How To Magically Prepare For Samhain
At Samhain (sah-when') the veils between the worlds of the living and the dead are thin. We are able to reach out to those who have gone before us. We can hear the voices of the Beloved Dead. We can journey through the twilight realms and meet them.
You may feel called to meet with the Ancestors of your own bloodlines. Or you may be inspired to reach out to others of the Beloved Dead, those who you have loved and who love you beyond measure.
You may feel called to spend time with an Ancestor of Spirit. These are the beings whose life and work have helped to make your own life possible. They have inspired, healed, created, and transformed the world in which they lived. Their beauty and courage have travelled through time to touch you, helping you to become who you are meant to be.
At Samhain we slip through between the veils, cross the sunless sea and walk on the Island of the Ancestors. We join with others to dance the great spiral and turn the Wheel of the Year.
From now until mid-November, Samhain energy is pouring in as we move toward this liminal time of the year.
Whether you are planning a ritual to journey or celebrating with an ancestors dinner, here are some ways to magically prepare for Samhain.
Whose Land is This?
Many of us are familiar with Land Acknowledgements. In our magical practise we work closely with the Land and the Spirits of the Land, so acknowledging those who have gone before is foundational.
Particularly at Samhain, when we work with the Ancestors, honouring the Indigenous peoples of the Earth is integral to the magic. Find out the Nations in whose territory you live and work and speak their names at your Samhain ritual.
Wheel of the Year
Wheel of the Year magic is inextricably entwined with the changes in the green world. At this time of year, the Earth is moving into its cycles of death and release. The vibrant blooms of summer are becoming the Ancestors that will feed future growth. As the Earth transforms, our magic moves into the potent and mysterious gateway between life and death.
If you plan on journeying, your responsibility is to commit fully to life, as you open to reunion with those who have gone before. Our power arises from our embodiment – our ability to journey in spirit and return fully to the vibrancy of our lives.
Preparation for our magic has two aspects – being Centered in Life and opening to Relationships with Death and with the Ancestors.
Centered in Life – the Anchor
Think, meditate and enjoy all the activities and experiences that bring you happiness.
Remember the people and animals who you love. Experience the sensual delight of embodiment – the flavours you love, the colours that inspire, the tactile and auditory pleasures of your life.
Find an object that is beautiful to you. Fill it with the energy of all those things that make your life worth living. This object becomes your Anchor and will call you Home to the centre of yourself after you’ve spent time with the Ancestors.
As you do this part of the magical preparation, you may notice that there is a spirit ally who understands and supports this work. This Ally will help you to return fully to the vitality and embodied strength that is the Centre of your life.
Honouring Death and Life – the Altar and 2 candles
Our life is made even more precious when we acknowledge our mortality. We do not need to fear or hide from death; rather we turn toward its power and open to the possibility of acceptance. We can feel the sacred at the Gate of Dearth. We can see the beauty of this passage.
Create an altar that honours Death. You may wish to include images and objects that express Death’s power – bones, skulls, snake skin. You may also want to add beautiful life-filled offerings, to feed those who have died.
Add two unused candles - one for the Dead and one for the Living. These can be lit during your ritual, so have matches or a lighter handy.
Relationships with the Dead - Beloved Ancestors
Building the Altar may have already brought you in touch with a specific Ancestor that you would like to work with. Or, you may be feeling a question within you that you would like to ask of the Ancestors – but you don’t know who to ask.
You may wish to work with the Beloved Ancestors, those who love us beyond measure. The Beloved Ancestors may be :
Human or Animal Ancestors.
Bloodline Ancestors (great-great-grandmother Sophie)
Ancestors of Spirit (Amelia Earhart, WB Yeats)
the Beloved Ancestors might be less clearly named (for example - ancient grass woman)
Ancestors specifically related to the yearning/question that we bring to this working:
the Ancestor who can help me move through my grief
the Ancestor who knows how to embrace life
the Ancestor who can help me with this decision
As you connect with who is calling to you and/or who you are calling to, imagine what offerings they might like. Make these offerings and leave them on your altar. Find images of things they might like and add them to the altar. This can be done frequently throughout the Samhain season.
Traditionally this is a time for feeding the Ancestors. Make beverages and treats for your Ancestor and leave them on the altar. Have an Ancestor Dinner where each person brings the food their Ancestor would like, and tells stories about the Ancestor. If the Ancestor loved a particular activity, arrange to do that (after the meal play cards, have a lively political conversation, watch their favourite movie)
Naming the Dead - honouring those who have died
As part of your working, you can carve out a time during your ritual to share the names of any who have died in this past year. At this time you can also speak the names of any Ancestors who are especially close to you right now.
You can go around the circle and each person can pass, or speak the names of their Beloved Dead. You can use this as an opportunity to speak their names within your heart, even if you choose not to speak them aloud.
Take some time to check in and see if there is anyone whose name you wish to speak. These Ancestors may, or may not be the Ones you will be working with during the trance journey.
Very often those who have died in the last year are not available to connect with us in spirit, as they are busy in their own process, doing their own work. It can sometimes take more than a year before the Dead are ready to connect with us at Samhain.
Magical work with difficult ancestral energy is powerful and can be very tricky.
It requires considerable clarity and focus, and extensive preparation.
It is possible that your work with the Beloved Ancestors could be helpful foundational work, should you be called to do more complex ancestral magic.
