The Rituals of Samhain

In the northern hemisphere, Samhain marks the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the dark half of the year. It’s the time of year that we celebrate everything ghoulish and dark — but what is the real meaning of Samhain? Let’s go back into the past and discover the real meaning behind Samhain and Halloween.

What is the meaning of Samhain?

Around the time of Halloween or All Hallows Eve, we use the term Samhain interchangeably. Samhain comes from Irish Gaelic, meaning “summer’s end” to signify the end of the light half of the year.

Samhain in Ireland actually refers to “the month of Samhain” where it was celebrated for the whole month. The 31st of October was named “Samhain Eve” which was the apex of the celebration. Samhain falls between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, meaning the harvest is now well and truly over, but winter has not yet come.

Samhain celebrates the harvest

When agriculture became widespread in Ireland in the Neolithic age, Samhain transformed into a harvest festival. This was a time when our ancestors relied on a plentiful harvest to carry them over into the dark half of the year. It was important to them to give thanks for the bounty of crop that would hopefully tide them over til the next harvest. Herdsmen also celebrated the festival giving thanks for the bounty from the animals — since the animals would be ritually slaughtered now for the coming winter.

What was so important about winter? To our ancestors, it was the beginning of the year.

Samhain was a Celtic new year celebration

Samhain was considered the Celtic new year. Modern pagans call it “the witches’ new year” but where does this come from?

According to early medieval records, Samhain was important because it represented the first of the four quarter times that the year was divided into. Agriculturally, that’s because technically winter would be the start of the year, since the soil needs time to regenerate before it can be sewn and harvested again. The harvest is really the end product of the whole process.

The passage tombs in Britain reveal our ancestor’s rituals at this time of year. The passages in the tombs were illuminated on Samhain with the rising of the sun. The Mound of the Hostages at the Hill of Tara and Cairn L at Slieve na Calliagh are two of the most notable places they would observe Samhain. Our ancestors were counting down the days till the light would illuminate the passage and the new year would begin.

Samhain was a time to honour the dead, and the gods

From the records that we have, it’s actually possible to class Samhain is a Veneration of the Dead Holiday. Forget jack-o-lanterns and ghouls, this was a holiday of ancestor worship. What we have to remember is who these ancestors were. To our ancestors, their ancestors were the figures from mythology. Ancestors that stretched so far back in time, they were classed as gods.

According to the folklore, Samhain and Beltane the doorways to the Otherworld opened. The Otherworld was the realm of the Children of Don in Wales, or the Tuatha de Dannan in Ireland. In medieval times they were called the fair folk or the fairies. In mythology, Finn mac Cumhaill says that the mounds are “always open at Samhain.”

Ancestor worship is a very old and ancient practice. It’s a time when cultures around the world choose to venerate passed over family members. But why did they want to contact these ancestor spirits? In our ancestor’s eyes, these were the people that helped them settle the land. The gods gave them knowledge on how to make weapons, heal themselves with medicine, and how to grow crops.

Without the gods, the people of Ireland lacked the knowledge to do anything that would make them a civilisation able to survive and thrive. In many cultures, ancestor worship is a way to connect to the those passed but also to gain wisdom from them. It was common for ancient cultures would make statues, houses or other spaces for ancestors to come, called by prayer at a specific time of year. This is what our ancient ancestors were doing at Samhain.

How did they call the spirits home? Ritual bonfires were lit on the mounds at Samhain and then rituals were performed to invoke the ancestor spirits from the Otherworld. The fires were used as a way to guide them from the darkness of the mounds. It was also recorded in later texts that the fires had the power to purify and protect the villagers through the winter.

Another facet of ancestor worship was to give food and other gifts to the spirits. People would leave food out at the set kitchen table, while others left bread and milk outside their doors. A ritual recorded near Scotland was to wade out in the sea at night and give a cup of ale to the spirit of the sea to ask for blessings.

In India, the spirit of the deceased is venerated by laying out food for them, or even feeding the food to crows. Crows or ravens are seen as the soul of the person embodied as the bird coming to taste the food.

Rituals you can do this Samhain

Light a candle on the windowsill to call the ancestor spirits home. Light is said to call the ancestor spirits home. Contemplate on those you wish you could talk to and gain insight from, then call to them and write down their advice on a piece of paper. You can use this to reorient yourself when you feel lost.
Leave an offering to the ancestors. Try offering the traditional bread, milk and honey offering practiced in medieval times, or go with the offering that’s typical in India, fruit and fresh flowers. Either way, the ancestors will be delighted that you’re thinking of them.
Reflect and go within. Journal to find answers or use tarot cards for insights. If you ask the cosmos a question, you’re bound to get a clear answer. Samhain is a time when the veils are thin, so it’s perfect for divination.
Wander to a mound or hillside and feel the energy of the ancestors. One way to feel closer to the ancestors is to mingle with them. Ask them a question in your mind and intuitively feel the answer come to you. You might be surprised at how accurate it is.
Offer some food to crows and ravens. The Morrigan is the goddess of the night, winter and death, and transforms into crows when she takes a solid form. Birds are also seen as symbols of ancestors and the afterlife. Sharing food with the birds is another way of giving an offering to the ancestors. In India, this ritual is said to bring the loved ones peace because they know they are not forgotten.