Samhain, as the most important sabbat in the Wheel of the Year, is a serious affair. That does not mean that you can’t have fun with the ritual, but it does mean to treat whatever you invoke or invite with the utmost of respect. It also kicks off seasonal introversion. Many people withdraw from their typical social lives at this time. The taking account at Mabon has become the inner descent at Samhain. The turn of the Wheel to this point turns the reflective toward the spiritual truths within. The ancients believed this time of year a dangerous one—ill-humored faeries, errant spirits, and offended ancestors all posed their risks.
While modern Pagans do not share ancient fears, it seems right to err on the side of caution at Samhain. For many, these cautions include casting circles before beginning rituals, being alert about what and whom they invoke or invite, and making sure elements called receive appropriate release. The circle castings and quarter calls here are mere suggestions; you may wish to restructure them to alter the environment of your ritual or simply to express your own relationship to these concepts.
A Solo Ritual to See Beyond the Veil
Purpose:
This ritual helps you see beyond the veil into the next world. This experience may be different for different people—you may see ancestors and faeries or you could simply see the world in a different way, coming away with a sense of new possibilities. While intended as a solo ritual, you may wish to invite a trusted friend to act as a spotter but this is not required to perform this ritual. If you decide to call a friend, this person should make sure you don’t knock anything over, that you do not hurt yourself or anyone else, and that you come back to yourself when the music has finished. Samhain energy is powerful and strange things can happen—it’s always good to have a few safety measures set in place because of that!
This ritual is movement based. If you are wheelchair bound or have difficulty with movement, you can also perform this as a meditation with minimal motion. If mobile but prone to stiffness, you may also wish to stretch or follow an exercise program for flexibility before you begin.
Setting:
A place you feel safe. Indoors or outdoors is fine as long as the space is clear, open, and free of furniture or things to trip over.
Supplies:
A mask decorated in any way that speaks to you
Altar decorations such as a cloth (black, orange, or red are all great colors for Samhain)
A black candle (a skull candle is perfect for this, as they naturally lend themselves to magick for changing perceptions)
Matches
Wine, tea, olive oil, or water for libations
A bowl to catch libations
A bookstand or podium to set this book or a copy of the ritual on, to ease its use during the ritual
Calendula, marigold, or chrysanthemum petals, rosemary, mugwort, or wormwood leaves
Towels
A small vial of olive or sunflower oil; you may wish to add pomegranate seeds, myrrh, or frankincense to the oil. (Use this to anoint yourself. The recommended herbs are not necessary, but have the earthy quality appropriate for a Samhain ritual.)
Comfortable clothing
A scarf or other head covering (white or black is best but any color works)
Instrumental music that you enjoy moving to
An athame or wand
Candle snuffers or any other fire safety tools
Pre-Ritual Preparations:
Establish your sacred space before you begin. You will want a place you can dance freely, where any paraphernalia is away from the danger of dancing feet. You may want to wash a dining table and set it up as an altar for this specific purpose. Lay down the cloth and set out the mask, the black or skull candle, a bottle of olive oil, a bowl, bottles of water, and any beverages you wish to use as offerings. You may want to cast the circle at this point.
While traditionally those who cast circles set up a diameter of nine feet, you may wish to cast a circle that surrounds an entire room or floor of your house. Magick circles do not suffer limitations from the laws of physics. You can cast them to overlap with physical space. You may need to push through walls, floors, and ceilings. It is much easier to have your entire home in a circle than it is to perform a movement ritual where you can’t necessarily leave the circle.
You can multitask and start this just before you set up your altar: prepare a decoction of calendula, rosemary, and mugwort. Strain the tea and reserve the liquid. Prepare a bath and pour the liquid into the bath, looking to the water and sinking your intention into it. Ask that your daily worries and personal imbalances wash away in the water, so that you may emerge pure and ready for the work ahead.
