To those living in the Northern Hemisphere, I bid Samhain’s blessings to all who celebrate! We are now halfway through autumn, and we grow ever nearer toward the darkest days of the year. Our thoughts turn inward to ready us for rest and reflection. Today, I share with you not only the history of this sabbat, but how I observe and celebrate it on my own path as a Khthonic Wiccan (which you can read about here).

History & Folklore

From Old Irish ‘samain’ meaning ‘summer’s end’, Samhain (pronounced ‘sah-win’) is one of the eight sabbats of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year which is inspired by the Gaelic traditional festival of the same name. As it occurs during midautumn – the halfway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice – it is considered a Lesser Sabbat, though this does not imply that it is any less important than the four Greater Sabbats.

Each year on the first frost following the October full moon, Ancient Celtic families would allow their hearth fires to burn out, bring in herd animals from the grazing fields, take care of any final harvest tasks, and gather with the rest of the community to honor Crom Cruach over a sacred central bonfire which later be used to relight each home’s hearth. The sacrifice of a black sheep or sow would follow, and food would be left at the edge of the village to appease the wandering spirits and fae. In addition to this, to scare away the more unfriendly fae that were thought to be present during this time of year, many people would costume themselves as beasts or other fearsome creatures. The Welsh, in particular, had a ritual wherein the community would place stones around the ashes of the fire once it had burnt out. If a stone was found to be moved the next morning, the person associated with the stone was considered claimed by the fae and expected to meet their end within the coming year.

With the advent of Christianity, Pope Boniface IV introduced the Feast of All Martyrs on May 13th. On November 1st a century later, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in the Vatican to the holy relics of the martyrs, saints, and apostles and expanded the Feast of All Martyrs into All Saints’ Day or All Hallows’ Day. Thus, the day prior became All Hallows’ Eve or what we know today in the United States as Halloween. The decision to move the date of the festival accordingly may have been an attempt to Christianize the observance of Samhain, as was the case for other polytheistic observances.

Regardless, rather than disappearing entirely, the traditions of old simply evolved. The bonfires continued, and the efforts to ward off mischievous fae became the efforts to ward off evil spirits and witches. One such spirit was that of the blacksmith Stingy Jack. In life, Jack was so wicked and manipulative that when word of his reputation reached Satan, Satan quickly set out to meet him. Satan then disguised himself as a corpse set out upon one of Jack’s walks. When Jack approached him, Satan revealed himself through wide eyes and an evil grin. Realizing his time was up, Jack begged for one final request: A drink. Satan obliged.

At the tavern, one drink turned into another, and when the time came to pay the tab, Jack proposed that Satan transform himself into a piece of silver so they could quickly be done with it. Again, Satan obliged, but instead of paying, Jack stuffed the silver in his pocket beside a crucifix. If Satan promised to give him another decade of life, only then would Jack release him. The deal was made, but a decade later, Jack pulled another trick. To satiate his hunger on the long journey to Hell, Jack asked for an apple from a nearby tree. Little did Satan know, as he approached it, that Jack had carved four crucifixes into its bark, and thus Satan was trapped within the branches. This time, Jack asked to be forever free from the fires of Hell. Satan obliged.

As Jack finally approached the natural end of his life, he found himself turned away by St. Peter at the gates of Heaven. Jack then turned to Hell, where Satan also refused him entry per their final agreement. When Jack asked for one last wish – an eternally burning ember from the fiery depths below – Satan couldn’t resist. With the ember in hand, Jack set out to Purgatory, found himself a turnip and hollowed it out into a makeshift lantern. Jack’s spirit has aimlessly roamed the Irish countryside ever since, and whenever locals saw mysterious lights in the night, they would say, “That’s just Jack o’ the Lantern.”

To protect themselves, locals took a page from Jack’s book. Turnips would be carved into makeshift lanterns with menacing faces which would, hopefully, scare the spirits away – including the spirit of Jack himself. If it was necessary to go out into the darkness of the night, the lanterns would come along with them. When Halloween came to the United States, of course, the turnips gave way to pumpkins, which were much more common a crop and much larger in size.

Another common figure present throughout folklore around this time is that of ladies in white, with the Welsh Lady Gwyn (‘white lady’) being a particularly popular one. Her mythos across Europe is vast and varied, with some accounts presenting her as headless, others as accompanied by a black sow, though always donned in white. She has been portrayed as a harmless lost soul, a mourning bride, a wicked sorceress, and even a manifestation of the goddess Ceridwen in her crone aspect. She was also sometimes said to hide in apple orchards, and in South Wales, men and boys (dubbed ‘gwrachod’, or ‘hags’) would gather there and take on her role through costume in sheepskin, rags, and masks, all the while singing to her in efforts to summon her forth.

