S4 E4: The Ultimate Guide to Samhain

In this episode, we are talking all about the meaning of Samhain, the ancient Celtic precursor to our modern Halloween, and a favorite festival of many witches! Samhain is the most magickal day of the year, when the veil between worlds is said to be at its thinnest. That means that the barrier between our physical, human world and the spirit realm becomes very thin - so thin that spirits and the dead can pass into our world to walk among us. That includes deceased loved ones and mischievous or evil spirits alike, so it is common both to honor our ancestors with altars and to do protection spells at this time of year. Many of your favorite Halloween decorations are actually pagan Samhain symbols, including jack o'lanterns. The ancient Celts carved faces into root vegetables to protect their homes on Samhain; when colonizers came to North America, they discovered that pumpkins worked even better for this purpose. In the northern hemisphere, Samhain always takes place during Scorpio season. It also occurs within a few weeks of the new moon in Scorpio and the full moon in Taurus, activating this axis of life and death, of pleasure and darkness. At the opposite end of the year, Beltane occurs during Taurus season. In the southern hemisphere, these are reversed, but Samhain and Beltane always activate this Taurus-Scorpio axis. In 2022, this axis is even more potently activated, as the new and full moons near Samhain will also be eclipses. Persephone, the goddess of vegetation and Queen of the Underworld from Greek mythology, is also often honored at Samhain, as this is the time of year when she is said to descend into the underworld to be with her husband. It's traditional to eat six pomegranate seeds in honor of Persephone's six months in the underworld. Click here to listen to my ultimate guide to Beltane episode, where I talk more about Persephone. Listen to learn all about the history, themes and symbolism, and astrology of this festival and how to celebrate Samhain. Free Resources on Samhain: 6 Crystals for Samhain or Halloween An Easy Ancestor Summoning Spell Pomegranate Beauty Ritual Click here to take the free "What Kind of Witch Are You?" quiz and discover your inner witch this Samhain season. Wondering how to pronounce Samhain? This Scottish Gaelic festival can be a tricky word, especially for English speakers in the United States! Samhain is actually pronounced "sow-in" - now you know!