Dry yourself off, and then anoint yourself with the olive oil in each spot (if your movement is limited, anoint what you can reach):
On the crown of your head, saying, “I connect to the divine.”
On the eyelids, saying, “That I see truth clearly.”
On the lips, saying, “Only truth may come from my lips.”
On the heart, saying, “I know the truth of my heart.”
On the belly, saying, “I celebrate the strength of my body in all worlds.”
On the knees, saying, “My body upholds me in my path.”
On the top of your feet, saying, “I walk in truth and dance with the universe.”
On the palm of each hand, saying, “My hands are instruments to create the good.”
Stand with legs hip-width apart and arms spread wide and level. Visualize a white light entering your body at the crown and traveling to each anointed point. When you feel yourself glowing, your body moving at each point, put on your ritual clothing. You may wish to add a hat or a scarf—in many religions, a covered head is a sign of respect to deity, and there is anecdotal lore that those newer to practice who invoke Hecate sometimes experience headaches. Wearing a scarf or other head covering can reduce this.
Go to where you set up your ritual. Fix yourself a cup of tea from any leftover mugwort. Turn on some slow music that helps with a spiritual mood. When you have finished the tea and feel adequately relaxed, begin your circle casting if you have not established sacred space already.
The Ritual:
Take up your athame or wand, extending it for raising a circle. Then walk around your designated area three times.
The first time around, say:
I take this place to hidden space
between worlds, between veils,
where life and death can interlace.
The second time around, say:
All within this sacred round
is protected, from sky to deep below ground.
On the third round, say:
May all beings that truly see to my good
come guard this circle—come,
from city, sky, water, or wood!
So mote it be!
If it fits your practice, move on to the quarter calls. Face the east and say:
Hail to the element of air,
to the elementals that make the wind blow and the weather flow, hail to the guardian of the watchtower of the east, Raphael,
watch over this circle that I may have cause for joy in learning,
and protection from injury.
So mote it be!
Face the south and say:
Hail to the element of fire,
to the elementals that make the fire dance and the heat warm,
hail to the guardian of the watchtower of the south, Michael,
watch over this circle, and protect me from all harm!
So mote it be!
Face the west and say:
Hail to the element of water,
to the elementals that stir from within,
hail to the guardian of the watchtower of the west, Gabriel,
watch over this circle, and guide my awareness
to what will benefit my consciousness!
So mote it be!
Face the north and say:
Hail to the element of earth,
to the elementals that give us our quiet,
hail to the guardian of the watchtower of the north, Uriel,
watch over this circle, and guide me safely through this journey!
So mote it be!
Take a few moments to listen to the noises around you before moving to the invocation. Raise the bottled beverage above the bowl, as though holding it up for someone from the sky to see. Then speak the invocation.
Hail to Hecate, queen of all witchery!
You who keep all secrets,
you who tell all truths.
I accept that to come before you
is to have secrets I keep from myself stripped away.
Dread queen, be gentle with me, if you can—
help me to see beyond my world,
to open my avenue of thought,
to let me see what I most need to see
on this night.
Then pour the libation into the bowl.
Pause now to light the black candle. Gaze at the bottom of the flame for a few seconds, unfocusing your vision for a moment before it snaps back. After you do this a few times, concentrate on the beat of the music playing and the movement it inspires in you. As you feel yourself slipping away from ordinary consciousness into something more profound, don the mask.
Close your eyes for ten seconds, then open them. Dance or sway with the mask on. Imagine that the mask is another person, and that you are seeing through that person’s eyes. Look around the room—does it still seem familiar to you? What’s different? Observe your thoughts. Do they sound like what you usually think? Observe, as you can, the way your body feels as you move. How is it different from your usual style of movement?
When you have played all the pieces chosen, remove the mask and turn off the music. Sit in the quiet and meditate for a few moments, stretching your body and looking around the room until all seems familiar again. You may need to turn on a light or two to help this process. When you feel completely returned, close the ritual.
