#celtic magic

Presenting the round-up of Sheydmade's 2025 Halloween, Samhain, & Autumn Holidays & Rituals articles and pieces. Have a look through and consider bringing some of these traditions into your own holiday season! Happy Haunting!

A Soul! A Soul! A Soul Cake!: Traditional Spirit Offerings for Allhallowtide, Samhain, & Halloween — Explore the origins, purposes, and variations of soul cakes around the world, and enjoy a collection of soul cake recipes.

An Cailleach: the Queen of Winter — An Cailleach comes into her half of the year during the dark season, with many marking Samhain as the beginning of her time. This is a broad exploration of an Cailleach and the many roles she plays in the world of witchcraft and in the practices of her devotees.

Dining with the Dead: the Supper — a guide to hosting a Dumb Supper/Silent Supper as a method of communicating with or honoring the dead.

the Dumb Supper Divination Rite — Learn all about the original Dumb Supper, a folk divination ritual performed on Halloween, New Years, and other significant dates.

Hollers, Haints, & Hocus Pocus: Halloween in Southern Appalachia — an adoration of Southern and Southern Appalachian Halloween traditions, customs, superstitions, and lore.

Samhain: an Introduction — the history and origins of Samhain, a collection of traditional Samhain customs, and ways of incorporating historical Samhain traditions in contemporary practice.

Mural of Brigid in Co. Kildare

St. Brigid is an incredibly important and inspirational saint for the Irish people, the Irish diaspora, women, poets, children with abusive fathers or an unstable home, healers, blacksmiths, firefighters, midwives, people giving birth, dairy workers, chicken farmers, sailors, scholars, nuns, pro-choice acitivists, women's ordination activists, travellers, AND MORE! 📚

You may already know that there are heavy connections between the Irish goddess Brigid and St. Brigid. The pagan Brigid is a triple goddess, and not in the "maiden, mother, crone" way. She is Brigid the healer, the smith, and the poet. She is a goddess of fire- the inner fire, the lifeforce, the hearth, the fire of the forge, and the fire of inspiration. In fact, her name means "vitality" or "strength." Imbolg is her holy day. 🔥

St. Brigid is a canonized Catholic saint who's said to be the "Mary of the Gael," showing just how relevant she is to the Irish people. She's started her own monastery and was a travelling missionary. She's especially known for her generosity. She's often depicted as holding a shepherd's staff, something only bishops are portayed with in iconography. As it happens, Brigid may have been (and I believe that she was) one of the first ordained female bishops within the Catholic church. 😇

Now, many Catholics will insist that St. Brigid is a serpate human person from the Brigid of mythology, and many pagans will insist the same. There's debate surrounding the literal historical existance of a human saint named Brigid. My personal belief system is syncretic. It's obvious that St. Brigid's life stories have taken heavy inspiration from pagan tradition. There are some obvious differences as well. It's my personal belief that Brigid can and will express herself in whichever way her people, and any people, will recieve her. Back then it was pagan spirituality and a goddess culture. As time marched forward the Catholic church became Ireland's favorite inlet to the Divine. Brigid is a goddess of multiple persons and infinite possibilities. I don't think it's too much of a jump to veiw the two women as emanations of the same personality. It's also been shown time and time again that Irish folklore has transformed and survived through Catholicism. The love for Brigid is no exception. 💚

Here's a wonderful podcast episode telling some stories from the saint's life, as well as diving into the syncretic nature of Brigid.🎙

Here are some prayers you could use for your novena leading up to her feast day, Feb 1st. To pray a novena, you simply select a prayer or prayers to St. Brigid that speak to you, and pray them for nine days at the same time each day. A candle lit in her honor during your prayers (or even a perpetual flame, if you know your fire safety and wanna get fancy) is a nice touch but not required.🕯

Prayers listed by a Catholic community in support of inclusivity and women's ordination.

Prayers and traditions surrounding St. Brigid

More prayers, including a litany to St. Brigid

Hopefully during this Imbolg season I'll be able to post more about the goddess and saint Brigid. St. Brigid, pray for us! 🕯

Celtic Zodiac (Trees)

The Celtic Zodiac is an astrological system that is based on the beliefs and mythology of the ancient Celts, who lived in Europe during the Iron Age and Medieval Periods. The Celtic Zodiac is closely related to the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish cultures, and it is believed to have originated in Ireland around 500 BCE.

The Celtic Zodiac is based on the cycle of the moon and consists of thirteen signs, each of which is associated with a specific tree or plant. Each sign represents a different personality type, and each person is believed to be born under a particular sign.

The thirteen signs of the Celtic Zodiac are:

Birch (December 24 - January 20)

Rowan (January 21 - February 17)

Ash (February 18 - March 17)

Alder (March 18 - April 14)

Willow (April 15 - May 12)

Hawthorn (May 13 - June 9)

Oak (June 10 - July 7)

Holly (July 8 - August 4)

Hazel (August 5 - September 1)

Vine (September 2 - September 29)

Ivy (September 30 - October 27)

Reed (October 28 - November 24)

Elder (November 25 - December 23)

Each sign is associated with specific traits and characteristics, and these are believed to be influenced by the tree or plant that is associated with the sign. For example, people born under the Birch sign are said to be creative and motivated, while those born under the Reed sign are believed to be empathetic and intuitive.

By Devil's Dozen and Power of Three,

I pierce the stars of the Wicken Tree,

The Houses of the Mabinogi

The Houses of Dôn and Llyr are connected by marriage through Llyr's wife, Penarddun but are diverse in their stories and personalities.

Dôn collage to the bottom left, Llyr collage to the bottom right.

The House of Dôn, apart from the mother goddess herself, boasts two powerful magicians: Math and Gwydion. Also the Goddess of the Wheel of the Year, Arianhod, and her estranged son Lleu Llaw Gyffes are popular characters of this house. The children of Dôn also include Amaethon, the god of agriculture and who started the 'Cad Goddeu' or Battle of the Trees, where all the children declared war against Arawn, King of Annwn. They only won due to Gwydion's expert wizardy with his summoning of a tree army. Finally, the grandson of Dôn, Gwyn, son of Nudd, is popular in Welsh folklore as the king of the Tylwyth Teg (fairy-folk) and leader of the Wild Hunt.

The House of Llyr is smaller in sized but full of tragedy.