Samhain 2024 Pre-Ritual Discussion

Good morning! Quill here and at your service. On November 2nd, 2024, the Deeply Rooted Church Community will celebrate our annual Samhain sabbat. We’ll have a main ritual and a 2.0 ritual. In this article, I’ll cover Samhain's history, details of the main ritual, and what to expect from our 2.0 offering. To keep it concise, I’ll have everything broken down into easy-to-read sections. All of this information will be presented again a few hours before our main ritual.

A Brief History of Samhain

• Samhain, also called "Soween," is an old Celtic celebration believed to have started over 2,000 years ago. Recent archaeological findings at the Mound of the Hostages in Ireland indicate it might have been celebrated by even earlier people over 4,500 years ago. This important site is aligned with the time between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.

• Samhain served two main purposes. For the ancient Celtic tribes, it helped them assess their resources for winter. It was also a time to give food and supplies to those in need in the community.

  • The second "reason for the season" was to invite ancestors into homes and offer them gifts. People believed this was when the barrier between the living and the dead was thinnest. They also used tricks to keep harmful spirits away.

Samhain Symbolism

• The bonfire is a key symbol of Samhain, showing the sun's fading strength and the shift from summer to winter. In ancient Celtic cultures, bonfires kept evil spirits away, cleaned the air, and guided lost souls.

  Key Symbolism:

  • Light vs. Darkness: The bonfire stands for the sun against the winter night.

  • Transformation: It symbolizes the change and renewal of the season.

  • Purification: The flames are thought to cleanse.

  • Connection to Ancestors: Bonfires help link us with our ancestors.

  Today, bonfires are still important in Samhain celebrations, bringing communities together to share stories and honor the season's change.

• The Turnip and Pumpkin: Symbols of Samhain Turnips and pumpkins are main symbols of Samhain, especially in the West, with roots in ancient Celtic traditions.

  • Turnips:

    • Pre-Christian Symbol: Used in early Celtic celebrations as a sign of harvest and the year’s end.

    • Jack-o'-lantern Origin: The candle-lit turnip, or "jack-o'-lantern," started in Ireland to scare off evil spirits.

  • Pumpkins:

    • Colonial America: Pumpkins were brought by European settlers and replaced turnips for carving.

    • Symbol of Harvest: They still represent abundance and the harvest themes of Samhain.

  Both turnips and pumpkins remind us of life's cycles and seasonal changes, highlighting the need for gratitude and the fleeting nature of things.

• The Grim Reaper represents death. His familiar look began in 14th-Century Europe during the Black Plague. He is believed to be based on Anku, an Irish death god often shown as a skeleton with a scythe.

Modern Pagan Traditions of Samhain

• Honoring Ancestors
  Samhain is when the separation between the living and the dead is thinnest. It's a time to reflect on our mortality, connect with our ancestors, and seek their guidance.

• Divination
  As the start of the Celtic New Year, Samhain is perfect for divination, like tarot or rune readings, to glimpse the coming year.

• Self-Reflection
  With longer, colder nights, Samhain is ideal for meditation, self-reflection, shadow work, or journaling.Ancestor Worship

  Most cultures honor their ancestors in some way. This includes:

  • Mexico's Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)

  • China's Hungry Ghost Festival

  • Catholic All Saints' Day, which aligns with Samhain.

    • Everyone has ancestors. Proving Gods exist is subjective and experiences tend to vary for each person, however building a connection with your ancestors can help break negative family patterns, understand your habits, and ease your fear of death.

• Death - Samhain highlights how, like crops, we rise and fall according to nature’s rules. Everyone experiences death, but modern Christian and secular cultures often avoid discussing it. Death is personal, and we can’t prove if there’s an afterlife, making it a hot topic.

  • Reflecting on your own mortality helps you accept what’s inevitable. We’re all born, and our bodies will eventually fail; our time as mortals is limited. Accepting death can bring us peace.

    • Death is personified in various cultures, such as Hel in Norse mythology, Thanatos in Greek mythology, the Grim Reaper in modern tales, and Morana in Slavic Paganism, among others!

• Does anyone have any additional questions about Samhain that I can try to answer?

