3 Types of Simple Samhain Rituals

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1) Samhain rituals to honor your beloved dead

Because the veils between the worlds are often considered to be thinnest at Samhain, this is a powerful opportunity to connect with and honor your ancestors or beloved dead.

Carve out space and time to allow memories and stories to surface and find ways to ground them through writing, art, or sharing with others. This includes not just people, but can also include pet companions or any being that is in your circle of beloveds.

Honor your memories of your beloved dead

There are so many ways to honor and celebrate the memories of your beloved dead.

I like to create an altar on a small table, shelf or mantle with a photo of my beloved, a candle and a sprig of rosemary for remembrance.

This space provides a focal point for remembering and honoring those who have died—you may consider this a Samhain blessing for your beloveds.

Feel free to get creative to honor their memories.

For example, you might . . . 

• Create a photo collage
• Gather special objects or symbols that represent their energy in your life
• Write or read a poem that captures their essence or the specialness of your relationship
• Create a memory quilt, with each square honoring a different aspect of their life, or gather a group of friends and loved ones to each design a quilt square in memory of your beloved
• Write memories of your beloved dead on small pieces of paper and gather them in a bowl. Pull one strip of paper at a time to read aloud. Write, draw or tell stories associated with the memory.

Leave your altar up for at least a few days—or as long as you like into the winter. 

Take a moment each day to pause, reflect and connect with the memory of your beloved dead and ancestors. You might light a candle or burn a bit of an herbal bundle for scent.

Create your own ancestor feast

I've appreciated participating in community "ancestor feasts" some years at Samhain. Folks shared stories about their beloveds—and the next day we took a walk to visit the graves of community members who have died.

Creating a special meal is a simple and powerful way of honoring your ancestors or those who have died.

Our sense of smell and taste have strong links to our memories. Eating and smelling food that reminds us of our honored dead can evoke strong memories and feelings.

Over the meal you could reflect on memories and stories, by yourself or with others, of those who have passed. I’ve even known friends who find themselves craving a food during Samhain they don’t normally eat, but was a favorite of a beloved who died!

To create your own ancestor feast at home for yourself or your family, you might:

• Make a plate of food for your beloved, perhaps set a place at the table, or leave an empty chair with a plate of food.
• Prepare the favorite foods of your beloved dead.
• Share stories of your beloved or ancestors with one another.
• Share stories of your own life with your beloved dead or ancestors

After the meal you may wish to leave a plate outside where the animals and birds can enjoy it as a way of honoring the cycles of life.

2) Samhain grief rituals

You may want to include a space for grieving in your rituals for Samhain—whether mourning beloved dead, or your own pain, grief, or losses.

I was blessed to study with Sobanfu Somé, now an ancestor herself.

Sobanfu encouraged us to embrace our grief, to feel the depth of our sorrows and to release the emotions that come with it.

When we hold our feelings in, we can begin to feel numb, disconnected and stuck.

Sobanfu often reminded us that there is no time limit on grief: it takes as long as it takes.

I love the power of communal grieving—however simply going out into a safe place in nature and crying with your plant allies can be deeply healing.

Taking time to recognize your losses

Grief and mourning are a natural response to change and loss.

In Chinese medicine, the fall is considered the time of the lungs—and grief is the emotion connected to the lungs.

So in holistic healing for earth-based women, we nourish the lungs at this time of year. Yes, physically with herbs. And also emotionally, by giving yourself room to feel your grief.

When creating a grief ritual, you may choose to honor losses from the past year or maybe losses throughout your lifetime.

I like to begin by creating a litany of losses.

Depending on your level of comfort and safety, you may speak these aloud to yourself or with others.

On your list of losses you may include things such as:

• Death of a beloved
• Loss of dreams and hopes
• Loss of a relationship
• Loss of health
• Loss of a job or home
• Loss of unmet needs in your life
• Loss of a previous version of yourself

Rituals to release emotions of grief

Samhain provides an opportunity to vocalize and release those emotions that you may have pushed down or stifled over time.

As you create sound or allow the tears to flow, it allows the energy to become unstuck and move through your body.

You can do this alone, or with others you trust.

Some suggestions for creating your own grief ritual:

• Create or go to a safe place
• Create a focal point for your grief—this may be an altar, a cauldron, a candle or firebowl, or other symbol of transformation
• Play music that can evoke your emotions or allow you to let down your internal barriers
• Allow yourself to cry, wail, keen, yell or otherwise express your emotions
• If you're in a group, take turns visiting the focal point to express your grief. Support one another without interrupting the flow of emotion—place a hand on the back, or sit or stand close by so the grieving person knows they are not alone.

3) Samhain rituals for letting go

Another way to honor the season is to create a simple ritual of letting go—to release things that have been weighing you down or holding you back.

This is a powerful way to prepare for the time of darkness and self reflection of the winter months.

This may include doing a gesture—such as letting a leaf fall into the water as you speak your intentions aloud. You're releasing something you're ready to let go, such as:

• Your efforts this year—whether they resulted in harvests or losses
• A time of your life or aspect of your life
• Addictions or behavior patterns that no longer serve you
• Old beliefs that may hold you back

Working with fire

Fire is a potent way to release, let go or transform. Giving your burdens to the fire is a way of burning off the dross from the year—those things that “stick” to you that are not part of your essence.

And then after doing that you can enjoy the warmth and magic of the flames!

As a mother, I found that building a small outdoor fire was an easy and fun way to mark this holy day for my family—to honor that this holy day is more than trick-or-treating. Kids and adults alike love to learn fire building and it provides a natural central focus for honoring this marker in the turning of the seasons.

If you prefer you could build a fire in a fireplace or wood stove, or just use a candle. Here are some gestures that could be part of your Samhain letting go ritual around the fire

• Write what you wish to let go of on a small piece of paper or burnable objects like sticks, pine cones, small blocks of wood, etc and feed them to the fire as a way to release or transform.
• Speak what you are letting go as you release it to the fire. Let your emotions arise, giving energy to the release.
• If your intention is to transform as well as release, you might also speak to what transformation you are seeking.
• Enjoy the warmth of the fire, the magic of the dancing flames
• Maybe warm up nourishing food or drink to honor the work you have done.

Other rituals for letting go

If you’re not drawn to fire this time, consider other gestures for letting go of the year, of all that you accomplished and all the effort it took.

Remember, letting go and loss are inherent to the natural cycles, like the leaves falling from the trees and plants dying in this season of the year.

By releasing those things that no longer serve, you have fewer encumbrances as you head into a time for deeper inner work.

See which ideas resonate for you:

• Find a natural object to represent your year. Let it go in a stream or moving water, and let the water carry it all away
• Spend time in your garden, putting your harvests to bed, honoring the end of the growing season.
• Sort through your belongings or clean the closets of clothes and things that you no longer need. Donate them to a thrift store as a way of lightening your load physically