Pour out another libation for Hecate, taking a sip yourself before pouring the rest in the bowl, saying:
Blessed queen, Lady Hecate,
you have gifted me with the privilege of seeing beyond myself.
I have walked in your dread world,
and you graciously returned me.
For this, I give thanks.
The rite is done, but the night goes on,
so if you must go I wish you well on your way!
Blessed Be!
From there, release the quarters. Turn to the north and say:
Hail Uriel, guardian of the watchtowers of the north,
to its midnight elementals and to the forces of calm and quiet!
I thank you for your protection and release you on your way!
So mote it be!
Turn to the west and say:
Hail Gabriel, guardian of the watchtowers of the west,
to its twilight elementals and to the forces of depth and feeling!
I thank you for your stirrings and release you on your way!
So mote it be!
Turn to the south and say:
Hail Michael, guardian of the watchtowers of the south,
to its zenith elementals and to the forces of heat and change!
I thank you for your protection and release you on your way!
So mote it be!
Turn to the east and say:
Hail Raphael, guardian of the watchtowers of the east,
to dawntide elements and to that which stirs and whispers!
I thank you for your protection and release you on your way!
So mote it be!
Pick up your athame and open the circle. Take some time to drink water or juice and stretch your muscles. Afterward, find a place to write down or voice record your experience while wearing the mask. What physical sensations did you experience? What were your emotions? What shapes did you see in your mind’s eye? During the month of November, you can refer to this experience to build a list of personal symbols and omens.
Samhain Ritual for a Couple
Purpose:
This ritual forms or enhances a psychic connection between yourself and your partner. Aligning this with Samhain makes it especially powerful; the shared experience can create profound intimacy.
Supplies:
A private space where you can perform the ritual uninterrupted
A tray to use as an altar
A black and a white candle
An athame
A cup
Massage oils and sundries that you wish to add
A container filled with water or red wine
Setting:
Indoors, preferably near a fireplace.
Pre-Ritual Preparations:
This ritual involves the Great Rite. While many couples enjoy a physical coupling for this ritual, you can perform it symbolically if your health, morality, or age prevents you from full intercourse. Even if you do elect to perform this in a symbolic manner, take time weeks beforehand to reflect: do you trust your partner? Do you want to expose so much of your inner self to this person? Do you want to see what lives inside of this other being?
Before you begin, lock up any pets and make sure the children can stay with a babysitter. Turn off any phone or device notifications. You may want to put a “do not disturb” sign on your door if you feel safe doing so.
Both of you should bathe beforehand. Wear loose, comfortable clothing. Set out the blanket or rug. Set the tray that serves as an altar, with the candles on the outer edges and the athame and chalice between the candles in the center. Place the black candle on the left and the white candle on the right. You may want to lay down two to ensure comfort. Add a pillow or two if either of you experience discomfort sitting for long periods. Decide between you who should cast the circle, who should call the quarters, and whether one person should perform the invocation or if you should make the invitation together.
The Ritual:
The partner casting the circle should say:
This is our time,
this is our place
at the edge of reality,
where we both feel safe.
The Lord and the Lady
both walk here,
beyond the veil,
free of mortal fear.
Above and below,
within and without,
surrounded we are
in protective clouds.
Next call the quarters. The person calling the quarters should face the east and say:
Hail to the east, to the movement and knowing.
We look to the direction that you are blowing.
Turn to the south and say:
Hail to the south, to the fires on the hill.
We look to you to work our will!
Turn to the west and say:
Hail to the west, to the deep run wells.
We look to you as we work our spells!
Turn to the north and say:
Hail to the north, to the darkened earth.
We look to you in death and birth!
Here one partner should light the candles as the other says the invocation/invitation, or both may speak together.
Hail to the Lord and Lady!
We wish you well in your descent,
great mother!
As you know your lover,
shall we know our own!
