The End of Summer
In Old Irish, Samhain means “the end of summer.” The Celts divided the year into a light half and a dark half, and Samhain served as the gateway into the darkness. The harvest had been brought in, the livestock had returned from the fields, and the year prepared to die so that a new one could begin.
For the Celts, a new day began when darkness fell. Consequently, the celebration commenced at sunset on October 31st and continued into November 1st. This was the night when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. People would set a place at the table for those they had lost, place candles in their windows to guide them home, and carve faces into turnips to keep whatever roamed in the darkness at bay. These turnips eventually evolved into the jack-o’-lanterns we know today.
When Irish emigrants brought these customs to America, they returned to us as Halloween—with a few extra costumes thrown into the mix.
Our Own Nordic Samhain
We didn’t just borrow this celebration; we have our own version. In the Nordic region, people observed the “Winter Nights” in mid-October—marking the first winter night of the year. This period included two specific blots (sacrificial rituals).
The Alfeblot (Sacrifice to the Elves) was held within the home for deceased ancestors, who were believed to dwell in the earth and in the burial mounds on the farmstead. It was a private affair, and doors were closed to outsiders. Around the year 1018, the skald Sigvat complained that he was turned away from farm after farm in Sweden because the residents were “holding an Alfeblot.” One can certainly understand his frustration—just as one can understand the people who turned him away.
The Diseblot (Sacrifice to the Disir) was held for the disir—female spirits and ancestral mothers who watched over the kin group. When Christianity arrived, the dead were moved to All Saints' Day. That is why, in Denmark, we still light candles on graves during the first weekend of November. So, you have been celebrating Samhain your whole life—you just didn't know it.
What Samhain asks of you
Samhain is not a night for wishing for more. It is a night for looking back and giving thanks. For the year that has passed. For that which must be allowed to die, so that something new may sprout. And for the women who came before you—women who carried more than they were ever thanked for.
This is also why Samhain resonates so deeply if you have spent many years carrying everyone else. This is the night when you are permitted to set some of that burden down.
The Light of the Ancestors: A Five-Minute Ritual
All you need is a candle. That is it.
Light the candle once darkness has fallen on October 31st.
Place your hand over your heart and speak the names of the women in your lineage whom you know—your mother, your grandmother, your great-grandmother. For those you do not know, say: “And all of you who came before.”
Then say:
I am here because you were here. Thank you for what you carried, and thank you for what you set down, so that I would not have to bear it.
Let the candle burn down, or blow it out with a word of thanks.
As you speak these words, try to sense how many women are standing behind you. There are more than you think.
Three questions for your journal
What in my life is ready to die, so that something new can find space?
What strength have I inherited from the women who came before me?
What will I take with me into the darkness, and what will I leave behind?
Do you want to go all the way?
In the member space, you will find everything for Samhain: an altar with colors, crystals, herbs, and incense; a diseblot (offering) for your female ancestors; a silent dinner for the departed; and a protection ritual where you sweep the old year out of your home using a broom, salt, and rowan twigs. [Join the circle →] (link: /membership)
And if you would like to have all eight seasonal festivals of the year at your fingertips, you can find them in the e-book The Witch’s Wheel of the Year. [View the e-book →] (link: /shop/wheel-of-the-year)
Happy Samhain. Light a candle for those who came before you. And one for yourself. You, too, are one of those whom someone will one day thank.