One popular legend comes from the village of Ewenny, where many accounts were left to us in writing by Welsh folklorist Marie Trevelyan. Within these accounts, she could often be seen wringing her hands as she wandered the village in despair, sometimes pointing people towards a particular location for reasons unknown. In one particular account, a man decided to approach her and offer assistance for whatever had been causing her distress. The Lady Gwyn was purportedly relieved by this and asked if the man could simply hold her tightly for a time. As the man moved to embrace her, he found himself startled by the loud barking of a nearby dog and inadvertently let her go. The Lady Gwyn howled, “I shall be bound for another seven years!” and disappeared.

Yet another legendary Samhain spirit is that of the Dullahan – commonly known as the Headless Horseman – a headless figure riding a black horse and carrying his head in one hand and a whip made from a human spine in the other. His appearance was thought to be an omen of impending death to those who saw him, though gold was sometimes said to drive him away.

Of all the legends of the spirits that roamed the earth during this time of year, possibly the most intimidating is that of the Wild Hunt, which spans multiple mythos under different variations. In Northern Europe, the mounds of the fae opened to make way for a great army of nature spirits accompanied by a pack of black dogs to kidnap mortals and wreak havoc. In Scottish lore, they were accompanied by will-o’-the-wisps and the spirits of unbaptized infants. Some legends claim the Hunt was led by the spirit of figures like King Arthur or Herod the Great. In Norse lore, it was instead hosted by gods of weather and death. In other lore still, the Wild Hunt was participated in by a lone hunter (called the Specter Hunstman) and his ‘Gabble Ratchets’ – black dogs named after the Archangel Gabriel. Holy water, parshell crosses, oatmeal, salt, candles, and jack o’ lanterns were all used as a means of protection from falling victim to these massive hunts. In Irish lore, if you were caught unaware, the only way to escape was to kick dirt at them from beneath your feet and to then run as quickly as you could in the opposite direction.

Malicious spirits weren’t the only spirits said to roam the earth at this time, however, and more than just to protect, the lights of candles, fires, and lanterns were also said to light the way for any ancestors that might come to visit. Doors and windows were left unlocked. Cakes were set out in offering. In some places, a Dumb Supper would be held, wherein places would be set at the table for these visitors and the meal was had in silence or whispers. It was also popular for poor folks and children to go door-to-door in a tradition called ‘souling’ between the nights of October 30th and November 1st, where they would offer songs and prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes (a type of cookie with raisons and crosses on its face) or money. Many locals considered it unlucky to refuse this exchange, as, to many, soulers were thought to represent the souls of the dead coming to collect their food offerings. In the United States, this evolved to become modern-day trick-or-treating.

By children, the money earnt through souling would often be spent on fireworks for Mischief Night, when the tradition of pranking was not only popular but socially acceptable. This likely stemmed from a time when it was common to blame all ill-fortune on the fae, and the resulting mischief pulled by regular folks was either a method of appeasing the fae or a result of the idea that they could more easily get away with it. Threshold pranks were the most common, with doors being removed from hinges, windows being soaped over, and fences being de-picketed. Additional pranks varied by region.

In Northern England, it was popular for young men to set off fireworks in mailboxes, whitewash windows, fill locks with glue, and steal gates. In Oxfordshire, people rolled and raced tar barrels down hilly streets. In Scotland, people threw the stumps of cabbages at the doors of those they disliked, thus earning the night the title of ‘Cabbage Night’. Further, young men who were refused courtship by the father of the woman they fancied would break into the father’s home dressed in straw, stuff the father up the chimney, steal food, and demand a dance from the daughter they were attempting to court. Further still, a prank called ‘Burning the Reekie Mehr’ involved filling a kale stalk with tallow, lighting one end, sticking it through the keyhole of a victim’s house, and blowing to fill the house with smoke.

Along with kale, apples and nuts were exceedingly popular foods incorporated into mischief, games, and matters of divination during this time of year. Games like apple bobbing and snap apple were both played in various ways to determine the future of one’s love life. The peel of an apple might be shaved in a spiral and tossed over the shoulder to reveal the first letter of one’s true love. Cutting an apple horizontally and counting the seeds was yet another form of determining what the year ahead might look like overall. Similarly, nut might be tossed into a fire as a representation of two lovers, and the behaviors of the nuts reacting to the heat of the fire would be observed for divination. Kale stalks, as well, would be plucked up in the middle of the night and compared to the character of those who plucked them and then hung over beds and doors for various purposes.

Of course, this only covers a fraction of the folklore surrounding this time of year. A deeper dive – covering other relevant festivites like the San Francisco Spiral Dance, the Festa del Ombra of Stregheria, the Dia de Los Muertos of the Aztecs, and even Britain’s Guy Fawkes Day – deserves a second article of its own, perhaps, at a later date. To wrap: All these traditions of death and mischief came, at last, to the Colonial United States by way of immigrating Ulster Protestant and has since then evolved into the wholly secular, commercial event – known as, of course, Halloween – observed annually by a significant portion of the United States population to this day.