Samhain 2024 Ritual Break-Down

The Ritual “To Hel and Back”

Did anyone read the Samhain ritual posted online? If not, here’s a quick overview. The ritual is called “To Hel and Back,” written by me. It combines different Samhain rituals I’ve done privately, including elements of Italian Strega, Norse, and Appalachian witchcraft.

This ritual has two main goals: to help everyone remember their ancestors and to create a safe space to explore the land of the dead.

We will invite ancestors from the four directions, each representing a different kind of ancestor. We'll focus only on those who genuinely care for us, steering clear of any toxic family members.

• When I say “Hail & Welcome!”, please repeat it if you're okay with that. Each direction is symbolized by Norse runes: Ansuz for wisdom, Dagaz for new beginnings, Gebo for respect and understanding, and Sowilo to connect with our ancestors. After calling each direction, Mindy will ring the bell to mark the start of a new direction.

• We will then honor the unnamed ancestors who have influenced our lives. They symbolize the fifth element of our higher self or "spirit." When I say, "Hall & Welcome!" feel free to repeat it if you're comfortable.

• I will provide coins for each direction to help our ancestors travel between realms. Before the ritual, you can take coins to offer to your own ancestors for their journey. This tradition comes from Sicily and Roman Pagans and is called “Charon’s Obol.” Charon is the ferryman who took spirits to the Underworld. The coins were used as payment for him and were usually placed over the eyes of the deceased.

• After the directions, I will summon the spirits of three plants to help us communicate and guard us against negativity. These plants are rue, hyssop, and pennyroyal. This practice comes from Strega, Appalachian Witchcraft, and Irish Celtic traditions.

• After summoning the protective plant spirits, we will turn to face outward from the circle. Instead of looking at the flame, we will call out to welcome our ancestors while moving clockwise.

• Please share the names of your ancestors you'd like to honor, whether they're family or not, even if they're animal spirits.

• Please share a quick couple of sentences about them and why they matter to you.

• After honoring our remembered ancestors, I will call on the forgotten ones—those unnamed ancestors whose faces we carry without knowing. Their brave deeds might be overlooked, but it is because of their sacrifices that we are here today. If you feel moved, please say, “Hail and Welcome,” when I finish.

• Next is the Guided Meditation. This short session will help you envision a version of the afterlife. We will focus on Helheim, the lowest of the Nine Realms in Norse belief.

• Helheim is ruled over by the Goddess Hel.

• Hel is the daughter of the Trickster God Loki and the Jotun or giantess Angrboða.

• Hel is depicted as being half alive and half dead. Sometimes she looks like a fair maiden from above the waist, and below the waist she is rotting. Sometimes her face is split down the middle. 

• The Goddess Hel is responsible for the dead who have had a “straw-death” or a death that was outside the context of battle. Most of our ancestors encountered this fate and most of us standing here now will encounter the same. Hel is seen as feeding the dead and providing for their basic needs in the afterlife.

• We will have a brief breathing exercise that I will guide you through which will help you achieve a liminal or “inbetween” state which will help you envision the Underworld.

• I will begin the guided meditation which is intended to have you meet the ancestors you know, and some you may not. These ancestors again are the ones who have your best interest. They may speak wisdom or offer guidance. Take what you will from the experience. If you accept their wisdom, I recommend paying close attention to your dreams in the coming months.

• Hel will ask a question during the meditation.

  • You are meant to answer this inside your own mind.

    • You can also say “pass” inside your head if you do not want to have this conversation with her.

• After the guided meditation, we will be grounded by a poem from Paisley Woodside who will play the part of the Greek Goddess Hekate or “She who waits.” 

  • After that, we will have cakes and ale served to us by John Robinson and Mindy.

  • We will then end the ritual with the ordination of John Robinson led by Wade.

Does anyone have any questions about the main ritual?

After feast, we will have our 2.0 ritual. If you would like a more direct message from your ancestors, I invite you to join me in the lodge for a tarot reading. This reading is included in the gathering, so there is no extra fee. If you felt compelled to donate to Deeply Rooted Church, that is a nice gesture yet not required. Seek out Mike or Wade to make that donation. The reading will be focused on what your ancestors feel you need to hear and the cards pulled will be explained to you. This is completely optional and just something I am offering, I have 25 years experience reading tarot and enjoy doing it for my community.