Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain!  This is my favorite time of the year.  It is the celebration of the new year of the ancient Celts, my ancestors. They called it Samhain., End of Summer.  Many Northern Europeans also celebrated this time of the year as the time to honor their blessed dead.  The tradition has been passed down to Catholics as all Saints Day  and in Latin America as The Day of The Dead, November First.

When October comes the air takes on a crisp and mystical quality.  The veil is thinnest between the living and those that have passed on during this season.  It is a good time to invite our beloved dead to visit with us. This is a deep time of appreciation and celebration  of them and our memories of them.   Every year I set up an altar to my ancestors and blessed dead and invite them to commune with me.  I set out their photos and also a feast for them.  This year I sadly add photos of my dear dear friend Tenley and will especially remember other dear ones who also crossed over in the last year.  I do this to  honor them, call upon their guidance and presence and strengthen my connection with them if they a willing to come.   In me, this reafirms the belief that no one or no thing should be left out of the bounty from the past year.  

I find that, because the veil is thinnest, divination can be very powerful at this time. Deceased ancestors and other spirits are easiest to contact. Rituals to honor the dead are performed on this night by many cultures, and divination is at its high point.  Gazing into fire, glass, or a dark mirror or bowel is a popular method for this on this night, and guided meditation for the purpose of past-life regression can be successful as well.  Spirits may help you in divination, and you may also wish to contact the recently departed to strengthen your karmic ties with them if you wish to help ensure that you will be together again.  It is an Irish custom to place black candles in the windows for protection against evil spirits and to leave plates of food out for the spirits who will come and visit you

Wiccians call on The Crone, the last harvest of the year is celebrated, the dying God is mourned, and we reaffirm our beliefs in the oneness of all spirits and in the knowledge that our own physical deaths are not a finality.  

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic),  Samhain, Shadowfest (Strega), and All Hallow's Eve. It is a time when I invoke Hecate, Some of the symbols of Samhain are Turnips, Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, and of course Witches and Goblins. Herbs relating to this Sabbat are Cinnimon, Mugwort, Allspice, Catnip, Dragons Blood, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.