Samhain, or Halloween, is a holiday celebrated on October 31; for many pagans, it is the most important, as it marks the New Year and another turning of the Wheel.
There are 3 major origins of Samhain ritual and celebration: the end of harvest as the Dark Half of the year begins; honor and remembrance for ancestors or others who have crossed the Veil; and the reflection and resolutions of the end of one year and the beginning of the next. This gives you a very wide array of choices in celebration! All usual American Halloween activities are pagan based, so use them if you wish.
Herbs of Samhain include oak, apple, yarrow, cedar, corn, hazel, mullien, and wormwood. A good combo for Spirit incense is equal parts lavendar and sandalwood. Other symbols might include jack-o'lanterns, fall leaves, sickles, straw men as the God of Winter, gourds, scarecrows, masks, and acorns. Decorate your home and altar with late-season fruits, brightly colored leaves, and Indian corn.Don't forget to hang a sheaf of Indian corn with bright ribbons above or on your door for luck; leave it up til Imbolc. Kids will especially enjoy trick-or-treat, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, and making straw men.
Don't forget food! Pumpkin pies, toasted pumpkin seeds, caramel apples, popcorn, cold or mulled cider all make great Samhain food! Let kids make cookies in the shapes of bats, moons, stars, and ghosts.......and of course have luscious candy to hand out!
