TeandTarot

SAMHAIN BREAKDOWN

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SAMHAIN (🗣SAA-WYN🗣)

Other names:

Samhuin, Samain, Saman, Oidhche Shamhna, Hallowe'en, Halloween, Hallows, Hallowtide, Shadow Fest, Allantide, Third Harvest, Harvest Home, Geimredh, (Feile na Marbh), Feast of the Dead, Spirit Night, Candle Night, November Eve, and Apple Fest.

What is it?

Samhain is an old Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter (the "darker half" of the year)

What it represents

Samhain is a time when doorways to the spirit world are opened, allowing the dead to visit the living world. Some spirits were considered friendly, while others were not, and the Celts created ways to appease them.

It also marks the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of the new one and as such can be seen as an equivalent of New Year's Eve as we know it.

When is it celebrated

It is held on 1 November but with celebrations beginning on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset

Who to honour

Traditionally because this festival is associated with those who no longer walk this realm in a physical form, ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have passed on are appropriate beings to honour.

Other sprits to worship

In the case you want to explore other spirits to worship, any death deity would be appropriate for example, you may feel compelled to leave out an offering to Hades at this time of the year. You can also worship the earth itself, as we approach this time of the year many plants begin the end of their yearly cycle, this is the perfect time to take a moment to appreciate the beauty in that part of the cycle.

How to celebrate

There are many things to do to honour ancestors and not just the human ancestors but the earth ones and the animals as well, this may manifest in many ways.

Some popular ways to celebrate this festival are

dancing,

feasting,

taking nature walks,

Ancestor Stories,

cemetery visits,

Bonfire Magic.

and building altars to honour the ancestors

These are not the only activities, there are many more that I could list and many more points I could touch on, but I wanted to keep this post really easy/friendly and not to overwhelming,

I hope to at some point tomorrow get to draft up a “Samhain correspondence” post to go along with this one🥰 if there is anything else/ or any questions you have that you’d like me to touch base on I’m more than happy to do my best to answer🥰

Merry meet! B ~Phae