Samhain

celtic ~ Summer’s End, pronounced "sow" (rhymes with ‘now’) "en" (Ireland), sow-een (Wales) - "mh" in the middle is a "w" sound - Greater Sabbat(High Holiday) - Fire Festival Oct 31-Nov 1(North Hemisphere) - Apr 30-May 1 (South Hemisphere)

AKA:

The Great Sabbat, Samhiunn, Samana, Samhuin, Sam-fuin, Samonios, Hallowe’en, Hallomas, All Hallows Eve, All Saints/All Souls Day(Catholic), Day of the Dead(Mexican), Witches’ New Year, Trinoux Samonia, Celtic/ Druid New Year, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scotttish/Celtic) Lá Samhna (Modern Irish), Festival of the Dead, Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess), Hallowtide (Scottish Gaelis Dictionary), Feast of All Souls, Nos Galen-gae-of Night of the Winter Calends (Welsh), La Houney or Hollantide Day, Sauin or Souney ( Manx), oidhche na h-aimiléise-the night of mischief or confusion(Ireland), Oidhche Shamna (Scotland)

Animals/Mythical beings:

bats, cats, dogs, pooka, goblin,medusa, beansidhe, harpies

Gemstones:

black stones, jet, obsidian, onyx, carnelian

Incense/Oil:

frankincense, basil, yarrow, lilac, camphor, clove, wood rose, wormwood, myrrh, patchouli, apple, heliotrope, mint, nutmeg, sage, ylang-ylang

Colors/Candles:

black (ward off negativity), orange (good luck), indigo, homemade apple or mint scented herbal candles to light jack-o-lanterns or for altar candles

Tools/Symbols/Decorations:

black altar cloth, Halloween items, jack o’ lanterns, oak leaves, acorns, straw, balefire, besom, black cat, black crescent moon, cauldron, divination tools, grain, magic mirror, mask, bare branches, animal bones, hazelwood, pictures of ancestors

Goddesses:

The Crone, Hecate (Greek), Cerridwen (Welsh-Scottish), Arianrhod (Welsh), Caillech (Irish-Scottish), Baba Yaga (Russian), Al-Ilat (persian), Bast (Egyptian), Persephone (Greek), Hel (Norse), Kali (Hindu), all Death & Otherworld Goddesses

Gods:

Horned Hunter (European), Cernnunos (Greco-Celtic), Osiris (Egyptian), Hades (Greek), Gwynn ap Nudd (British), Anubis (Egyptian), Coyote Brother (Native American), Loki (Norse), Dis (Roman), Arawn (Welsh), Sacrificial/Dying/Aging Gods, Death and Otherworld Gods

Essence:

magick, plenty; knowledge, the night, death & rebirth, success, protection; rest, new beginning; ancestors; lifting of the veil, mundane laws in abeyance, return, change

Dynamics/Meaning:

death & transformation, Wiccan new year,wisdom of the Crone, end of summer, honoring, thinning of the veil between worlds, death of the year, time outside of time, night of the Wild Hunt, begin new projects, end old projects

Purpose:

honoring the dead, especially departed ancestors, knowing we will not be forgotten; clear knowledge of our path; guidance, protection, celebrating reincarnation

Rituals/Magicks:

foreseeing future, honoring/consulting ancestors, releasing the old, power, understanding death and rebirth, entering the underworld, divination, dance of the dead, fire calling, past life recall

Customs:

ancestor altar, costumes, divination, carving jack o’ lanterns, spirit plate, the Feast of the Dead, feasting, paying debts, fairs, drying winter herbs, masks, bonfires, apple games, tricks, washing clothes

Foods:

apple, pumpkin pie, pomegranate, pumpkin, squash, hazelnuts, corn, cranberry muffins, bread, ale, cider and herbal tea

Herbs:

allspice, broom, comfry, dandelion, deadly nightshade, mugwort, catnip, dittany of Crete, ferns, flax, fumitory, mandrake, mullein, dragon’s blood, sage, straw, thistles, oak(leaf), wormwood (burn to protect from roving spirits)

Element/Gender:

water/male

Threshold:

midnight

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Yule
Imbolc
Ostara
Beltane
Litha
Lughnasadh
Mabon



SOURCE(S)
"Katydid"

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