In Khthonic Wicca

In Persephone’s cyclical seasonal journey, Persephone resumes her role as the Dread Queen of the Dead by her husband’s side. On her journey, the veil between realms has thinned. On the surface, Demeter mourns, and the land begins to wither. Gaia rests. Still, Hekate’s torches remain lit, offering us guidance even in the darkest of days ahead.

In domain, Hekate may be honored as a parallel to Ceridwen or the Morrígan. Kirke, the powerful sorceress that she is, is also appropriate to honor as we enter the most magickal time of the year. We may also choose to consult Athene on all matters of divination and discernment. Persephone, Haides, their children, Kharon, Thanatos, and any other number of Khthonic deities may also be honored at this time, as we commune with ancestors and recognize our own mortality. In addition to the Sacred Triad, which is naturally connected to this sabbat, we also take time at Samhain to offer prayer to the Olympioi and the Protogenoi in accordance with seasonal shifts in energies.

As acts of services around this time of year, you may choose to visit and (responsibly) clean graves, perhaps also taking some time to sit with the spirits there should they be open to your company. It is also a nice time to donate to hospitals and to visit nursing homes and to offer opportunities for connection to those whose descendants may be absent. As a much simpler act of service, you may also like to offer free divination sessions to those who may be open to such guidance.

Sabbat Correspondences

As mentioned in the previous section, the best possible parallel for Ceridwen or the Morrígan on this particular path would be Hekate.

In Wicca, the Crone Goddess mourns the dying Sage God, though within her, is life that will, come spring, begin the cycle again. The energy of the Goddess reigns supreme now, making it the perfect time for reflection, divination, and magick. Though, of course, without the structure of the God, we best keep our wits about us.

Plants: Tuberose, Dittany, Mugwort, Wormwood, Cypress
Minerals: Obsidian, Onyx, Celestite, Azurite, Iron
Colors: Black, Brown, Orange, Purple, Gray
Animals: Raven, Bat, Black Cat, Spider, Hellhound
Symbols: Jack o’ Lantern, Mask, Tombstone, Skull, Ghost
Tarot: Death, The Hanged Man, The Moon

Mabon Ritual Ideas

To prepare for the thinning of the veil, we may choose to bless our freshly carved pumpkins in way which were traditionally intended – as a means of protection and as a means of lighting the way for our ancestors to visit. A sprinkle of cinnamon and clove at the bottom can offer that extra energetic kick needed during this time of year.

If you are someone who does shadow work, now is a good time to craft a mask (or bless one, if you’ve made one already) inspired by your shadow. This can be used throughout the year for matters of infusion and transmutation in shadow work, which can serve as a tool to help channel the beneficial and protective aspects of the shadow.

Dumb suppers are easy enough to put on by simply setting a place for your ancestors and sharing stories with them from throughout the year while also making room for them in silence to be able to more easily communicate in return. I also like to offer a penny for Kharon and to pray in thanks to the deities of the Khthonic realm who watch over and care for those who has passed on from this life.

This is a great time for divination, as well. If you’re counting apple seeds, the traditional interpretations are as follows: Two seeds represent an early marriage, three seeds represent wealth, four seeds represent travel, five seeds represent good health, six seeds represent wisdom or fame, and seven seeds represent a wish coming to fruition. Of course, any method you prefer for your divination practice will do just as well, and if you’re short on time, you can cast a sigil or set an intention to simply incubate prophetic dreams, being mindful to record it and meditate on it when you wake the next morning.

It also can’t hurt to bless your candy if you live someplace that gets a handful or more of trick-or-treaters.

Mabon Spread Ideas

I love a good tender and savory pot roast this time of year, and adding a little bit of cranberry juice to simmer with it can add the perfect hint of sweetness. My roasts are usually pretty potato and vegetable heavy, but as far as sides go, a simple pumpkin bisque and pickled beets are excellent autumnal additions. Mulled wine (or pomegranate juice) pairs beautifully, and a caramel apple pie is the perfect dessert.

If you’d like to make an offering, traditional soul cakes are perfect. You may offer as many as you like to your ancestors and/or deities and keep whatever is left over to enjoy yourself.

Finally, I like to save all the seeds I scoop from any pumpkins that are carved and roast them with various seasonings as a snack.

For Your Reference

The Digital Grimoire provides a plethora of free resources on witchcraft, Khthonic Wicca, and more. As of today, a quick reference for Samhain has been added to the Sabbats subsection, available here on my website any time you should need it. Until my next article, have a very blessed Samhain!

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