rebirth and renewal, transforming past pain into empowerment.
Altars for Persephone might include images of pomegranates, skulls, and dark flowers such as marigolds or chrysanthemums. By acknowledging her role as both the bringer of spring and the Queen of the Underworld, Wiccans honor the duality of life and death, embodying the balance that Samhain encourages in all spiritual work.
8. Lilith: The Dark Feminine and Shadow Work
Lilith is often seen as a symbol of rebellion, independence, and the primal aspects of the feminine. As a Crone archetype during Samhain, she embodies the shadow self—challenging societal norms and expectations. Lilith’s energy during this time encourages Wiccans to embrace their authentic selves, shedding societal constraints and confronting hidden desires.
Working with Lilith’s energy can be transformative for those seeking personal empowerment and autonomy. Practitioners may perform mirror spells, gazing into their reflections to face their true selves, or journal rituals where they write and release what no longer serves them. Samhain is the ideal time to shed old skins and walk a path of self-acceptance guided by Lilith’s fierce independence.
An altar for Lilith could include serpentine symbols, black candles, and sigils of personal power. Offerings like red wine or dark chocolate can be used to honor her sensuality and the empowerment she represents. By aligning with Lilith, Wiccans invite her transformative energy, allowing them to navigate the shadow and emerge reborn and renewed.
https://www.wiccamagazine.com/blog/honoring-the-crone-deities-and-archetypes-for-the-samhain-season
Original AI Images Contributed by Elspeth
These are the articles selected for Samhain and Halloween.
We hope you enjoyed reading through as much as we enjoyed compiling it for you!
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Comments
Ahhh I loved it. Thank you for this. I like the ancestor altar and the Samhain Tarot Spread. That's a really good one.
I think its wonderful! Samhain Blessings 🎃🕯🍁🐈⬛
Fabulous work! Well done 👏