The person lighting the candles should pour a splash of wine into the cup as the other person performs the second invocation or say together:
Hail to the Morrighan and to Dagda!
We salute you in your coupling this night,
as the confluence of two rivers,
as life and death all come together.
So mote it be!
Have a moment of silence, to honor the presence of the gods before you begin.
Sit cross-legged, face-to-face. Gaze into one another’s eyes. Blink naturally and synchronize your breathing. You may wish to chant, hum, or sing together. You should both have moments of blurred vision. It is okay to blink, look away, and resume the gaze. One partner should say: “I open myself to you.” The other should answer, “And I to you.”
When you both feel the connection, lay your palms flat against your partner’s. Continue to synchronize your breathing and resume the eye gaze. Relax and focus on the moment, on the sound of your breathing, and on any sounds in the background. As you gaze, you may find yourself experiencing emotional responses, visions, or intuitions. Let yourself have them. If you wish to laugh or cry, go ahead. If your partner has this reaction to you, accept it and explore whether you can share in the emotion. Pay close attention to your physical responses as you touch and gaze. Some will be familiar, especially those related to sexual attraction. Others, however, may be new—those will give you deeper information about your partner. Once the response has passed, resume the gaze until you feel that there is no more to discover.
When the physical sensations have stopped, move on to the Great Rite. If you choose to perform this symbolically, have one partner take the athame and the other take the cup. The one who takes the cup should pour a little wine into the chalice, and take a sip, saying: “This is the love and trust that flows between us.” Offer it to your partner, saying “May you never thirst.”
The partner with the athame should accept the cup and, taking a sip, say: “May you never thirst,” before handing it back. Then the cup-bearing partner should hold it up, as the athame bearer lowers the tip of the blade into the cup and says:
As the God and the Goddess come together
in the rite that makes all things,
as the Morrighan and the Dagda came together
for the confluence of life with death,
so we come together in perfect love and perfect trust,
in this time between time and this space between space.
Remove the athame, wipe off the tip, and then pass the chalice between you until it is empty.
As you pass the chalice between you, talk to each other about your experiences, gazing into one another’s eyes. If either of you experience or see something difficult, make it part of the work of the new year to understand this difficulty and to heal or integrate it.
Reserve a little wine until the end. Then, pour out a small amount and raise the glass in a salute.
Say together:
To Morrighan and Dagda, to the Lord and the Lady,
with gratitude for your presence here,
and with a loving farewell!
May we never thirst for understanding between us!
The person who called the quarters should in turn release them. First, turn to the north and say:
Hail to the north, where the world lives,
we release you with love! So mote it be!
Turn to the west and say:
Hail to the west, where the worlds meet,
we release you with love! So mote it be!
Turn to the south and say:
Hail to the south, where the bale fires burn!
We release you with love! So mote it be!
Turn to the east and say:
Hail to the east, where all knowledge lives!
We release you with love! So mote it be!
The person who cast the circle should then open it, saying:
We open the circle now and here,
to greet the year free from fear!
So mote it be!
After the ritual, spend some time planning a few festive activities for the near future. Pick activities where you can talk to one another and share your impressions. Taking a class where you both learn and share a skill will especially reinforce the link forged during this ritual.
The Physical Labyrinth—
a Group Trip to the Underworld
Purpose:
This ritual raises awareness of activity beyond the veil, and builds an understanding of why we need death mythologies and chthonic gods. It also draws on labyrinth symbolism and combines it with the popular motif of the haunted house. Each soul that journeys walks a set path that requires the same steps to go inside and out. This makes the labyrinth the symbol of spiritual work.
Setting:
Indoors—you will be putting together a complicated path; best not to struggle with the elements while you’re at it!
Supplies:
Costumes—those acting out characters should create their own costumes. Each should allow ease of movement (it’s much easier to enter the mind-set of a character when chafing does not distract you).
