Hail and Well Met you magickal souls!!!!
It's almost one of my favourite Wheel of the Year celebrations: Samhain! Samhain is another name for Hallowe'en. This is the time of year when clocks get changed and days are darker for longer. By contrast, the opposite celebration is Beltane which occurs around 1st May in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that Beltane and Samhain happen at the same time for both Hemispheres.
Some people believe this is the Witches New Year and celebrate over the course of at least 3 days with bonfires being lit, feasting, divination being practiced, and a lot of merriment. This conenction may be due to this being the beginning of the Celtic year that began at sunset on 1st November.
However, something I didn't know is that this time of year is ruled over by Trivia, the Roman Goddess of magic and the Underworld. Trivia is also known as the "Queen of Ghosts". She rules over sorcery and magic and would have been the goddess that witches, wizards and sorcerers turned to for guidance. Trivia is the Roman equivalent of Hekate as She is also associated with crossroads - but something I hadn't even connected with Samhain is that Autumn is the crossroads between Summer and Winter, although it makes sense that this time of year is ruled over by Trivia. (Fun Fact: Samhain means "end of summer".)
Some witches will use this time to focus on ancient wisdom, movement between the dimensions, the crossroads/intersection between past, present and future, and welcoming the ancestors. The ancestors could be loosely translated to ghosts for an extra "spooky" connection. Fires/Bonfires are associated with this time as cattle would be driven between two fires to purify them and drive away the bad spirits that apparently lurked at the transition of the year.
Samhain is a harvest celebration as it is when pumpkins, turnips, and swedes - this is why they feature as quite the symbol of Hallowe'en. These same foods would be used to fight fears and anxieties about bad witches and malevolent Fae creatures by carving gruesome faces and then displaying them. This is where the modern practice of carving just pumpkins comes from.
In our modern times, Samhain is associated with remembering the dead. But those we remember don't have to be those we knew and loved, as we can also remember those who lived on the same land as us, the ones who came before us.
There are plenty of plants associated with Samhain but these four could be useful:
Rosemary - You can burn it before any rituals or spells, or use it in an infusion to wash your hands or your magickal tools (those that can be washed with water). It can be used for ancestor, memory and dream-work.
Wormwood - It can be burned in incense, or dried and burned in a cauldron to summon spirits or develop psychic powers. It also has protective properties so it could also be hung from a rear-view mirror to protect from danger.
Mugwort - This is a visionary herb, so it is popular for spells and rituals to boost divinatory powers. It can also be used to cleanse crystal balls and/or scrying tools.
Blessed Thistle - This is prickly so it is highly useful for protection spells (for yourself, for your home or specific people), and keep negative energy away. This herb is useful in an incense as it can clear the mind, bring creativity in, and give inspiration space to take root.
As well as herbs, there are crystals that could be useful at this time. There are so many that I'm only giving four:
Black Obsidian - Without imperfections, this can be used as a scrying mirror or a crystal ball. This crystal is known as the Warrior of Truth. Obsidian has a protective energy that is useful when doing work exploring past lives, and ancestral work.
Fluorite - (This is one of my favourite crystals) Known as the Genuis Stone, it can help you to find solutions to problems, and amplifies creativity.
Labradorite - To the Inuit peoples, this crystal is believed to have fallen down from the Aurora Borealis (aka the Northern Lights). Known as a Stone of Magic, it is used by shamanic practitioners, diviners, and anyone who seeks guidance. I can enhance clairvoyance, and help with communicating with spirits.
Black Tourmaline - This has been used by ancient practioners to protect against demons (but in my experience, it can cause technology to be glitchy). It can be used as a psychic shield in spells and rituals, or if it's polished, it could be used for scrying.
So with all of that, let's see what Samhain 2024 wants us to know and focus on for a bit. I'm using the Seasons of the Witch: Samhain Oracle by Lorriane Anderson and Juliet Diaz (illustrated by Giada Rose), and the spread is my own.
How can we improve our protections?
The Veil
With this card, we're being told that there is a danger or threat that we have been ignoring, or maybe even pretending it doesn't exist. Or we've become too complacent, thinking that the protections we have are enough, when in reality, they aren't quite strong enough.
We might not have realised our potential and that means that there is so much more that we could be if we would only fully look at the reality of our situation.
Sometimes we want to believe that everything is hunky-dory, as fine as fine can be, but we're hiding in a dream-world away from the reality that we need to face to know where and how our protections aren't strong enough.
In our lives, what has been growing that we can now harvest?
Greet the Darkness
With this card, the answer is immediate: we've been growing the relationship between ourselves and our Shadows. The parts of ourselves that we would rather shroud in Darkness than face and heal.
Perhaps we have been working towards seeing a Truth that we would prefer to deny, but that we can no longer ignore. Maybe this Truth needs to be spoken, as this card specifies the area "where the spine bends and the mouth quivers" which indicates the throat area (in my opinion).
The Darkness doesn't have to be a scary place; it can be welcoming and comforting. The kind of place where our whole Selves are accepted and loved, waiting patiently to be noticed.
What ancient wisdom needs to be illuminated as we stand at the seasonal cross-roads?
Crystals and Herbs
With this card, the ancient wisdom we need to illuminate is that of the Earth. Herbs are grown in the earth, whether potted, in a garden bed or growing wild.
Teas are made with herbs and can be healing in surprising ways, even as a complete unknown. So this could mean that Herbs are encouraging us to think about our outer, more visible, growth
Crystals are grown in the earth, with the mineral deposits influencing what crystals are growing. This is all about inner or hidden growth, inspiring us to consider whether we need to display our crystals and how we interact with them.
What message do our ancestors have for us?
Voices
Well, it seems the ancestors want us to either listen to their Voices, the ones that whisper in our ears and are carried by the wind. Maybe we've been spending enough time trying to be heard that we've forgotten that communication is as much about listening because it's supposed to as equal as possible.
Or they want us to use our Voices and make sure we are heard by others in the world. Perhaps we've been too quiet and held back from saying something because we don't want to offend anyone or cause any issues, but what we might not realise is that we are causing issues for ourselves by not ensuring we are heard as much as others.
When I went to put the rest of the deck back in the box, I noticed a single card that was sat to one side that I must have missed while I was shuffling for the reading itself. However, I don't know when this card might have jumped out so I'm including it as an extra message.
Spider
Spiders hold a special place in my heart as they are the most misunderstood but the most beautiful Creature in my opinion.
Spiders don't conform as some jump and some don't, some are venomous and some are now, some have pretty colours while others don't. But they are also creative, making webs that appear to defy Nature by catching flies and other insects without getting damaged. These same webs that can be covered in dew, rain, frost or snow, and still look magickal.
Perhaps the message of Spider is that we need to stop worrying about whether we conform to societal ideals, the ideals of others. That we need to be creative and weave our own stories, making real what will help our own lives.
I love Samhain as it is the epitome of witchiness but it can be such a deep time of year and I feel like these cards are trying to soften the depth of the messages. We need to be creative, perhaps with our words and how we communicate, while also exploring the healing elements that the Earth has to offer us. We have Shadows in our personal Darkness that need to be brought this side of our inner personal Veils.
I hope this inspires you to consider how you could celebrate this Wheel of the Year event. If you'd like a more personal reading around Samhain, my diary and inbox are open.
Peace and love to all!!!!
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