Samhain: Sacred, Somber, and Powerful

Last updated on: October 28, 2019 at 4:27 pm by Lisa Wagoner

Samhain: Sacred, Somber, and Powerful 2019-10-28T16:27:42-04:00 Lisa Wagoner

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Samhain is soon upon us, and it feels like we have been celebrating for weeks now. Actually, we have! The build-up to Samhain starts weeks in advance, as the Wheel of the Year moves toward the end of our Witches’ year. Everyone is full of activity, plans, and excitement. Tied in with the general euphoria of Halloween, October has its own buzzy, hyper feel. #PaganOctober is a very real, very full, very busy month.

Photo by Lisa Wagoner

Underneath all the hustle and bustle, there still remains the basics: the veil is thin, ancestors feel close, we draw inward, and we do the work. Tending to each other, tending to our community, celebrating, focusing, working, pondering. We partake in ritual, begin work on our winter apothecaries, finish out our gardens, attend community events, honor our beloved dead, and more. The list is long. And I am sure I don’t even cover all that others do.

Samhain is not just a day, it is a season: sacred, somber and powerful. We create ancestor altars, commune with them, honor our beloved dead, take part in ritual, and gather in community. This year was no different, yet I noticed a deepening of our community connection, a deepening of other’s practices, and more attention being paid to this time of year more than ever.

For myself, I devoted the entire month to my grandmother, my Oma. It became a cozy ritual, where I would spend part of the mornings with her, adding coffee to my ancestor altar (a beverage of choice for many of us in my family line) mostly spending time with her in quiet solitude. I felt her love across time, and I know she appreciated my gratitude for all that she had done for me in her lifetime. It centered and grounded me, as I moved through the month. It culminated with me feeling a bit sickly recently, and I turned to her tried and true chicken noodle soup (I swear I heard her muttering about me adding too many noodles). I felt less alone, more secure, much loved, and feeling much better after I had her soup.

My fellow witches were busy with their own practices and activities. Honestly, I marvel at the energy we all seem to have, for in addition to work and families, I have friends who are writing books about their practices, starting moon journals, reading cards for others, planning events, arranging rituals, taking care of their community, and doing shadow work. They are working with the last harvests of their garden, leading workshops on kitchen witchery, making fire ciders and elderberry syrups and tinctures. It is a busy, active time, before we head into the darkening of the days. I will remember these days, filled with candlelight and dazzlingly blue skies, changing leaf colors, alternate cold and hot temperatures, windy evenings, foggy mornings, and the quiet, respectful silence as we participated in our local Ancestor Vigil.

Indeed, this is a powerful time. As the world seems more and more chaotic, the work we witches do helps heal this bruised and battered planet. We support each other locally and across the miles, sharing recipes and rituals, stories and songs. We check in on each other, offer healing energies and suggestions. I have noticed the stronger sense of purpose, and the deepening connection between us as we do the work. The work that is sacred, powerful, nourishing and emphatic. We do the work because we can, and because we must.

Someone I know recently asked me, “When did you decide to become a witch?” I responded, “I didn’t decide. I just realized I always was one.” These practices I have been doing in some form or another most of my life, yet I didn’t have language for it. I know many of us feel the same. Now that I know more of the language, I speak it daily, in personal practice, and among my peers. I am grateful for this most of all, this Samhain season, as I am appreciative for all the other parts that make up this busy, hectic, fulfilling, gratifying, somber time. May your Samhain be filled with all of this, as we look towards the darkness of winter, and may the bright memories of Samhain carry you forward to Yule and beyond.

Previous Post

October 21, 2019

A Witch Shop at Samhain

Next Post

November 5, 2019 Unpacking Pagan October

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What major prophet often used object lessons, such as a ruined loincloth?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jeremiah Habakkuk Isaiah Malachi