Indoor space—You may use someone’s house, assuming that person can clear all furniture out of the way. Depending on the size of the group, you may need to reserve or rent space in a park building or a church, or even talk to a library or local museum about using their basement or other open space.
A labyrinth template—this will go much more easily if you have the measurements of the room you wish to work with and the template of the labyrinth you wish to use. You can find images of all types of labyrinths on the Internet or in library books.
Masking tape—Use the masking tape to lay down the total path of the labyrinth on the floor.
Dividers—You will need to divide the path through the middle of the labyrinth. Some people use tall cardboard anchored in different ways. Others use elaborately strung clotheslines. You may also want to establish divided paths fashioned from waist-height cardboard boxes and add tall items to obscure the paths as the traveling souls turn each corner.
Flashlights or LED lamps—the guides and the characters should all have some type of illumination. This is part symbolism and part safety measure.
Small altars—there should be an altar at the center of the labyrinth, and then one at every major turn. (Idea borrowed directly from a labyrinth used at Minneapolis Pagan Pride 2013.)
Pre-Ritual Preparations:
This ritual will take extra preparation, from a few days up to a week. Setting it all up will be a lot of work, and usually not something easily done in a few hours. It all depends on the size of the group you have to work with and what space you can obtain for this working. First, pick an underworld. Different ancient cultures had different ideas about what the afterlife looked like and how it changed over time.
In this ritual, part of the group takes the roll of guides in the underworld chosen; others are the souls that come to the dead. You can perform this ritual on a large, theatrical scale or on a small, personal scale.
Those who take the role of a character in the underworld or the role of a guide should have more experience with ritual practice than those who tour the labyrinth. When assuming the role of a specific god or goddess in a ritual context, sometimes the deity represented will manifest his or her personality within the body of the person playing that role. This is called aspecting. While usually not dangerous, it is a good idea to have someone around who stays in normal consciousness to act as a spotter for those assuming archetypal roles. Make sure that those playing characters in the labyrinth also have more experience with altered consciousness and ideally have some experience with Drawing Down the Moon or similar ceremonies.
Those who choose to travel the labyrinth should wear street clothing with pockets—the more pockets the better. Advise them to have at least two coins colored gold or silver and to fill their pockets with buttons, candy, safety pins, small toys, or other oddments. These will be offerings at different points of the labyrinth.
While the following ritual creates a sort of generic underworld/afterlife path to follow, you may wish to create a ritual in accordance with a specific pantheon or theme. Here are a few underworlds you might consider, depending on the heritage shared by your group members and/or their spiritual leanings:
Egyptian: The person who died had to pass different tests to get to the center of the underworld. At that point, the soul’s heart was weighed. If it was heavier than a feather, that person was deemed unprepared for the afterlife. E. A. Wallis Budge’s Egyptian Book of the Dead gave specific details on this process.
Greece: In ancient Greece, the soul traveled to the river Styx and gave the boatman Charon a coin that their loved ones left in the body’s mouth or hand. From there, they were ferried to Hades and came before Pluto/Hades’s throne. Hades judged each soul. Those that were good went to the Elysian Fields, those that were evil went to Tartarus, a land of eternal punishment.
Norse: In the Viking cultures, they assigned their dead to one of three underworlds: Helheim, Valhalla, or Fólkvangr. While Valhalla was described as a hall of continuous battle, the other lands’ purposes were unclear. The Asatru themselves state that they believe that the virtuous will be reunited with their kin in the afterlife and continue to experience fulfillment and challenge, and those who chose lives of excess will face an afterlife of depression and boredom. Modern Asatru see the myths and afterlives as symbolist metaphors. If enough people in your group resonate with the northern pantheon, it may be worth looking for more details on Norse afterlife myth, starting with reading the Poetic Edda.
