Wiccan holidays: Samhain or Halloween

Samhain, which is on October 31, is coming up soon. Set your calendar if you weren’t already prepared for it, though I’m sure you are since Halloween is the same night.

Samhain marks a thinning of the veil between our world and the next. Spirit activity is strongest on this night and magic is extremely effective. This thinning can be used to communicate with the dead or amplify astral projection.

I am not a fan of actually communicating with the dead so my Samhain celebration never includes that. Feel free to incorporate it using a homemade Ouija board (I only recommend homemade because I have never had success with the mass produced ones) or a pendulum. Remember, you can make any celebration your own; these are just my preferences and suggestions.

I have always used Samhain as a solo holiday; I feel that the link between life and death is one that should be experienced and investigated alone. It’s a very personal matter, but you can feel free to incorporate others into this ritual. Just remember to be respectful of each other's magic strength and those with stronger techniques may wish to share their energy to help others look deeper, but should not feel obligated to do so.

Step 1: Find an item that represents Samhain for you. Halloween is actually still very close to its origins in terms of symbols, so a jack-o-lantern, skeleton or other Halloween item can work perfectly for this. The item should represent the link between life and death to you.

Step 2: Place a drink and a treat on either side of your Samhain symbol. These items should be representative of the holiday to you, too, so perhaps apple cider and a piece of your favorite candy. I use hot chocolate and a candy apple - not the healthiest, but quite tasty.

Step 3: Sit in front of your Wiccan holiday symbol and begin to meditate. Begin to feel inside of yourself. If you have ever astral projected before, go through with your normal method. If you have never done it before, Samhain is the perfect time to begin practicing. The veil is so thin the body can easily pull apart. You can follow my astral projection guide to get started (coming soon).

Step 4: As your astral self, move into your own body - not rejoining, but into your own mind - and look into yourself. You should be able to investigate your past like this. Those with stronger projection techniques (and more experience) may even be able to feel and sense out other lives. Keep in mind, it’s unlikely you will ever fully realize what you previously were, but you may get small hints and feelings of dancing, healing, having children, etc. Do not dwell on finding out who you were, just feel it.

Step 5: Slowly pull out of your mind when you are done investigating and rejoin your astral self to your body. Depending on how deeply you went, you may need to take this very slowly to avoid any trauma.

Step 6: You may feel the need to cast a spell after your investigation. Feel free to do so. Spells to energize your current life are very good after such deep astral projection. Disposing of negative energy is also good.

Step 7: If you cast a spell, finish with “So mote it be.”

Step 8: Enjoy your drink and food items.

Tips:

If you can’t succeed at astral projecting tonight, do not worry about it. Getting in touch with your inner self through simple meditation is enough to give proper reverence to the cycle of life and death.

Those with strong astral projection techniques may feel their previous life deaths. Do not be alarmed. Remain calm. This is a natural part of the life cycle and you must remember that your current body is safe.