As the final harvest season fades and the days grow darker, we arrive at Samhain — the ancient Celtic festival that marks summer’s end and the beginning of the new year on the Wheel.
It is a time of deep magic and remembrance, when the veil between worlds grows thin and we can feel our ancestors close — whispering through the wind, flickering in the candlelight, walking beside us in dreams.
The Celtic Roots of Samhain
Long before Halloween, there was Samhain (pronounced Sow-in), one of the four great fire festivals of the ancient Celtic year. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, the time when the sun’s power waned and the earth entered her season of rest.
For the Celts, this turning point was both an ending and a beginning — the New Year on the old calendar, when the veil between worlds was said to be thinnest. The boundary separating the living and the spirit realms softened, allowing ancestors, fae, and otherworldly beings to draw close. Communities would gather around great bonfires lit from sacred flames, offering food, drink, and prayers to honour the dead and seek protection for the cold, dark months ahead.
It was a time to celebrate the harvest, release the old, and welcome the mysteries of the dark.
The living honoured their lineage, tended to the spirits, and sought wisdom from the unseen — trusting that the endings of Samhain carried the seeds of new beginnings.
At Samhain, we honour those who came before: our beloved dead, our wise elders, and the countless unnamed souls who made our lives possible.
This isn’t about sorrow or fear — it’s about connection, gratitude, and continuity.
Here are some ways to honour your ancestors and keep their memory alive in your own sacred way.
🌕 1. Create an Ancestral Altar
Gather photos, heirlooms, letters, or small symbols that remind you of your ancestors — both of blood and of spirit.
Add candles, seasonal flowers, autumn leaves, or offerings of food and drink.
When you light the candles, speak their names aloud and invite their presence with love and respect.
🕯 2. Offer Food and Drink
The simplest offering is often the most powerful.
At your Samhain feast or evening meal, set aside a small plate of food or pour a cup of wine, cider, or tea for your ancestors.
Leave it on your altar overnight or outside under the moon, as a gesture of gratitude and connection.
One of the most touching and enduring Samhain customs is the “Silent Supper” — held in honour of the dead, where an extra place is set at the table for ancestors and loved ones who have passed. In ancient Celtic and later folk traditions, silence was kept during the meal so that the spirits could join freely, unbothered by earthly chatter.
🌿 5. Plant a Tree
One of the most sacred ways to honour your ancestors is to plant a tree — a living tribute that bridges past, present, and future.
Tree roots reach deep into the earth, drawing nourishment from the same soil that once cradled our ancestors, while their branches stretch toward the light — carrying our lineage forward into new generations.
🔥 4. Light a Candle in the Darkness
Samhain invites us to face the dark — not as something to fear, but as a space of rest and renewal.
Lighting a candle for the departed can become a meditation: breathe deeply, call to mind someone who has passed, and imagine your love reaching them as light in the unseen realms.
🌿 5. Walk Between the Worlds
Spend time in stillness — outside beneath the moon, or quietly before your altar.
Listen for whispers, signs, or dreams that come your way. The ancestors often speak in symbols: a bird at the window, a song that suddenly plays, a feeling of warmth or knowing.
Trust what you feel. The veil is thin, and you are never alone.
Samhain reminds us that we are part of a great, unbroken story — threads woven through time.
Life and death are not opposites, but partners in an eternal dance. The ancestors live on in our stories, our blood, our dreams, and the earth beneath our feet.
Whether you light a single candle, set a place at the table, or plant a tree in their honour, know that every act of remembrance sends ripples through time — healing old wounds, strengthening roots, and blessing the generations yet to come.
🌕 Closing Blessing
As the night deepens and the candles burn low, may you feel the quiet presence of those who came before — standing behind you with love, pride, and protection.
On this sacred turning of the wheel, breathe deep, give thanks, and step gently into the dark with an open heart.
The ancestors walk with you. Always. 🖤
— With love and blessings from Wild Acre Moon