So long as you preserve the sacred meaning of the ritual, you may also draw from a fictional world that speaks a spiritual truth. Alice in Wonderland is often a popular choice for ritual journeys; you may also consider worlds such as Hogwarts from Harry Potter or the shamanic alter-ego world in Neil Gaiman’s Mirror Mask. You might go space age and create a theme based on your favorite science fiction space travel universe, touring those archetypes placed in the stars upon death.
The ritual that follows serves as a general experiential ritual, focusing on the modern relationship and processes of life and death. This way it does not require a specific investment in belief in afterlife; it will simply be one more way of approaching thought about it. You can make use of the ritual verbatim, or you can see it as a template to help you put together your own culturally or theologically oriented labyrinth.
The Ritual:
Right before the ritual, the person who acts as the tour guide should walk the labyrinth inside and out, smudging with white sage, frankincense, or asperging a tea of camphor and sage onto the path.
The center of the labyrinth should have the main altar. If you are in a place that allows it, set up the table with the representations of the Lord and Lady, a goblet, a beverage, incense, and candles. If the location does not allow candles and incense, use LED candles, and drop scented oil into a shot-glass size portion of rubbing alcohol for a similar scent release.
Right before the ritual, someone acting as priest or priestess should go to the labyrinth center to perform a short prayer/invocation.
One suggested invocation is:
Hail to the elements of nature!
Be gentle here on these paths,
as we are all still learning.
Hail to the living things,
those that live in the in-between!
We greet you in this middle place tonight.
Hail to our ancestors,
to our mighty dead!
Be gentle in what you teach us tonight,
we remember you, and forgive us for grieving our losses—
grief is, after all, part of being alive.
We greet the Goddess, who has descended,
and we greet the God, as we visit him in his realm.
Blessed Be!
From there, the invoking priestess should assume her place. At this point, this ritual template takes the view of what the visitor should see as he or she travels the labyrinth.
Each of the people touring the labyrinth should wait outside as the space is declared sacred. Just outside the entrance, there should be two bowls: one filled with water on the right and the other empty on the left. When the guide appears, he should bid the soul to drop a coin in the empty bowl and then to wash his/her hands in the bowl of water. (If this seems unsanitary, encourage each person to bring his/her own washcloth to dip in the water and then wring out before use.)
As the soul submerges his or her hands in the water, the guide should tell him/her: “You are water and water is you. When you cross this water, you cross over it and on into the world between veils.”
The traveler should then follow the guide into the labyrinth.
At the first turn, the traveler and guide should meet a Crone. “How now traveler?” she should say. The soul should answer, greeting the Crone politely and asking her blessing on his path.
She will then point him round the next bend. “Go on, you need to talk to your dead first!”
The traveler may then protest that he or she is dead. If that’s the case, the Crone should give him/her an up and down look, snort, and say, “Hardly!”
At the next turn, there should be a tray filled with pictures of ancestors or old heroes, decorated with flowers, books, candles, and small heirlooms. Arrange some seating pillows in front of this tray and add a small stack of LED lights.
The guide should nod to the altar. “Sit down and speak your peace. Your ancestors have been waiting to hear from you. Make sure you light their way before you go.”
Then, the guide should produce an hourglass and set it at the center of the table. “Get on with it, they haven’t got long!”
Allow the soul to pay respects to his or her ancestor until the hourglass runs out. Then, the guide should snatch it up. “Along with you! They haven’t got all eternity!” Make sure that the person turns on an LED light and leaves it on the tray.
The traveler should then round another bend or two before coming to a woman shuffling cards. She should say nothing but simply don a blindfold and hold out a fanned deck of tarot cards. The traveler should pick one card, look at it closely, and then return it to the deck.
At the next turn, an antlered man, wearing dark green, holds up a mirror and smiles. “Look!” he should bid. “This is your truth!” Again, the guide produces the hourglass, and the traveler should gaze upon him or herself in the dimmed labyrinth until the sand has run down.
At the next bend, a person dressed like the Grim Reaper with the scythe should block the path. “I must speak to the soul,” the reaper should tell the guide. The guide should stand aside. The reaper should then say to the traveler, “Come with me.” He should follow the reaper around another bend. The reaper will take him to a table where there is only a jar, paper, markers, and an LED light bright enough to write by.
The reaper should gesture to the table. “Leave it here,” the reaper should say, and then stand back. When the soul has named his maladies on a piece of paper and dropped it in the jar, the reaper should say, “From this point, you must go alone.”
The soul should then follow the path the scythe points. When he/she turns the corner, he will come to the altar at the center of the labyrinth.
The central altar should hold a manual scale, a representation of the Lord and Lady, a bowl, a feather, and a small, heart-shaped charm (better if it is anatomically correct). The feather and the heart should balance on either side of the scale.
A small sign placed in front of the scale should say:
“Meet darkness with your light.” An arrow at the end should point to yet another stack of LED tea light candles.
A sign in front of the bowl should say, “To return to the land of the living, something must be left for the land of the dead.”
The traveler should decide what to leave in the bowl, whether it’s a bit of hair, another coin, a shoelace, a button, or some other memento.
When finished, the soul should proceed down the labyrinth, weaving his or her way back on the opposite side of the path. As he rounds the corner, a character dressed something like the sphinx should step into his or her path, blocking progress.
“Tell me a story!” the sphinx should demand. “Tell me a story, or I’ll give you a riddle!”
When the traveler has told a story or answered a riddle, the sphinx should let that person pass. If the person picks a riddle and answers wrong, then the sphinx should demand a tribute. The tribute can be any random item the person proffers.
At the next bend, the Grandfather should step in the path. “It’s time to teach you,” he should say. What should follow is a simple lesson for use or mischief—tying a knot, whistling, telling a joke, how to hold a pocketknife properly. It should be short and if the person does not catch on during the first try, the Grandfather should simply smile and say, “It all takes practice. You’ll get it.” He should then hand the person something from the lesson and send the soul on its way.
Just before the entrance, the Great Mother should step into the path. “To me all things are created, and to me all things shall return,” she should say to the soul. She should then anoint that person’s head with water and then step aside as that person steps out of the labyrinth and back into the everyday space.
A spotter inside the labyrinth should check in on each of the archetypes every three or four travelers. A spotter outside should guide the travelers to a table away from those who have not entered the labyrinth. The table should have some light, earthy snacks on it (nuts and apples are appropriate).
Set a small notebook and pen at each place at the table, so the traveler may jot down his or her experiences inside the labyrinth, along with any significant insights that came with it.
When the last traveler has completed the journey, the priest or priestess that blessed the maze should asperge the entrance/exit and the center with water, and at the center say:
To the Lord and Lady,
we live in gratitude for what you taught us this night.
To the Mighty Dead, we are honored you have walked with us.
To the forces of nature, we are grateful for your gentleness.
We release each archetype, each spirit, each presence
that came for the night’s work,
and we gladly return to ourselves!
So mote it be!
Everyone involved should then sit down to a meal together. After everyone has eaten his or her fill, disassemble the labyrinth. Give any coins to charity or trick-or-treaters. Other odd things the travelers left should go inside a bottle that is then sealed with wax and buried.
Samhain is the serious side of this season. Halloween balances that solemnity with its frivolous, festive nature. One side needs the other to complete our sense of balance in this holiday. This meeting of the playful with the terminal that lends us the strength we need to ride the Wheel of the Year into the dark. October 31 through November marks a season of what we, together, fear the most—the unknown. We don’t know if we have all we need to get through the winter. We don’t know for sure how harsh winter will be. We don’t know exactly when winter will end.
No one really knows what lies beyond life, though a few of us believe we have received a hint or two. Samhain helps us face that by reminding us that we are never alone—our ancestors survived for a long time before we came along, and their memory is still alive to help us continue our own survival.
Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain!